In an impassioned, wide-ranging address to mark the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela's birth before a 15,000-strong crowd in a Johannesburg cricket stadium, President Obama sent out a shout out to Le Bleus of France that pulled off a 4-2 victory over Croatia to win the World Cup.

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The former U.S president deployed the multi-racial nature of the team to rail against discrimination, hailing it as a demonstration that when a nation taps into the talents and skills of its people then it can surely succeed.

"That we can recognize common hopes and common dreams. And it is a truth that is incompatible with any form of discrimination based on race or religion or gender or sexual orientation. And it is a truth that, by the way, when embraced, actually delivers practical benefits, since it ensures that a society can draw upon the talents and energy and skill of all its people. And if you doubt that, just ask the French football team that just won the World Cup. (Cheers and applause.) Because not all of those folks – not all of those folks look like Gauls to me. (Laughter.) But they're French. They're French," President Obama said.

This is the first time that the former U.S president has weighed in on the victory of the multi-racial French football team at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

France won the much-vaunted trophy for the second time in history since 1998 after winning it as hosts of the tournament.