Sport Matters

Talk of the town. . . The talented Quinton de Kock is not part of the SA Test team against India and yet he is the talking point. The whispers and groans about Quinton de Kock continued at the Wanderers where the first Test between South Africa and India began without glitches earlier today. The Proteas took  two early wickets as the visitors bagged 70 runs at lunch. As was the case in the run-up to the match, the absence of the young run machine De Kock continued to rub South Africa's cricket fans in different ways. While there are those confessing understanding for the reasons De Kock was excluded from the Test team after a memorable showing in the ODI series against selfsame, others feel they were shortchanged. The talk about De Kock being young and inexperienced at this level of the game is not far-fetched. Though I don't have a fiery quarrel against this sentiment, I do not, at the same time, support it. The paying fans at the stadium, more so this time of the yea

Spain was a godsend for Itumeleng Khune. Just two days after his controversial naming as the Sports Star of the Year at the SA Sports Awards, South Africa's No.1 goalkeeper and national captain showed why he is the people's choice as the most admired sportsman in the country. He dished up man-of-the-match performance whose fame reverberated all over Spain and the world beyond as the world champions succumbed to Bafana. It was a friendly, all right, but Spain were here to win. Parker's world class did the magic while Khune's heroics secured the win for SA. So what was the controversy with him winning the Sports Star award, with its R1million plus luxury? Khune in the past year did not achieve more than several other sports stars in arenas home and abroad. His club Kaizer Chiefs won the league-cup double. But as far as international competition is concerned, Khune did not get any look in both as Chiefs and Bafana player because there is no success that can

Valuable play time. . . Girls should enjoy playing netball and other sports without any hindrance. When the Currie Cup final between Western Province and Sharks and the Soweto Derby between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates hogged the headlines last week, a new sporting feat for South Africa happened with very little attention being paid to it. The national netball team, the Proteas, where in action in Port Elizabeth, in a series featuring Trinidad-and-Tobago and old nemesis England. After losing 39-49 to England in an earlier match in the series, the Proteas on Friday brought the curtain down on the proceedings with a hard-fought 39-37 victory over England to clinch the tournament. This was SA's first victory over highly ranked England in 14 years, and that the feat went unnoticed by most of the public clearly indicate the predicament netball and women's sports in general are facing in South Africa. This indicates the depth to which women's games have fallen, des

Aiming high. . . Orlando Pirates sextet of Oupa Manyisa, Thabo Matlaba, Happy Jele, Rooi Mahamutsa, Sfiso Myeni and Andile Jali will be most glad to play in the Fifa Club World Cup in December.   ONE crucial factor the soccer public in South Africa is overlooking about Orlando Pirates' potential success in the CAF Champions League is that the reward is bigger than the $1.5million (R15m) first prize, or the much-vaunted "Second Star". The ultimate prize however for Pirates winning the Africa championship will be the chance to play in the Fifa Club World Cup in December. The Fifa tournament is the lofty heights of club football. It was not existant in 1995 when Pirates were crowned Africa champion. After a modest beginnings in 2000 in Brazil, today the Fifa Club World Cup is a prestigeous one-week tournament offering big financial rewards to the qualifying continental champions. The top prize comes at a hefty $5 million, but even finishing last - seventh - is not sha

Change we can't have. . . well at least for now we won't have someone like Burundi's Lydia Nsekera in the Safa presidential election. I HEAR the voting for the new Safa president has started in Johannesburg as I start writing this blog in Bethlehem, eastern Free State. Whoever wins between Danny Jordaan and Mandla Mazibuko will not bring any fundamental changes but retain the status quo of failure the two candidates were in charge of as vice-presidents of outgoing Kirsten Nematandani. The latter does not strike one as a powerful personality who could have blocked the ideas of Jordaan, Mazibuko and other Safa executive figureheads to advance the ideal of a better football nation in South Africa. Nematandani became president for the sake of breaking the deadlock between Jordaan and Irvin Khoza the last time around, which explains why he was never part of the current race for the top post even though he’s eligible.  To make matters worse, Nematandani’s elec

