( CNN ) -- An international peace conference in Johannesburg has been cancelled after South Africa refused the Dalai Lama a visa to attend the event . Archbishop Desmond Tutu said Monday he would boycott the conference . Announcing the postponement at a news conference Tuesday , Irvin Khosa , chairman of the South African football league , did not offer an explanation . A presidential spokesman , Thabo Masebe , said little . `` South Africa has made this decision , '' he said . `` We stand by the decision . '' The peace conference had been scheduled to start Friday . Officials said they would like to have a conference in the future , but they did not offer a specific date . The conference had been organized by South African soccer officials , led by Khosa , and was billed as an opportunity to showcase South Africa 's role as a human-rights champion ahead of the 2010 World Cup -- the global soccer championship the nation will host next year . The presidential spokesman had said earlier that the Dalai Lama -- Tibet 's spiritual leader and a Nobel Laureate -- did not receive a visa because it was not in South Africa 's interest for him to attend . Masebe said South Africa thinks that , if the Dalai Lama attended the conference , the focus would shift away from the World Cup . `` We can not allow focus to shift to China and Tibet , '' he said . He added that South Africa has gained much from its trading relationship with China . Khosa made the announcement at a news conference also attended by Chief Mandla Mandela , grandson of former South African President Nelson Mandela . Mandla Mandela said it was a sad day for the country 's democracy and the African continent that the South African government had denied the Dalai Lama a visa . South Africa should not succumb to international pressure , Mandela said . A representative of the Dalai Lama said he was not surprised by the visa refusal . The Tibetan government in exile thinks that China has pressured many countries to refuse a visit by the Dalai Lama , according to Chhime Chhoekyapa , an aide in Dharamsala , India . The Dalai Lama fled China in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule . The peace conference was to bring together Nobel laureates and top soccer officials . Archbishop Desmond Tutu ; former President F.W . De Klerk ; laureates Nelson Mandela and Martti Ahtisaar ; Seff Blatter , president of soccer 's international governing body ; and actress Charlize Theron were among those invited . The event had the blessing of the Nobel Committee . A presidential spokesman had said earlier that the Dalai Lama -- Tibet 's spiritual leader and a Nobel Laureate -- did not receive a visa because it was not in South Africa 's interest for him to attend .
South Africa refused the Dalai Lama a visa to attend the event . Spokesman : Not in South Africa 's interest for him to attend . Comment: