St George's Park in Port Elizabeth could become a special ground for Castle Lager Proteas batsman, Temba Bavuma, if he makes his debut in the second Sunfoil Test against the West Indies starting on Boxing Day. Bavuma made his first-class debut for Gauteng against Eastern Province in 2008 and could come full circle if he is handed a Test cap on Friday morning.

"I'm looking forward to the prospect of making my debut at St Georges Park," he said to the media on Wednesday afternoon in Port Elizabeth. "I think if I remember correctly, this is the same ground where I made my first-class debut so I think it would be nice if I made my debut for the national side."

The team environment has given the 24-year-old a smooth introduction to international cricket, and possibly the best platform to excel as a youngster.

Avram Grant achieved surprising international attention as replacement for Jose Mourinho after his first stint as Chelsea manager in 2007, but the 59-year-old manager's coaching history stretches back over four decades. The former Israel, Portsmouth, West Ham United and Partizan Belgrade boss was appointed to lead Ghana into the upcoming CAF Africa Cup of Nations in November, and he recently spoke to FIFA.com about the challenges for the Black Stars, his expectations and the continental finals in Equatorial Guinea, which begins on 17 January.

FIFA.com: You have been tasked to 'do well' at the AFCON. Is the team capable of achieving that goal?
Avram Grant: I will be as happy as anybody when we are scoring goals and winning games, and I will be as sad as anyone when we are losing games. We want to do well in Equatorial Guinea, and as a coach I need to be very focused until the final moment and that is what will happen at the competition.

Ghana national team player Samuel Inkoom has expressed his disappointment in the poor standard of journalism being practiced by a section of individuals in the Ghanaian sports media.

 

The DC United right back said recent stories in the Ghanaian media surrounding his alleged trade to another Major League Soccer (MLS) team — Houston Dynamo — have been factually inaccurate.

 

"It was drawn to my attention that on December 28, 2014, some websites in Ghana had publications about me which stated that my agent is unaware of a transfer involving me. This is simply not true", Inkoom said.

Australia captain Steven Smith has led the batsmen’s charge in the latest Reliance ICC Player Rankings for Test Batsmen following the conclusion of Boxing Day Tests.

 

New Zealand defeated Sri Lanka by eight wickets in Christchurch, while Australia and India Test in Melbourne and South Africa and West Indies Test in Port Elizabeth ended in draws.

 

Smith, who scored a Test best 192 in the first innings, has gained two places to claim fifth spot for the first time in his career. He now trails number-one ranked AB de Villiers, who has regained the top spot from Kumar Sangakkara, by 40 ratings points.

Lausanne, 23 December 2014--The new website of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has been launched. The site has been redesigned and updated to help users find information more easily and will feature, for the first time, the possibility for parties and counsel to file their submissions electronically.

www.tas-cas.org

From the centre bar, users can find information grouped by theme such as arbitration, medication, or jurisprudence. The sub-menus take the user to the key information on each theme.

The content of the site has also been renewed and updated. Users will find additional CAS jurisprudence available under the “Recent decisions” section as well as in the archive database.

Lausanne, December 2014—The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has dismissed the appeal filed by FC Barcelona against the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) regarding the decision issued by the FIFA Appeals Committee on 19, August 2014. In such decision, the Spanish football club was sanctioned with a transfer ban for two periods, a fine CHF 450,000 and a reprimand after it was found to have infringed the FIFA regulations with respect to the registration of a number of minor players.

In appealing to the CAS, FC Barcelona sought to annul the FIFA decision. The parties agreed to an expedited procedure and a hearing was held at the CAS headquarters on 5 December 2014 where the CAS Panel in charge of the matter (Prof. Petros Mavriodis, Greece, (President), Mr. Efraim Barak, Israel, and Prof. Ulrich Haas, Germany) heard the parties, their representatives and their witnesses.

