News - AFRICAN SPORTS MONTHLY

Refugee athletes arrive for Rio 2016 with one dream: meet Usain Bolt

7/31/2016

The refugee athletes arrive at Rio International Airport after their flight from Kenya (Photo: Rio 2016/André Naddeo)

Five members of the Olympic Refugee Team, all athletes from South Sudan who live in Kenya, arrive in Rio de Janeiro
The world’s first Refugee Olympic Team (ROT), which will compete at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, is almost complete.

On Friday morning (29 July), five athletes from South Sudan, who today live in Kenya, arrived in Rio de Janeiro ahead of their participation in the athletics events at Rio 2016. One of them, Paulo Lokoro, who will compete in the 1500 metres has one dream in particular: to meet Jamaican sprint star Usain Bolt.

Injury concerns at SA u23 squad

7/31/2016

28 July 2016 – Striker Tashreeq Morris and midfielder Mothobi Mvala sat out training of the South African u23 Men’s National Team in Brasilia on Wednesday afternoon (27 July) due to light hamstring injuries.

The move was a precaution from the medical team with only eight days to go before the start of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

New Zealand defeat Banyana Banyana in an international friendly

7/31/2016

28 July 2016 – The South African Women’s Olympic Football Team suffered a 4-1 loss to New Zealand in an international friendly match played at Estadiu Luso Brasileiro – the home of Brazilian club Botafogo - in Rio de Janeiro.

The clash, which took place on Thursday, 28 July 2016, was used by both teams to as their final warm-up clash ahead of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games starting next week.

Olympic Games swan songs: 13 athletes aiming to bow out in style at Rio 2016

7/29/2016

USA swimmer Michael Phelps is looking to add to his collection of 22 Olympic medals at Rio 2016 (Photo: Getty Images/Ronald Martinez)

Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt and Lin Dan are among the big names looking to end their Olympic careers with a bang

Michael Phelps
The most decorated Olympian in history has pledged to hang up his swimming trunks after the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

Former Commonwealth diving champion elected to CGF Sports Committee for the Americas

7/29/2016

Canada’s Linda Cuthbert, Diving gold medalist at the Edmonton 1978 Commonwealth Games, has been elected as Sports Committee representative for the Americas region. Further to a regional vote called after Bermuda’s Philip Guishard stepped down from the role due to ill health, the position was contested by Linda Cuthbert (Canada) and Douglas Stanley (Bermuda). Following a request for nominations open to all seven Commonwealth Games Associations of the Americas region: Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Canada, Falkland Islands, Guyana and St Helena, Linda was chosen to represent the region.

Amazon Warriors qualify for Hero CPL knockouts with a win in Florida

7/29/2016

Guyana Amazon Warriors 168-7 (N Maddinson 50, D Smith 50, R Reifer 2 for 22) beat Barbados Tridents 142-7 (Shoaib Malik 55*, R Emrit 2 for 24) by six wickets with 10 balls to spare.

The Guyana Amazon Warriors have secured a spot in the knockout stages of the Hero Caribbean Premier League with a stunning victory over the Barbados Tridents in Lauderhill, Florida. In the historic first match for the Hero CPL in the USA the Amazon Warriors easily chased down their target of 143 with Dwayne Smith and Nic Maddinson both making fifties. Smith and Maddinson put on an opening stand that was worth 92 runs as the Amazon Warriors won by six wickets.

Usain Bolt promises 'history will be made' at Rio 2016 Olympic Games

7/29/2016

Bolt won gold well ahead of Justin Gatlin of the USA in the 200m final of the World Athletics Championships in Beijing last year (Photo: Getty Images/Patrick Smith)

Jamaican sprinter will race on Friday at London Anniversary Games to reach Olympic qualifying standard for the 200m
Will Usain Bolt keep his promises? At a packed press conference on Thursday (21 July) in London, Bolt vowed to once again defeat his biggest rival in the 100m and 200m events at Rio 2016, US sprinter Justin Gatlin, and to cap that triumph by breaking his own world record in the 200m.

The main man has landed: Usain Bolt touches down in Rio ahead of Olympic Games

7/29/2016

Bolt acknowledged fans and the media, but did not stop to speak (Photo: Rio 2016/Gabriel Nascimento)

Jamaican sprint superstar arrives on flight from London to start plotting his bid for an unprecedented 'triple-triple' at Rio 2016

Usain Bolt touched down in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday (27 July) night ahead of the Olympic Games in which he is expected to be the star attraction.