Vibrant. . . Part of Yaounde's centre shows a busy city getting somewhere. The Cameroonian capital will host Bafana Bafana's next 2014 World Cup qualifier against CAR on Saturday. THE cancellation of flights anywhere in the world normally inconveniences travelers, and the Afrophobia bile spewed by South Africans on social and electronic media after Bafana Bafana were stranded in Douala, Cameroon, this week was uncalled for. The extreme views expressed by South African fans on hearing that the SA football team’s connecting flight to the match venue in the capital Yaounde was cancelled demonstrated the fear and hatred my countrymen harbour for the continent. The late cancellation of the scheduled flight could have been for security reasons, and therefore aimed at safeguarding Bafana’s safe passage to their destination. However, without waiting for any clarity, South Africans just concluded the cancellation was intended. It is sad that in 2013 we still use our misplaced

Legend . . . Godfrey Chitalu Lusaka, Ndola, Kabwe and Kitwe have been confirmed as host cities for the Cosafa Cup playing in Zambia from July 6-21. The tournament this year will have Cecafa guests in Kenya and Tanzania. The two east African nations will join Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mauritius and Seychelles in the group phase. Hosts Zambia and higher ranked South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi have been given a bye to the knockout round. All group phase matches which will be played from July 6-11 will be hosted in Lusaka and Kabwe. The two cities will also host matches at the quarterfinal knockout stage which will be played as double headers at Nkoloma (Lusaka) and Godfrey Chitalu (Kabwe) stadiums on July 13 and 14. Copperbelt towns of Kitwe and Ndola will only host knockout matches from the quarterfinal and semifinal stages, from July 16. Why I am writing this? Well, apart from the fact draw for the 2013 Cosafa Cup takes place tomorrow (Ma

Inspirational. . . The defending champions of the Boston Marathon Wesley Korir (30) and Sharon Jemutai Cherop (29) are a shining example of Kenya never-ending story of domination in distance running, especially the standard marathon (42.2km). On Monday the pair will line up to try defend their titles at the 117th edition of the world’s oldest annual marathon. Both athletes, after a poor start in life back home in Kenya, are living comfortable lives as professional athletes. It will therefore be not so much about the $806,000 (R7m) on offer as the first prize in both the men’s and women’s races, but an extension of a legacy for them as individuals and for Kenya. If Korir doesn’t win, another Kenyan runner will most likely take the men’s race. In the women’s race the upsurge of Ethiopian women is posing a real threat, as seen last week in Paris, when Tadese Tola took the honours. Korir, who is a permanent resident in the US, proved his popularity back home when he was elected as MP t

Way of life. . . Central African Republic's refugees in neighbouring Cameroon while away time with a game of footie. Conditions in CAR are similar or worse. Who are Central African Republic? Well, as a country the mysterious nation is never in the news unless there is a coup or rebel activity threatening a regime change. Today (21 March) for example, the only news from CAR came from the statement by the SELEKA rebel group, who said the concessions President Francois Bozize is currently frantically making are too late for his survival in power.   "All we ask is for him to now leave power," SELEKA spokesman Colonel Sylvain Bordas told international media. "If he does not do so, we will force him out." The feint memory of CAR by most of the world’s adult population is the chaotic reign from the 1960s to the 1970s by Jean-Bedel Bokassa, who after forcing his way into power, declared himself Emperor Bokassa I. Apart from helping himself from the meager sta

Winning feeling. . . Thabiso Nkoana scored the only goal as SuperSport United stopped Don Bosco in Lubumbashi, DR Congo on Sunday. Well done Matsatsantsa! JUST when I was thinking to myself how much the South African soccer public, usually obnoxious towards African football, had learnt from the recently ended Africa Cup of Nations, the chairman of SuperSport United gave some hope. According to a newspaper report, Mr Khulu Sibiya this week gave United coach Gavin Hunt a revised mandate: forget the (local) league, win the CAF Confederation Cup.   Today Hunt and the boys leave for DR Congo for their CAF fixture with Den Bosco. Before I dwell on their trip, I want to commend Sibiya for making a clean break from the general attitude by South African club bosses. In his statement, Sibiya asks a simple but crucial question: “If we can’t do well in CAF competitions how can we expect to conquer the world?” He has a point: if Hunt wins the domestic league again, for the fourth tim

Real deal. . . Jonathan Pitroipa will be the man to watch for Burkina Faso in the 2013 Afcon final today. THE 2013 Orange Africa Cup of Nations tournament is heading to a potentially exciting finale today after a stuttering start which fed on the apathy of the local fans. After a low-key opening ceremony and two goalless draws on the first day - and another draw in Group B fixtures the second day, before Mali finally cracked it against Niger later that day - it appeared the tournament was heading for disaster. The referees also got into the act for all the wrong reasons, deciding outcomes through bizarre decisions. Strangely enough, pre-tournament favourites Ghana and defending champions Zambia were the biggest beneficiaries of refereeing shenanigans. Though some argue CAF is the mastermind behind the questionable decisions, the controlling body to their credit took decisive action. They expelled three referees from the tournament, including South Africa’s Daniel Bennett. Even

