Moroka Swallows MD Leon Prins on Monday described weekend reports that the Birds’ multimillionaire majority shareholder Dieter Bock was poised to sell his interests in the Soweto Premier Soccer League club as ”a lot of hogwash”. ”We are here to stay,” was the message from a noticeably incensed Prins.
It’s a choice any coach would welcome: When Ronaldo returns, which of Brazil’s soccer stars should he replace? It’s the decision Carlos Alberto Parreira will have to make — and it got tougher on Sunday when Brazil’s improvised front line led a steamroller offence that routed Paraguay 4-1 in a World Cup qualifier.
Star Springbok lock Victor Matfield and winger Breyton Paulse cut lonely figures at Monday afternoon’s training session at Selborne College. Springbok chief coach Jake White announced on Monday that Matfield had been forced to withdraw from the side to play Uruguay in East London on Saturday.
Edwin van der Sar has vowed to become Manchester United’s new Peter Schmeichel and put them back on top of English football. The former Juventus and Ajax goalkeeper has agreed a two-year contract at Old Trafford, who have tried 10 ‘keepers since Schmeichel left in 1999 after the treble-winning season.
Samoan coach Michael Jones said on Tuesday the gap between rugby’s rich and poor nations is extending ever further and that he is dismayed over the official indifference to the plight of the sport in the Pacific Islands. Jones is preparing his team for Saturday’s one-off international with Australia in Sydney and is looking to show what Samoan rugby can offer the rugby world.
Cautious buyers and market saturation is contributing to a slowdown at the top end of the residential property market, with houses priced over R2-million staying unsold for longer, First National Bank chief economist Cees Bruggemans said on Tuesday.
South African financial services group African Life Assurance Company on Tuesday reported a 37% increase in headline earnings per share to 244,2 cents for the year ended March 31, from 178,4 cents a year ago. A strong performance from African Life Health helped increase operating profit by 28% to R226,7-million.
Although the South African Chamber of Business’s (Sacob) business confidence index (BCI) eased for the third consecutive month, the May level of 127 was little changed from the readings in April, March and February. Sacob said this could imply that the BCI has reached a plateau from which it may drift downwards.
With a month to go, Paris remains the city to beat in the race for the 2012 Olympics. The French capital solidified its front-runner status on Monday, receiving a glowing review in an IOC report evaluating the five cities in the most competitive and glamorous field in Olympic bid history.
A little-known massacre at a village where residents tried to assassinate Saddam Hussein in 1982 will be the focus of the first case in the trial of the former Iraqi president. Dozens of people were killed in reprisal after the president’s convoy was fired on as it drove through Dujail, a farming village about 65km north of Baghdad.