Mali can now breathe easily. Some observers had thought that despite their solid rearguard, the Eagles would struggle at the FIFA U-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015, largely because of a lack of threat going forward. As it turned out, Adama Traore - seen by many as the side's great hope - confounded those expectations by scoring the vital first goal late on in his side's opening 2-0 win over Mexico.

El Tri had piled on the pressure, with Hirving Lozano flying down the flanks and Alejandro Diaz doing his best leading the line, but their efforts were not rewarded. A yellow wall marshalled by captain Ichaka Diarra halted their every advance. So far, so predictable: after all, Mali booked their ticket to New Zealand after conceding just once in the group stage of the CAF African U-20 Championship. 

Online registration for the annual Econet Victoria Falls marathon will close on June 12, about a fortnight before the Association of International Marathon and Distance Races-registered event gets underway.The meet, which is set to attract local, regional and international athletes, will be held on June 28 in the country’s premier resort town.

Aeneas Nhoro, the National Athletics Association of Zimbabwe (Naaz) first vice-president for development, said they were expecting a huge turnout for this year’s event.


The marathon has previously been dominated by Nkosiyazi Sibanda of Blanket Mine, who has won it four times. Last year, Sibanda romped home in 2 hours, 21 minutes 40; in 2013 (2hrs 54 min 44 sec) and 2012 (2hrs 23 min 25 sec).

A stoppage-time penalty from Yaw Yeboah has denied Austria the first big upset of New Zealand 2015, snatching Ghana a 1-1 draw from the jaws of defeat. The 2009 champions had looked set to emerge empty-handed against superior Group B opponents who had earlier taken the lead through Bernd Gschweidl.

Despite some unpleasant weather conditions in rain-soaked Wellington, both sides contributed to an open and entertaining encounter. Ghana were the first to threaten, with captain Joseph Bempah attempting a spectacular effort from the angle of the penalty area that was swerving towards the top corner before Tino Casali got across to divert it wide.

At the other end, Bempah's opposite number and fellow captain, Lukas Gugganig, was soon serving notice of Austria's intentions. The Red Bull Salzburg star made the sweetest of connections with a ferociously struck 30-yard shot and was only thwarted by an equally stunning tip-over from Lawrence Ati produces an equally stunning save to tip it over. 

Lahore -- Return of international cricket to Pakistan might have been fraught with threat of violence, but the first ODI in the country in six years brought about the most non-violent 375 you could imagine, setting up a 41-run win. In an incredibly cool and calculated innings, hardly a shot was hit in anger as Azhar Ali, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik and Haris Sohail chipped and chopped an innocuous attack to the highest total in Pakistan. However, the thinness of Pakistan’s attack, the flatness of the pitch and the fact that Zimbabwe’s batting is much stronger than their bowling, became apparent in the chase with bowlers other than Wahab Riaz never looking like taking a wicket. Elton Chigumbura scored a chanced century, Hamilton Masakadza a 50, but the chase only kicked into life towards the end, by which time the asking rate had reached 15 an over, a task too tall with four Riaz overs to contend with.

With Mohammad Sami and Anwar Ali struggling with the ball, Pakistan will be thankful their batsmen posted the total they did. This was the first time their top four all scored at least 50, and the first Pakistan innings to feature two 150-run stands. Malik’s 112 off 76 was his fastest century. Pakistan hit 35 fours and 10 sixes in all, but that masked the lack of frenetic hitting and powerful strokes you associate such big scores with.

The 2015 Track season is heating up fast and the big name athletes are complimenting the growing season with spectacular performances and that is what Cote D’Ivoire’s Muriel Ahoure did on Saturday  in Eugene, Oregon at the Nike Prefontaine Classic with one of her best ever performance in the 100 meters as she tied for first place with Jamaica’s Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce with a world leading time of 10.81 seconds, beating a loaded field of top level global women sprinters that included her compatriot African, Blessing  Okagbare-Ighoteguonor of Nigeria who a week earlier dominated a similar field herself in Shanghai China to win her seasons first major race.

Ahoure who has been sporting a new hairstyle is one of Africa’s top two women sprinters who on Saturday set a new personal best and a new Cote D’Ivoire Record in the 100 meters of 10. 81 seconds. She has been very consistent and is a major contender for medals and top finishes at major races around the world amongst her peers of top level women sprinters in the world whenever she competes.

