The South African men’s hockey team’s road to the Athens Olympic Games has — to put it mildly — been a rocky one. The inability to gain automatic access via the All Africa Games last October was followed closely by the controversial omissions of the experienced Mike Cullen and Justin King.
South African champion Hezekiel Sepeng and world indoor champion Mbulaeni Mulaudzi — both Olympic medal contenders — get together in the 800m on Friday night in Zurich for the first time on European soil this year to feel out their opposition for the two-lap showpiece in Athens.
The defeated Springbok rugby team returned home from their tour down under to a lukewarm reception at Johannesburg International airport on Sunday night. The Boks were greeted by a mere handful of fans in the arrivals hall, despite registering what many had considered ”positive” results over the past three weekends.
The challenge South Africa faces ahead of the 2010 Soccer World Cup is to build not only stadiums, but a world-class team, bid company CEO Danny Jordaan said on Sunday. On Tuesday an announcement will be made about South African Football Association teams that will visit the cities earmarked to host the matches.
The Premier Soccer League (PSL) season for 2004/05, scheduled from August 7, will start with a full complement of clubs in both the PSL and the Mvelaphanda Golden League, including the recently promoted clubs. PSL CEO Trevor Phillips confirmed the starting date for both leagues at a media briefing on Monday.
The Zimbabwean government has drawn up legislation to curtail the activities of charities, church groups and other non-governmental organisations. Announcing the draft legislation, President Robert Mugabe said NGOs ”must work for the betterment of our country and not against it … We cannot allow them to be conduits or instruments of foreign interference in our national affairs.”
Mark Palios on Sunday resigned as chief executive of the English Football Association, the first head to roll in the scandal over manager Sven-Goran Eriksson’s affair with an FA secretary with whom Palios also had a brief relationship. At first the FA denied the reports of the fling between Eriksson and the 38-year-old former model Faria Alam.
Vijay Singh outlasted John Daly with a five-under 67 on Sunday to win the Buick Open at 23-under 265 for his fourth victory of the year and 19th of his career. Daly, vying for a second win in one year for the first time, finished a stroke back after shooting a 66 and bogeying the 18th hole.
Ashley Giles took five wickets as England beat West Indies by 256 runs to win the second Test with more than a day to spare at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Sunday. England’s victory gave them an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the four-match series. Left-arm spinner Giles’s haul of five for 57 was his best in a Test innings.
Former Morning Live co-presenter Michelle Garforth said on Monday that internal politics at the SABC led to her early departure from the breakfast show. ”… it is unfortunate that internal politics at the national broadcaster, coupled with a gross lack of clarity of vision and communication from the show’s producer’s perspective has resulted in my untimely departure from Morning Live,” said Garforth in a statement.