There is a tendency in every FIFA World Cup™ year to recall little beyond the winners and the most sparkling performances at the finals. Looked at in those terms, 2014 could seem something of a disappointment for African football, with only two sides reaching the Round of 16 in Brazil and neither advancing to the quarter-finals. Scratch beneath the surface, though, and the last 12 months have served up undeniable excitement across the continent, both at club and international level, with some of Africa's keenest talents shining brightly. FIFA.com looks back over the highlights.


Brazil 2014: Algeria and Nigeria impress
Rabah Madjer and Lakhdar Belloumi are both genuine icons of the Algerian game and African legends, but even they would have to admit that their achievements were surpassed in 2014 as Les Fennecs reached a World Cup knockout phase for the first time. "Ever since I've played for the national side, people have always talked to me about that generation," midfielder Medhi Lacen told FIFA.com.

Gabonese midfielder Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Nigeria goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama and Ivorian midfieder Yaya Toure have made the final top three for the 2014 African Player of the Year.

 

The trio made the cut following votes from Head Coaches or Technical Directors of the National Associations affiliated to CAF. Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan and Ahmed Musa of Nigeria failed to make the final list.

 

For the African Player of the Year (Based in Africa), Algerian duo, Akram Djahnit and El Hedi Belamieri are in contention with DR Congo forward Firmin Mubele Ndombe.

28 December 2014 – Bafana Bafana held their first training session of the mini-training camp on Sunday, 28 December.

The session took place at the AW Muller Stadium, University of Johannesburg with 27 players taking part in the training session where they played a match amongst themselves. All the players already in camp are locally-based.

Bafana Bafana are in camp ahead of the CAF Orange Africa Cup of Nations Equatorial Guinea 2015 tournament which starts next month (17 January – 8 February 2015).

The training camp started on Friday, 26 December.

Cameroon will begin preparations for the Orange Africa Cup of Nations on Monday, 5 January 2015 in Yaounde, the Cameroon Football Federation has announced.

 

Twenty-four (24) players have been summoned by German-born trainer Volker Finke for the exercise. On Wednesday, 7 January 2015, the Indomitable Lions will face DR Congo in a test match at the CAF Centre of Excellence in Mbankomo, located on the outskirts of Yaounde.

 

On Thursday, 8 January 2015; the team will travel to Libreville, Gabon for the final phase of preparations for the tournament. Three days later, they will be up against South Africa in a friendly in the Gabonese capital before wrapping up with their final test match on Wednesday, 14 January 2015 against a yet-to-be determined side.

At the start of 2014, even the most optimistic Algerian football supporters could never have imagined the dream year they were about to enjoy, particularly at the FIFA World Cup™ in Brazil. After having qualified by the skin of their teeth via a play-off versus Burkina Faso, the Algeria surprised the watching world by reaching the knockout phase of the prestigious tournament for the first time in their history.

Les Fennecs’ opening fixture in South America was disappointing, however, as they failed to hang on to a lead against a strong Belgium side, eventually going down 2-1. But while heads may have dropped in less resilient teams, the North Africans dug deep to defeat Korea Republic 4-2 in their second outing, becoming the first African team to score four goals on football’s greatest stage. Their hopes of progressing therefore rested on their third Group H game against Russia, during which a goal from Islam Slimani proved sufficient to earn a point and secure a maiden Round-of-16 qualification for Vahid Halilhodzic’s men.

The Sierra Leone National Sports council has endorsed and approved the football stakeholders December 20th resolution in which they dissolved the Isha Johansen led Executive and setup an Interim Executive that will run the affairs of the Sierra Leone Football Association (SLFA).

 

In a letter dated December 23rd which was signed by the Acting Director of Sports, Mr. Saidu B Mansaray, the council stated that they approved and endorsed the decision because it was in accordance with the SLFA constitution. 

Cairo, Egypt, December 21, 2014 - The African Volleyball Confederation (CAVB) will have a busy year in 2015 with a calendar full of continental events and teams participating in FIVB competitions at all levels.