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Chaired by FIFA President Blatter, the FIFA Executive Committee held its first meeting in its new composition today at the Home of FIFA in Zurich.

In his opening remarks, FIFA President Blatter welcomed the new members of the FIFA Executive Committee. He reminded all those present that he was “the President of all member associations of FIFA”. He underlined again the landmark step taken by yesterday’s Congress regarding the situation in Israel and Palestine and, in particular, the handshake between the presidents of both associations, Jibril Al Rajoub and Ofer Eini, which he qualified as “historic”. The FIFA President also reiterated that a professional football department would be created at FIFA. 

In view of the forthcoming IAAF Elections, the IAAF is pleased to publish the official list of candidates proposed by the IAAF Member Federations.

Elections will take place on the first day of the 50th IAAF Congress scheduled to be held in Beijing, China on Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 August 2015.

Registration for delegates takes place on Tuesday 18 August with the Opening Ceremony and Dinner in the evening.

Click here go to the IAAF website and download the candidate list.

There will be eight debutants at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™, when Cameroon, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland and Thailand play their first games on women's football's biggest stage.

As a result of the field expanding from 16 teams to 24 sides for Canada 2015, fresh blood was always going to be introduced to this Women's World Cup and now one third of all teams playing will be making their tournament debuts.

The Netherlands are the first debutant to take the field when they take on New Zealand at Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium on 6 June. 

May 29, 2015 - Lausanne, Switzerland – After the initial Pre-Ranking Competitions, the historical first Cycle of AIBA Pro Boxing (APB) Matches will begin tomorrow, May 30, starting from holding its 60kg matches in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

The launch of APB Cycle I Round 1 will be a key moment for the sport of boxing bringing together the world’s top 90 boxers from all four corners of the world to compete in 10 weight categories which represents the pinnacle program at all levels of the sport of boxing.

“The launch of the APB Cycle I is a thrilling moment for the world boxing movement and the whole of sports worldwide. We are creating a truly global revolution in boxing and are providing to the world’s best boxers stable and transparent professional careers. This is a historical moment in many aspects as Cycle is the beginning of great boxing showcases with the skill and power of AIBA boxers with professional competition styles for the first time ever in global boxing realm”, said the AIBA President Dr Ching Kuo-Wu.

Incumbent FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter was re-elected for a fifth term of office by the 65th FIFA Congress held in Zurich today. After the first ballot (206 valid votes, 133 for Joseph S. Blatter, 73 for HRH Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein), HRH Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein addressed the Congress to announce that he was “withdrawing from the race”. At the beginning of the proceedings, the Congress had confirmed that all 209 FIFA member associations were entitled to vote.

After his re-election, Joseph S. Blatter stated: “First, I want to congratulate HRH Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein. He obtained a very good result. Then, I want to thank you for the trust and confidence. I take the responsibility to bring back FIFA where it should be. And I promise you: at the end of my term, I will give FIFA in a very strong position. Let’s go FIFA!”

He continued by saying: “We need more respect for the Oceanian confederation. And although I agree that we don’t touch the FIFA World Cup, we need more balance for the FIFA youth tournaments. We also need more women in the football institutions.”

Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula on Thursday addressed the allegations that South Africa paid roughly R120 million ($10million) to secure the hosting rights to the Fifa 2010 World Cup.

The biggest scandal to have ever rocked the football world came to light on Wednesday after US officials arrested a number of Fifa executives in Zurich, Switzerland, for their alleged involvement in corruption worth millions of dollars.

Among the allegations in the US investigation, is that the South African government paid a bribe to Fifa executives Jack Warner and Chuck Blazer ahead of its successful bid for the 2010 World Cup.

CRICKET SOUTH AFRICA (CSA) today named four uncapped players in the Test match format in the Castle Lager Proteas squad for the two-match series in Bangladesh in July and August.

They are the Knights opening batsman, Reeza Hendricks, Nashua Cape Cobras wicketkeeper, Dane Vilas, and the bizhub Highveld Lions duo of spinner, Aaron Phangiso, and fast bowler, Kagiso Rabada.


All four have previously represented the Proteas in the limited overs formats.


