THE battle for promotion to the continent’s most lucrative football league – South Africa’s DStv Premiership – is set for a nail-biting end this weekend. Three sides, all enduring an inconsistent run in the final lap, are in contention for the sole direct ticket. Cape Town Spurs, Casric Stars and Polokwane City are neck and neck atop the Motsepe Foundation Championship ahead of tricky assignments on Sunday. The only consolation of the two sides that will miss out on direct…

THE ugly face of the beautiful game has reared its ugly head again in Zambia, coincidentally commemorating one of the worst tragedies in sport ever. As the elite league draws to a conclusion, stakes are high and tensions much higher for the race to finish in the spots to qualify for the Confederation of African Football (CAF) Champions League and Confederations Cup.  A fracas during the six pointer between defending champions, Red Arrows, and Maestro United Zambia (MUZA) resulted in…

AFTER a record-breaking Comrades Marathon last August, the all-conquering Nedbank Running Club has set its sights on dominating the Two Oceans Marathon in Cape Town this weekend. Dubbed “the world’s most beautiful marathon”, the 56-kilometre race is scheduled for the Mother City on Saturday. It is the opening “Grand Slam” of the year in the South African marathon calendar. The Nedbank Running Club is upbeat at the prospects of its athletes ahead of the starting gun firing in the Western…

THE Central African Republic (CAR) is the most improved side in the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings, now led by global champions, Argentina. CAR has moved ten places up to 122nd. They attained that feat after twice beating Madagascar. This is the biggest move by points (plus 28,72 points) and by places. CAR outperformed other notable movers such as Namibia (106th, plus 7), Malaysia (138th, plus 7) and The Gambia (120th, plus 6). Cameroon recorded the biggest drop by points Cameroon…

THE Central African Republic (CAR) is the most improved side in the latest FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings, now led by global champions, Argentina.CAR has moved ten places up to 122nd.They attained that feat after twice beating Madagascar. This is the biggest move by points (plus 28,72 points) and by places. CAR outperformed other notable movers such as Namibia (106th, plus 7),Malaysia (138th, plus 7) and The Gambia (120th, plus 6). Cameroon recorded the biggest drop by points Cameroon (minus 29,09 points)…

MAMELODI Sundowns’ sixth title in a row, secured this past weekend without them kicking a ball, widens the enormous gap between them and the rest of the teams in the South African elite league. The Brazilians clinched the DStv Premiership after the latest pretender to their crown, SuperSport United, fell by the wayside as they only managed a one-all draw at Chippa United on Saturday. Cross-city rivals, SuperSport, the only side that had a mathematical chance of dislodging Downs at…

The Grannies International Football Tournament (GIFT) has finally begun with a bang at the Nkowankowa Stadium outside Tzaneen in Limpopo. The highly anticipated tournament will feature 20 granny football teams from seven different countries, which will be competing over the course of three days. The event started with a vibrant parade through the streets of Nkowankowa Township, followed by an opening ceremony at the local stadium. The opening game of the tournament was played between the South African team, affectionately…

Baroka FC coach Wedson Nyirenda is adamant that his side will beat Orlando Pirates when they go head to head in the Telkom Knock-Out (TKO) final. Bakgakga made history on Sunday as they reached a first-ever cup final after they eclipsed and eliminated defending champions Bidvest Wits 1-0 in the competition semi-final at the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane. Speaking to the media following the match, Nyirenda said that because many counted the win as a shock was the reason…

PREPARATIONS for the Total Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament in 2019 and 2021 have received a major boost after Visa, the global leader in payments, announced a partnership with the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The sponsorship deal will make the payments giant the exclusive payment services provider at all venues during the tournaments set for Cameroon and Ivory Coast, respectively. “The benefits of investing in African football are clear to see, and with football being the number one…

BANYANA Banyana topped their group as they cruised to the semi-finals of the Cosafa women’s championship at the expense of Malawi, annihilating them 6-0 at the Wolfson Stadium in KwaZakhele, Port Elizabeth on Monday. South Africa went into the match at the back of two wins and has now won all their three matches in the group stages, scoring nine goals, and conceding only one against Madagascar in the first match. They will now face East African guest nation Uganda…