FRIDAY, 9.30AM:
BAFANA Bafana will have a very tough international season awaiting them before the African Nations Cup in 2000, including possible matches against Denmark and a Fifa World XI, Safa CEO Danny Jordaan announced on Thursday.
Jordaan said South Africa will play against World Cup opponents Denmark on September 30 in the Nelson Mandela Inauguration Cup in Johannesburg. Bafana Bafana drew 1-1 with Denmark in their first-round World Cup match.
Bafana Bafana will also be “looking at matches against France, England and an Asian tour next year”. June or April next year will possibly see Bafana Bafana play a World Fifa XI in South Africa.
SPORT BRIEFS
ANGIE CAUSES UPSET
ANGIE CLIFTON-PARKS caused one of the biggest upsets of the 1998 Liberty Life national squash championships when she beat defending champion Natalie Grainger in three games at Westville Country Club on Thursday. The 1989 and 1990 champion beat Grainger 10-8 9-3 9-0 and will meet top seed Claire Nitch in the final on Friday.
BAD MEDICINE
A MAJOR Ivory Coast soccer team suffered mass sickness at the weekend after players drank a potion intended to boost their strength for a vital match. ASEC Mimosa called on the services of a traditional healer, who gave them a dark, foul-smelling liquid of unknown ingredients. Half way through the match against Africa Sports, some of the Mimosa players began vomiting while others got ill and could not play at their best. The Mimosas did, however, stick it out to draw 1-1.
NEW BIRDS COACH
MOROKA Swallows have appointed Brazilian Jawr “Emilio” Mawzoni as the club’s new coach. Mawzoni has signed a one-year contract.
SA MUST WIN HOCKEY TEST
SOUTH Africa’s men’s hockey team will face England at 7.00pm on Friday night in a vital match at the Pretoria Technikon. The South Africans must win if they want to keep their hopes of winning a home series against international opposition alive.
DE BEER TO LONDON
JANNIE DE BEER, former Springbok and Free State flyhalf, has signed with English club London Scottish, club chairman Tony Tiark said on Thursday.
LOVE AND MONEY
THE Springboks will be pursuing new contracts as well as victory when they meet the All Blacks head-on in a Tri-Nations match at Athletic Park in Wellington, New Zealand, on Saturday. Many of the players have contracts signed after the 1995 Rugby World Cup, which expire on August 1. Winning their two New Zealand games will be a strong argument for new contracts when they return to South Africa.
GOLF SENIORS HEAD FOR UK
SOUTH African senior golfers leave on July 26 for Test matches against Ireland and Scotland. Qualifiers may end up in the British Senior Amateur and British Open championships.
The team is Errol Mills (c), Rhinus van Niekerk, Roydon Pybus, Errol Todd, Tony Godycki, George Adelaine, Comrie du Toit and Mike Kerby.
BLAND WITHDRAWS FROM OPEN
JOHN BLAND, who came second in the 1997 US Senior Open, has withdrawn from the 1998 competition because his wife is ill, and is to return to his home in South Africa.
SCHEEPERS COULD GO FOR TITLE
NAAS SCHEEPERS (27), who was narrowly defeated by WBU junior welterweight champion Shea Neary in Liverpool on Tuesday, may soon have another shot at a world title. Scheepers, the South African lightweight champion, could soon go up against World Boxing Organisation champion Italian Giovanni Parisi, or the French World Boxing Association title-holder, Khalid Rahilou. Scheepers lost on points, 117-111, 116-112 and 116-112 on Tuesday, spending too much time leaning on the ropes late in the fight.