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/ 15 February 2008
Sport Minister Makhenkesi Stofile’s attack against former Springbok rugby players is an attempt to distract attention from the government’s ”transgression of international sports regulations”, AfriForum said on Friday. Stofile on Thursday sharply criticised AfriForum after a group of former Springbok rugby players called for an end to ”racial discrimination in rugby”.
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/ 14 February 2008
Sport and Recreation Minister Makhenkesi Stofile on Thursday slammed the ”re-emergence of the erstwhile ambassadors of apartheid” in South African rugby. Stofile was responding to a public campaign calling for an end to political interference in the sport.
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/ 13 February 2008
South Africa has been plunged into a fresh debate over the racial make-up of its sports teams 14 years after the country emerged from apartheid. As the cricket squad prepared on Wednesday to fly to Bangladesh after a furious row over the dearth of black players in its line-up, white rugby legends protested against government pressure on selectors to put colour ahead of ability
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/ 10 February 2008
The turmoil at the top of South African cricket deepened on Sunday when the board’s chief executive overruled a move to sack coach Mickey Arthur as a selector in a row over racial quotas. Arthur was removed from the selection panel on Saturday at a meeting of Cricket South Africa’s general council.
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/ 8 February 2008
South African Rugby Union (Saru) deputy president Mike Stofile faces questions after Saru’s audit committee found he had no mandate to discuss the future of former Bulls coach Heyneke Meyer with him. Stofile, who has ambitions to defeat president Oregan Hoskins at Saru’s presidential elections next month, met Meyer on January 22 in Johannesburg.
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/ 18 January 2008
The aftermath of the bitter contest for African National Congress (ANC) leadership has spilled over to the 2010 Soccer World Cup local organising committee (LOC) boardroom. The ANC Youth League, which helped Jacob Zuma defeat Thabo Mbeki for party presidency, now wants Mbeki’s confidant, Minister in the Presidency Essop Pahad, out of the LOC.
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/ 21 December 2007
Sport and Recreation Minister Makhenkesi Stofile spoke to Lucky Sindane about the new Sports Amendment Act, which allows government to intervene in all sporting matters. He said that once the playing grounds have been levelled, our children will start from the same starter blocks with an equal preparation and opportunity to win.
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/ 5 December 2007
What does President Thabo Mbeki like to do in his spare time? Ballroom dancing? Playing the piano? No, the man likes to work during leisure hours, says his spokesperson. As the ruling party’s national conference in Polokwane approaches members of the South African Cabinet certainly need ways to unwind.
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/ 8 November 2007
Transformation in sport has to happen in the shortest period of time, but not at the expense of any South African athletes, President Thabo Mbeki said on Thursday. With true transformation, as a country, South Africa could become an even greater force in world sport, he said.
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/ 7 November 2007
Sports and Recreation Minister Makhenkesi Stofile ruled out racial quotas for national teams on Tuesday after the mainly white Springboks’ recent victory in the Rugby World Cup reignited the debate over transformation. ”Quotas are out,” Stofile told a parliamentary sports committee. ”Let us put our resources into the development of talent.”
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/ 22 October 2007
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Hundreds of ecstatic rugby supporters are set to throng the arrivals hall at OR Tambo International Airport on Tuesday morning when the Springboks bring the Webb Ellis trophy home. The newly crowned world champions will be arriving from France on Tuesday at about 6.50am.
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/ 22 October 2007
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They may be the world champions, but the Springboks have few illusions that their new status will stave off a new push by the government to overhaul the team’s racial composition. Meanwhile, Springbok wing Bryan Habana was on Sunday named the International Rugby Board player of the year.
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/ 21 October 2007
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Pride and politics mixed on Sunday as South Africans celebrated their Rugby World Cup final win over England. Festivities continued through the night as South Africans packed fan parks and restaurants and filled the streets with honking cars draped with the national flag.
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/ 19 October 2007
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South Africa’s politicians are not immune to Rugby World Cup fever, with a fair number already in or on their way to Paris for Saturday’s final against England at the Stade de France. Leading the way, President Thabo Mbeki left for France on Friday morning, sporting his Springbok jersey and cap.
The Premier Soccer League (PSL) has expressed disappointment with Finance Minister Trevor Manuel for involving himself in its affairs and has written to Sports Minister Makhenkesi Stofile, asking him to intervene, the South African Broadcasting Corporation reported on Monday.
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/ 12 September 2007
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The inaugural Twenty20 World Championship is taking South Africa by storm, thrilling fans who are drawn to the exhilarating speed of the high-octane game where anything can happen. The dazzling opening of the 12-nation tournament in Johannesburg on Tuesday saw the 33Â 000 capacity Wanderers stadium overflowing as fans ”rocked the house, T20 style”.
South African rugby this week found itself once again dancing to the strains of a political orchestra