IOC president Thomas Bach shows off his samba feet in beach kickabout in Rio

7/29/2016

Silky skills: Bach keeps his eye on the ball as Leandro Damião looks on (Photo: Rio 2016/Miriam Jeske)

German juggles the ball on Barra beach with Flamengo star, Vasco coach and kids from social project – then takes penalties

Cloudy weather and a brisk wind could not stop Thomas Bach from enjoying himself as he took to Barra da Tijuca beach for a quick kickaround on Thursday (28 July) afternoon. The president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) looked delighted as he took turns juggling the ball with a group of local teenagers from a social project named Beach Generation Sport Centre (Centro Esportivo de Praia Geração).

U18 Africa Games: Friday 29 July

7/29/2016

12 Farrel-Drexler Dimidimba (GAB) - Gabon v Rwanda, 2016 Afrobasket U18 Final Round (RWA), Kigali (Rwanda), Group Phase, 22 July 2016

KIGALI (FIBA Africa U18 Championship 2016) - It's Quarter-Finals Day at FIBA Africa U18 Championship 2016 in Kigali, Rwanda, and a lot can be decided on Friday. It's the day in which four national teams will be celebrating a place in the semis, while four others will see their dreams of qualifying for next year's FIBA U19 World Championship come to an end.

RIO 2016: SOUTH AFRICA PROFILE

7/29/2016

Olympic Record
Bafana Bafana have appeared at the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament once before, at Sydney 2000. A team that included Quinton Fortune and Benni McCarthy were eliminated at the group stages, but made quite an impression by defeating a much-fancied Brazil side who counted Ronaldinho amongst their number. Unfortunately for Ephraim ‘Shakes’ Mashaba’s troops, 2-1 defeats to Japan and Slovakia either side of that famous 3-1 win against A Seleção meant they missed out on a place in the knockout stages.

RIO 2016: NIGERIA PROFILE

7/29/2016

Olympic Record
Nigeria became the first African side to win the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament in 1996 with their fabled ‘Dream Team’. A side that included Celestine Babayaro, Taribo West, Nwankwo Kanu, Jay Jay Okocha and Sunday Oliseh defied the odds in Athens, Georgia thanks to dramatic late winners; Kanu grabbed a golden goal in their semi-final against Brazil while Emmanuel Amuneke fired the decisive strike in the 90th minute of the gold medal match against Argentina. The Albiceleste would have their revenge in 2008 though, with a Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria-inspired side consigning the latest incarnation of the ‘Dream Team’ to silver in their sixth, and most recent, Olympics appearance.

RIO 2016: ALGERIA PROFILE

7/29/2016

Olympic Record
Les Verts have appeared at the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament just once before, in 1980, which kicked off a golden decade for Algerian football that saw them reach their first FIFA World Cup™ in 1982, swiftly followed by their second four years later. That 1980 side emerged from a group that included Spain and Germany DR but were eventually defeated by a Yugoslavia team who narrowly missed out on a bronze medal. The experience proved invaluable for much of the Algerian squad, with the majority of those who travelled to Moscow playing some part in their subsequent World Cup campaigns.

Zambia disqualified from the 2016 COSAFA Under-17 Championships

7/29/2016

Zambia have been disqualified from the 2016 COSAFA Under-17 Championships being staged in Mauritius having been found to have fielded two over-age players for the tournament.

Consequently Malawi finish top of Group B and East African guest nation Kenya claim the runners-up spot.

Friday’s semi-final line-up therefore sees South Africa take on Kenya (13h00 local, 09h00 GMT) and Malawi play Namibia (16h00 local; 12h00 GMT) for a place in Sunday’s final.

Only Africa U18 title matters for Mali’s Ousmane Traore

7/29/2016

6 Ousmane Traore (MLI) - Algeria v Mali, 2016 Afrobasket U18 Final Round (RWA), Kigali (Rwanda), Group Phase, 26 July 2016

KIGALI (FIBA Africa U18 Championship 2016) – Mali have reached the Quarter-Finals of the FIBA Africa U18 championship 2016 thanks to a terrific Group A performance in which they finished with a 4-0 mark.

Thanks to a team effort, the West Africans claimed a comprehensive 91-39 win against Gabon on Wenesday.

Ahly strike back, Sundowns go through

7/29/2016

© AFP
Having picked up just one point from their three opening matches in the group stage of the CAF Champions League, record champions Al Ahly had their backs against the wall ahead of their away match at Group A leaders Wydad Casablanca. However, the Red Devils flipped the script and are back in the hunt for a ninth title after a 1-0 victory in Morocco threw Group A wide open.

The winner of the showpiece event of African club football will represent the continent at the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan at the end of the year.