In the mix. . . South African cross country champion Elroy Gelant. IT WAS a record field on Saturday when the SA cross country trials were held at the Boksburg Stadium. Favourite and SA Cross Country champion Elroy Gelant duling won the men’s 12km race, just he did in 2011 trials before he went on to win the national title at the SA championships. Unfortunately, this news remains unknown to most people in the country as the whole focus of the nation is in the ongoing 2013 Afcon tournament. There is nothing wrong with the focus being on the soccer tournament; it’s Africa’s major championship and it’s happening here in South Africa. The “minor” sports in South Africa always struggle for attention in mainstream media but a total blackout that was it last week ahead of the cross country trials is just not on. Cross country is an essential component of athletics; literally the grassroots. The code is the bedrock of Kenya’s supremacy in middle distance running. The trainers and a

The way it was. . . One of the stars of 1996 Phil Masinga doing what he did best, celebrating a goal! TWO days ahead of the 2013 Orange Africa Cup of Nations the mood in the host nation remains of despondency and dejection. Majority of South Africans still do not feel the tournament, not because they think is not worth supporting. The poor form of Bafana Bafana, the national team, is not inspiring. Not because the current coach appointed six months ago, Gordon Igesund, is doing badly. Curiously, people have more faith in him than his players. The football fans in South Africa are shocked by the rapid decline of Bafana, which gained momentum after the 2000 Afcon which was co-hosted by Ghana and Nigeria. South Africa finished third in that tournament, and what happened to the former winners at first attempt in 1996 afterwards is a storybook of disastrous planning and preparation. Bafana are in the tournament courtesy of their host status, this after failing to qualify for the

Strong presence. . . Mali's Adama Coulibaly is one of six players sharing his surname in the 2013 Afcon. NOW that the squads for the 16 teams which will be doing business in the 2013 Orange Africa Cup of Nations have been finalised, it is proper that interesting facts about the squads be closely scrutinised. The excitement is beginning to rise as the teams arrive this week ahead of the big kickoff on January 19, now just five days away. Here are some of the facts that emerged from 23-man squads of each national team: Like in the past editions, the South African, known as the Premier Soccer League, is providing the bulk of the players – 25. The breakdown is as follows: 1 in Ghana squad, 2 in Togo, 2 in Niger, 5 in Zambia and 15 in South African team, Bafana Bafana. Ethiopia has the highest number of players drawn from the team’s own national league – 20. (Cote d’Ivoire has the least – 1, third choice keeper Ali Badra Sangare from Academie Ivoire.) Africa has pr

The real thing. . . Moroccan Harite Gabari rides the Sahara dunes in his country. Gabari is competing in this year's Dakar Rally, in South America. In the past Morocco was one of the Dakar hosts in Africa. It’s a misnomer that the Dakar Rally is taking place in South America. Not because there is anything wrong with that part of the world, it’s a beautiful place judging by the TV footage of the event. My gripe is that it is the fifth year now that the Dakar Rally has been taken away from Africa, its original home, for security reasons and that the countries it traversed, as well as the African Union, have been silent. I trawled the internet looking for statements I might have missed in the news, about Africa expressing the tragedy of losing this iconic motorsport   event, and maybe a promise of fixing all that took the event away. There was nothing. Quiet, like the Sahara, the spiritual home of the Dakar Rally.   At this rate, it is adequate to conclude that as far as Af

Lonely. . . A soccer fan cuts a lonely figure at the Free State during the 2009 Fifa Confederations Cup. It can't get worse for the 2013 Afcon starting in two weeks' time. EVEN after the Bafana Bafana squad was named earlier this week there is still no sense that the host nation for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations is excited about the tournament. This adds to the gloomy picture about the slow ticket sales in South Africa, which begs the question: “Do South Africans really want to host the Afcon?” The tournament starts in 16 days from today, and still, the tickets bought for the kickoff match in the 94 000-seater FNB Stadium are still below 50 000. Ticket sales for other matches on the opening weekend do not even deserve a mention at this stage. Two factors relevant to South African psyche can be used to explain this apparent lack of interest in the tournament in this country. Firstly, the tickets could have been going slowly because people were more concerned about