“The changes have been brought about partly by the retirement of Alviro Petersen and the non-availability of AB de Villiers who has been granted paternity leave,” explained CSA selection convener, Andrew Hudson. “Reeza and Stiaan van Zyl are both options to open the batting and Stiaan can also be used in AB’s batting position in the middle-order. Dane provides us with the wicketkeeping cover that would normally also be AB’s responsibility.

Emmanuel Mavala starts at lock while Jacob Ojee, Darwin Mukidza and Sammy Oliech are part of Jerome Paarwater's changed back three for this encounter with Peter Karia and Robert Aringo starting off the bench and also in line for their test debuts should they fielded as the match proceeds.


Brian Nyikuli takes over the captaincy from Wilson Kopondo who is unavailable for this fixture owing to academic commitments.


Addressing the press this morning, Team Manager Wangila Simiyu said, " We are using this match as a preparation for our Rugby Afrique match against Zimbabwe on 13th June. We have given an opportunity to some emerging players as we play against Portugal.

Some images are worth a thousand words. For example, the sight of the usually shy Sidy Sarr celebrating vigorously after his last-minute winner gave Senegal a 4-3 victory over Congo DR at the CAF African U-20 Championship on 14 March.

After sliding home a left-footed finish, the Lion Cubs midfielder ripped off his shirt and sprinted towards the home fans at Dakar's Leopold Sedar Senghor stadium, while the crowd erupted with joy. Reliving this moment in conversation with FIFA.com almost three months on was enough to coax Sarr out of his shell again: "It was a goal that we needed, plain and simple," he said, smiling.

This is no exaggeration. The hosts had been trailing 3-2 as late as the 88th minute until their No8 equalised with a powerful right-footed strike. Three minutes later up popped Sarr once again, this time with his other boot, to clinch Senegal's maiden win at the tournament and book their place at their first-ever FIFA U-20 World Cup. 

The awarding of the 2010 Soccer World Cup to South Africa will be investigated as part of the United States Department of Justice’s probe into corruption, bribery and kickbacks among top FIFA officials.

A number of FIFA executives were arrested in Zurich, Switzerland, on Wednesday for their alleged involvement in corruption worth millions.

According reports in the media those arrested include Jeffrey Webb, Eugenio Figueredo, Jack Warner, Eduardo Li, Julio Rocha, Costas Takkas, Rafael Esquivel, José Maria Marin and Nicolás Leoz.

It was reported sports-marketing executives Alejandro Burzaco, Aaron Davidson, Hugo Jinkis and Mariano Jinkis would also be charged.

Bafana Bafana...............0

Malawi..........................0

(Malawi wins 5-4 on penalties)

27 May 2015 - Malawi beat Bafana Bafana 5-4 on penalties in the COSAFA Cup plate semi-finals stage at Royal Bafokeng on Wednesday night, again South Africa paying the price for failing to convert numerous chances during normal time.

Despite dominating most of the proceedings during normal time, it was the same story for the home side as the forwards took turns to spurn the few chances that came their way.

Zurich, 28 May 2015 - The Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) opposes any postponement of the 65th FIFA Congress and the election for the presidency scheduled for 29 May 2015 in Zurich.

 

At the confederation meeting held on Wednesday, 27 May 2015 in Zurich, CAF reiterated its support for the candidacy of incumbent Joseph Sepp Blatter during the election.

 

It should be noted that CAF is following with particular attention the events happening in the football family at this time.

NEW YORK (Wednesday, May 27, 2015) – Major league Soccer today launched fan voting for the 2015 AT&T MLS All-Star Game at www.MLSsoccer.com.

Media members nominated a total of 160 players to the fan ballot. Fans may vote online HERE and via social media (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram) following the instructions HERE through July 3 at 3 p.m. ET. Eleven players – one goalkeeper, three defenders, four midfielders and three forwards – with the highest combined votes will be named to the All-Star Fan XI.

The 11th player – a forward – will be determined by the AT&T/EA SPORTS™ “More Than a Vote” Challenge. Fans have the opportunity to vote one forward into the 2015 AT&T MLS All-Star Game by scoring goals in EA SPORTS FIFA 15 on Xbox One, PlayStation®4, Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system, and the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. The forward with the most votes – one goal equals one vote – on July 3 will occupy the final forward spot on the All-Star Fan XI. 

