The former South African president, who turns 92 next month, is increasingly frail and rarely makes public appearances.
His stature, however, is widely seen to have helped sway the 2004 vote to award the Cup to the country, and FIFA President Sepp Blatter said on Wednesday his presence at the opening match on June 11 would be a highlight of the tournament.
"The Nelson Mandela Foundation does not disclose Mr Mandela's schedule in public for security reasons," Sello Hatang, spokesman for the foundation, said.
"The information that we have from his office is that he will be attending the opening and will also be attending the closing ceremony," the party's spokesman Jackson Mthembu said.
"We are happy that Madiba (Mandela's clan name) will come and the Madiba magic will also add to this excitement."
Mandela helped inspire the Springbok rugby team to World Cup glory at home in 1995, famously wearing captain Francois Pienaar's jersey.
But Mandela's office has stressed in the past that the decision about attending events this year was solely up to him and would not be made public.
Some observers have suggested poor health may keep him away from Africa's first hosting of the world's most watched sports event.
