In their World Cup run, South Africa are playing Russian roulette — with two bullets chambered. Bafana Bafana’s progress to the World Cup is now an ambition rather than a certainty after losing lead of the group to Ghana. Although both teams have 15 points, Ghana’s position at the top is not just down to alphabetical order or goal difference.
Nowhere else in the world do national teams play two games in the space of 24 hours. But that is what is expected of the winning semifinalists in the Confederations of Southern African Football Association (Cosafa) Cup. Defending champions Angola take on Zimbabwe in the first match on Saturday in Mmabatho.
Traditionally, Orlando Pirates have not done well in knockout cup competitions — but how long can their fans go on without any trophies? The last time the Buccaneers won a competitive cup was the BP Top 8 in 2000. That competition has been replaced by the SAA Supa 8, which kicks off this weekend.
The Premier Soccer League (PSL) season, which gets into full swing this weekend, will be a gruelling one — particularly in the run-up to Christmas. Each of the 16 top division clubs must complete 20 league games and two domestic knockout cup competitions by December 22.
For soccer fans it is a fun day out at the start of the season, but for many others the Telkom Charity Cup means a lot more. Twenty years have passed since the inception of the Charity Cup, which is the national sport’s way of helping children, the aged, orphans, the infirm and disabled.
”Every day and night I battle with my emotions about whether Bafana Bafana should qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany next year. I am a staunch supporter of Bafana Bafana … But I don’t want to cry any more. I believe the team has lost all of its old traits,” writes Ntuthuko Maphumulo.
South Africa will host the football World Cup five years from now. But, looking at what Germany has achieved a full year before it hosts the 2006 event, we have to meet a number of challenges urgently. The Germans have been preparing for the tournament for the past four years and that was evident during the Confederations Cup.
The hour has finally come for Bafana Bafana to step up a gear in their final round of World and African Nations Cup qualifiers. South Africa meet Cape Verde, who lie second behind them, in Praia, Cape Verde, on Saturday. The preparations for this match did not go according to plan, as the players arrived for training in dribs and drabs.
The curtain has fallen on the Premier Soccer League (PSL), but for the four teams in the promotion-Ârelegation play-offs, the season has just intensified. Manning Rangers, who averted automatic relegation from the premiership, this weekend enter the first round of their quest to retain a place in the top flight against aspirants from the Mvela Golden League teams (Hellenic, Classic and Durban Stars).
A football era has come to an end with the relegation of Wits University from the Premier Soccer League (PSL) — a first in the club’s history. Wits narrowly escaped the drop in the 1996/97 season when they beat Jomo Cosmos in their last game. They are renowned as a breeding ground by the glamorous PSL teams.