Clare Connor: “These are unprecedented times for women’s cricket in terms of volume of cricket” 

The International Cricket Council (ICC) today announced the schedule of the ICC Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier 2015, which will take place in Bangkok, Thailand, from 28 November to 5 December.

 

Eight sides will go head to head in the week-long tournament with the two finalists joining reigning champion Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies in the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016, which will be staged alongside the men’s event from 11 March to 3 April 2016.

Following yesterday‘s decisions and further clarification, and on the basis of investigations carried out by the investigatory chamber of the Ethics Committee and the latest facts presented by the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, the chairman of the adjudicatory chamber of the Ethics Committee, Hans-Joachim Eckert, today provisionally banned the official Aaron Davidson from carrying out any football-related activities at national and international level. The decision was taken at the request of the chairman of the investigatory chamber, Dr Cornel Borbély, based on art. 83 par.1 of the FIFA Code of Ethics. 

NEW YORK, NY (Wednesday, May 27, 2015) – The MLS Disciplinary Committee has suspended Seattle Sounders FC assistant equipment manager Brett Johnson one game and fined him an undisclosed amount for violating the League’s policy on entering the field/leaving the bench area in the 64th minute of Seattle’s match against Sporting Kansas City on May 23, 2015. 

Match brings together top upcoming talent; first 2,000 attendees to receive limited edition scarf

NEW YORK (Tuesday, May 26, 2015) – Major League Soccer today announced that the MLS Homegrown Team will face Club América’s U-20 squad in the second annual Chipotle MLS Homegrown Game. The match will be held on Tuesday, July 28 at 7:00 p.m. MT at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park – home of the Colorado Rapids – as a prelude to the 2015 AT&T MLS All-Star Game the following night. The first 2,000 fans in attendance will receive a free limited edition scarf. 

Tickets may be purchased by CLICKING HERE and include entrance to both the 2015 Chipotle MLS Homegrown Game as well as the MLS WORKS/Special Olympics Unified Sports All-Star Soccer Match being held immediately prior on the game field at 5:00 p.m. MT.

Avaya Stadium to host next year’s mid-summer showcase 

SAN JOSE (May 28, 2015) – Major League Soccer announced today that San Jose, California will host the 2016 AT&T MLS All-Star Game.  The 21st annual mid-summer showcase will feature several days of festivities culminating in a match between the League’s top players and a prestigious international club at Avaya Stadium, the brand new, state-of-the-art home of the San Jose Earthquakes.

 

The match, which will be played in the summer of 2016, will be broadcast live on the ESPN, Univision, TSN, and RDS family of networks, as well as to more than 100 countries worldwide via MLS’ international broadcast partners.

Kia Ora! Welcome to New Zealand – the first country in the world to see the sun’s dazzling smile each day, and one that will capture the attention of the footballing world over the next three weeks. With the 20th edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup now almost upon us, there are no limits to either the hospitality of the cordial Kiwis or the high-quality football that will soon be on offer as some of the beautiful game’s future stars take their bow on the world stage.

In the footsteps of Messi and Co.
The curtain will finally rise on FIFA’s most important youth tournament when the hotly anticipated Opening Match between the hosts and Ukraine kicks off in Auckland on Saturday at 13:00 local time. Driven by the ambition to make a name for themselves on the international stage, 504 of the world’s most talented youngsters are preparing to launch a bid for this coveted trophy. Seized by a thirst for adventure and a desire to write an indelible chapter in footballing history, the tournament’s 24 teams are ready to battle it out to succeed reigning champions France and claim the trophy. 

After months of preparations, Canada is ready. The stadiums are geared for action, tickets are selling fast  – so all that remains now is for the players themselves to get the festivities under way at the FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015™. A total of 552 players will grace the global event, with each of the 24 teams announcing squads of 23 which were officially unveiled on FIFA.com today. And, glancing over the lists, the sheer calibre of the talent involved has only bolstered the sense of anticipation.

Starting at the top with the holders, Japan have been given a boost with the inclusion of Homare Sawa, having faced an agonising wait to see if the 2011 FIFA Women's World Player of the Year would be available after an injury-ravaged season. At 36, Sawa will be contesting her sixth finals – a record in both the men's and women's game that she sets along with Formiga of Brazil. Formiga, meanwhile, will be joined in Canada by Marta, who will be making her fourth trip to a World Cup – fewer times than she has won world player of the year awards.