The 2015 CAVB Calendar includes 11 volleyball events at age-group, senior and FIVB levels in addition to Olympic qualifiers for the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games. The beach volleyball calendar includes the different phases of the CAVB Continental Cup, which also act as Olympic qualifiers, as well as the first ever African qualifiers for the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships in the Netherlands.

Tunisia hosts the Boys Youth African Nations Championship from January 19 to 26, and afterwards Egypt will organise both the Men's U21 and Women's U20 African Nations Championships from February 24 to March 2.

The Ebola Virus has again hit Sierra Leone sports adversely and this time it has forced organizers of the traditional Boxing Day athletics sports meet to cancel the event.

This is the first time in 10 years that the annual sports meets will not be staged in the country since the war years.

According to the Technical Director of Sierra Leone Athletics Association (SLAA) Harold Palmer the decision to call off the annual even came after a meeting by the associations and clubs officials.

He said because of the state of emergency in the country, they have decided to obey the government’s call and to compliment the efforts of the government in the fight against Ebola.

The International Cricket Council today confirmed that an independent analysis has found the bowling action of Zimbabwe’s Malcolm Waller to be illegal and, as such, the off-spinner has been suspended from bowling in international cricket with immediate effect.

 

The analysis revealed that all of his off-spin deliveries exceeded the 15 degrees level of tolerance permitted under the regulations.

Waller was reported after the second Test against Bangladesh in Khulna last month. The analysis was performed by the ICC’s accredited team of Human Movement Specialists at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria on 7 December.

Manchester City Fan club, British Telecom and Greater Manchester City Police Force based in the United Kingdom have joined Manchester City FC (SL) to help fight the Ebola Virus in the country.

 

The Chief Executive Officer of Man City FC (SL), Armani Sheku Kamara who on Tuesday donated medical equipment to the Moeba Community Health Centre said the gesture was in response to President Koroma’s call to scale up effort in the fight against the Ebola scourge.

 

“Medical workers have suffered from this deadly virus and Manchester City Fan Club, British Telecom and Manchester City Police Force have thought it fit to help with their little contribution in complementing the government in the fight against the deadly virus in the country.  

Sierra Leone’s Premier League side, East End Lions may not compete in the preliminary round of the 2015 CAF Champions League due to several reasons not related to the football wrangling at SLFA and the health issue in the country.

The Sierra Leone representative to the CAF competition; East End Lions have been drawn against Asante Kotoko of Ghana and the two sides are expected to come face to face on the weekend of 13th , 14th , and 15th of February 2014 with second leg clash scheduled for the 27th, 28th February and 1st March 2015.

The Secretary General of the East End Lions, Abdul Rahman Davies in a defiant mood said they will not be competing in the continental showpiece and refused to comment further. 

COSAFA duo, South Africa and Zambia have been drawn together for the Orange Africa U-20 Championship Senegal 2015 that runs 8-22 March.

 

The only two teams from Southern Africa were housed together in Group B alongside Ghana and Mali during the draw of the championship held on Sunday, 21 December 2014 in Cairo, Egypt.



CAF General Secretary, Hicham El Amrani conducted the draw and was assisted by CAF Executive Committee member, Amadou Diakite, who doubles as President of the Organising Committee of the African U-20 Championship.

Cairo, Egypt, December 18, 2014 - CAVB President Dr Amr Elwani opened the Zone Presidents' Meeting on Thursday by sending greetings and appreciations from FIVB President Dr. Ary S. Graça F° for the work done by the zones as pillar for the confederation work.

“This meeting should be a regular one as all the confederation activities will be held through the zones including the qualifications for the continental championships or the FIVB and international competitions,” CAVB President Dr Amr Elwani said in his opening speech.





“We hope to cooperate together to arrange our busy calendar for 2015 because we have to follow the new instructions of the FIVB regarding the international competition calendar. The financial allocations for the zone have been much increased in the last few years owing to the increased activities of volleyball and beach volleyball competitions held in each part of the continent.”