Kenya win over critics with new coach

7/29/2016

© AFP
Although Kenya have already been eliminated from qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ and no longer have a chance of making it to the finals of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations next year in Gabon, Harambee Stars' fans have something to cheer about.

A look at the FIFA/Coca World Ranking sees the east African team ranked 86th in the world – their best placing since January 2009, when they were considered the 84th best team in the world. They were 129th just last month, and their leap of 43 places was only bested by New Zealand (up 54 places to 93rd) and Puerto Rico (up 46 to 112th).

New stadium to add to Volgograd's unique cityscape

7/29/2016

© LOC

Listen
As the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ draws ever nearer, construction on all the tournament's stadiums continues apace. Every month FIFA.com brings fans up to speed on how progress is going.

This month's progress
Every month the construction site at the Volgograd Arena leaves us with particularly memorable images, thanks to the incomparable location of the future Russia 2018 venue. The stadium is being built on the site of FC Rotor's old stadium on the banks of the Volga river, next to the city park at the foot of Mamayev Kurgan.

Bahamas 2017 hopefuls take first steps towards beach glory

7/29/2016

© Getty Images
From 27 April to 7 May 2017, the Bahamas will provide the stage for the ninth edition of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. In Nassau, 16 teams will aim to dethrone reigning champions Portugal, who lifted the trophy on home soil in 2015.

With a little less than a year to go before the event kicks off, the various confederations involved have already started to prepare for their respective qualifying competitions. FIFA.com takes a closer look at the road to Bahamas 2017.

Namibian twins soak up all the beach volleyball they can in Larnaka

7/29/2016

Namibian twins Fabian and Daniel Pfeifer are on their first FIVB mission
Larnaka, Cyprus, July 28, 2016 – Daniel and Fabian Pfeifer started their campaign at the FIVB U19 World Championships in Larnaka with a 2-0 (21-13, 21-15) loss against Australia’s Paul Burnett and Marcus Ferguson. But the 17-year old Namibian twins left the court smiling anyway, happy being surrounded by beach volleyball.

“This was our first international match ever,” Fabian said. “We lost, but it was actually quite fun. It’s great to see the high level that’s being played all around us. We lost and it was quite hot playing, but it was still awesome.”

Team Zimbabwe's Olympics team announced

7/27/2016

ZIMBABWE Olympic Committee president Admire Masenda on Wednesday said there is need to put in place deliberate strategies that will ensure that the country’s participation at the Rio Olympics is not by accident or a one-off event.

Masenda was speaking during a fund-raising dinner at Rainbow Towers in Harare where Team Zimbabwe for this year’s global sports showcase was announced.

The Games will run from August 5 to 21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and Zimbabwe will be represented in seven disciplines — athletics, archery, equestrian, football, rowing, shooting and swimming.

Senong and Malepe join the Olympic team in Brasilia, four still to come

7/27/2016

Photo Credit: enca.com

27 July 2016 – The South African u23 Men’s National Team assistant coach, Thabo Senong, and defender Tercious Malepe, have joined their compatriots in the capital of Brazil, Brasilia.

The duo remained behind in South Africa to help the South African u20 Men’s National Team (Amajita) qualify for the CAF u20 Africa Cup of Nations with Senong as coach and Malepe captain, where they beat Lesotho 5-0 on aggregate to book their spot in the continental showpiece scheduled for early next year in Zambia.

SeatGeek Becomes Official Ticketing Partner of Major League Soccer

7/27/2016

MLS and SeatGeek to jointly develop a new primary ticketing system

New York (July 27, 2016) — SeatGeek and Major League Soccer announced today a groundbreaking multi-year partnership agreement focused on the development of a new, radically open ticketing ecosystem. Under the partnership, SeatGeek will collaborate with the league and its clubs to introduce an integrated ticketing platform that will be made available to all clubs. SeatGeek will also become the Official Ticketing Partner of Major League Soccer.

Safaricom partners with KRU

7/27/2016

The Kenya Rugby Union (KRU) and Safaricom have signed a new sponsorship deal extending their six year partnership.

The new deal will see Safaricom become KRU’s official communications partner for all rugby tournaments organised by the union. Safaricom will also give cash sponsorship to help fund KRU and its partners host rugby events in various counties throughout the year.

SASMA criticises sport supplement companies

7/27/2016

Sports supplement marketing campaigns aimed at school children have been criticised by the South African Sports Medicine Association (SASMA).

The organisation has issued a position statement on the use of the products by schoolchildren and states that as a general rule, persons under the age of 18-years-old should not use sports supplements.