Sport Matters

Golden touch. . . Tout Pouissant Mazembe of DR Congo are African champions for the fifth time. LAST weekend when most of South Africa's soccer public was obsessing over the Soweto Derby, between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates in the semifinals of the domestic cup called Telkom KO, a bigger cup story in Africa unfolded without much notice in SA. That's not unusual for SA, but this time someone powerful and influential has spoken. The chairman of both Orlando Pirates FC and SA's Premier Soccer League Irvin Khoza attended the final match in Lumbubashi last Sunday, when Mazembe beat USM Alger of Algeria 2-0 to take the title on 4-1 aggregate. The enthusiasm for the game in Congo has clearly revitalised Khoza, who this week warned South Africans to take Africa seriously. He's right. It does not make make sense that African football champions are crowned and yet up to 80 per cent of football followers in SA do not know about such a big moment, and yet we call o

Steely... Strong and confident approach is what Pirates need against Al Ahly  Tonight Orlando Pirates get the grandest chance to undo all the wrong things about South African teams when out playing on the continent, more so in north and west Africa. Pirates take a narrow lead to the second leg tie of their CAF Confederation Cup semifinal against Al Ahly in Egypt. For many years, as this blog has argued, that poor preparation and small mindedness had been the downfall of SA football on the continent. Bafana Bafana fiasco in Mauritania and Pirates 4-1 hammering in Egypt by Zamalek are the most recent examples. South African clubs' homework about teams and locations they travel to had been appalling. It had been nauseating to hear SA players and team officials talk about "shocking conditions" when arriving home from a fixture in another part of Africa.  The real shock is not the conditions, but the temerity of our teams to travel without comprehensive information abou

Outfoxed... Little Japan took on and conquered South Africa's giants of rugby in the world cup's biggest upset  The pain of losing to Japan in rugby at the weekend was very deep for many South Africans. It cut through their national pride like a merciless knife. Losing is part of the game but SA rugby has no business losing to Japan. That's what so many of us believed when the Asian nation was drawn to give the Springboks their first test in the 2015 Rugby World Cup. True, Japan do not have better rugby players than SA. Their pool of players is small and limited to a few cities where programmes for rugby development exist in the extremely traditional country. I did not watch the match because of a personal protest, though I kept abreast with progress through a radio broadcast. Rugby writers however are of the opinion that South Africa did not have a clear plan, for the match. EWN's Rafiq Ragiet wrote at halftime that "Japan [was] the more impressive team i

Mutual respect . . . football is paying back to Tefu Mashamaite for the respect he has shown the game   For the second year running a true gentleman for the game will be crowned Footballer of the Season in South Africa. Kaizer Chiefs captain Tefu Mashamaite is hotly tipped to walk away with the title this Sunday, and I agree.  Kaizer Chiefs have been crowned the PSL champions this month, thanks to Mashamaite's  level-headed leadership. He played all 30 matches for Chiefs this recently-ended season, and he was the mainstay in the heart of the defence which conceded just 14 goals. When he is announced the winner on Sunday, no one thinks otherwise, "Masha" will be taking over from his former Wits University teammate Sibusiso Vilakazi as the best player in the South African league. Both Vilakazi and Mashamaite are dedicated soldiers for all that should be good about football. Their clean image and leadership qualities make these two dedicated players real role models

Eyeball to ball. . . Offiong Edem is one of Nigeria's biggest stars in table tennis. She boasts five All-Africa Games gold medals and one silver from 2007 and 2011 events. Apart from football and athletics, Nigerian women are also a force in table tennis because the sport is easily accessible to them  As a candidate bidding to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games, South Africa cannot lose; Durban is the only city in the race! Citing the expensive bill for the games, Canadian city of Edmonton was the last rival to withdraw its candidature. However as far as the public opinion is concerned, South Africa is already on the ropes defending its decision to support the bid to host the world event. Many South Africans are of the opinion that our government is obsessed with hosting international events. Our economy is in its worst shape, and people are concerned that politicians and their friends in business are the only people who benefit from these events, while the rich-poor gap in S

French influence . . . Ivory Coast's French coach Herve Renard walks by as his 2015 Afcon-winning players celebrate their victory in Equatorial Guinea last month. Renard, who also won the 2012 Afcon with Zambia, was born in Aix-les-Bains in Rhone-Alpes region of western France, near Switzerland and Italy.   France is inadvertently a major player in the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations currently on in Equatorial Guinea. Dozens of players representing various teams have players born in the former colonial power, or players who either were raised in France or live there because of their contracts with French clubs in all levels.  There are African players from the elite Ligue 1 down to independent soccer academies in all corners of France. On the opening day of the tournament Spanish-born Emilio Nsue scored for Equatorial Guinea but Congo’s Thievy Bifouma opened the flood gates for French-born players when he equalised later in the match. The stylish striker was born Thievy Guiv