Concluding a momentous year, FIFA recently wrapped up a two-day seminar in December in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia, with representatives of 18 east-African national associations. The event, organised with the participation of KPMG Zürich, FIFA’s central auditor, capped a two-year commitment by FIFA to support its member associations in their adaptation to new governance principles, and to FIFA’s new general regulations for development programmes.

At the 2012 and 2013 congresses, when FIFA officially announced to its 209 member associations the new governing framework for its development activities, it also pledged to accompany its members with dedicated information and support.

FIFA then went on to organize 12 information seminars – which concluded this year – and proposed specific activities for those members for which the transition would be the most challenging. 

Hosts Niger will face northern neighbours Nigeria in the opening match of the 11th African U-17 Championship which runs from 15 February to 1 March 2015.

 

The Menas were drawn against the Golden Eaglets in Group A for the draw of the 11th edition of the biennial championship held on Sunday, 21 December 2014 in Cairo, Egypt. Guinea and Zambia are the other teams in Group A.

 

CAF General Secretary, Hicham El Amrani conducted the draw and was assisted by CAF Executive Committee member, Mohamed Raouaroaua, who doubles as President of the Organising Committee of the African U-17 Championship. 

Cairo, Egypt, December 18, 2014- The format and dates of the African Olympic qualifications for Rio de Janeiro 2016 was confirmed during the CAVB Zone presidents' Meeting held in Cairo, Egypt on Thursday headed by CAVB President Dr Amr Elwani.

The zone presidents proposed to start the procedure with zonal qualifications during November and December 2015 from which 12 teams will qualify from the zones as follows: 
• One team from zones 1 and 7 
• Two teams from zones 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6
Those teams will be added to the top three from the FIVB World Ranking as per January 2015 and the organiser of the final tournament, which will take place from January to March 2016 to make a total of 16 teams in the final tournament. The champions of the final tournament will earn the African ticket to the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games.

Following the draws of the 11th African U-17 Championship Niger 2015 and the 19th Orange CAF U-20 Championship Senegal 2015 held on Sunday, 21 December 2014 in Cairo, Egypt; Cafonline.com sampled the views of some officials of the qualified teams.

 

Below are the reactions;






El Hadj Tiemogo Ibrahim Moussa (General Secretary, Niger Football Federation)

It’s a difficult group because of all the teams we are the least experienced. All the other teams have experience at this level. It will be very hard for us (Niger) as host nation, but we will do our best. We will try at least to honour our country.

The praise heaped on Real Madrid by the team’s FIFA Club World Cup rivals before the tournament turned out to be justified. The hot favourites more than lived up to expectations in Morocco by winning their fourth trophy of 2014, making this the most successful calendar year in the club’s history.

The ruthless manner in which Madrid brushed the opposition aside may have had a familiar look to it – after all, Carlo Ancelotti’s men had conquered Europe in May by winning the UEFA Champions League for the tenth time. But the team’s current 22 game winning streak, the most recent of which came with a 2-0 victory over San Lorenzo in the final, has taken Los Merengues to another level. Madrid, who disappointed at their last appearance at the Club World Cup in 2000, will now make sure the trophy takes pride of place in the Santiagao Bernabeu cabinet. 

Lausanne, 21 Dec 2014 - Novosibirsk (Russia), Baku (Azerbaijan), Astana (Kazakhstan) and Foshan (China) hosted the 49 kg, 52 kg, 60 kg, 64 kg, 69 kg and 91+ kg APB Matches for Champions with the following results.

The Bantamweight category will compete on 15 January 2015 in Paris (France).


FLY 52 KG - FRIDAY, 19 DECEMBER (19:00 GMT+6)
Location: Novosibirsk – Venue: SKK Sever

Elias Emigdio (MEX) returned to APB for the Matches for Champions having recovered from the injury that kept him out of Round 2 of the Pre-Ranking Phase, and enjoyed an amazing win in a close match against the formerly undefeated Kazakh Ilyas Suleimenov who was ranked second.