Kaizer Chiefs of South Africa scored from a hotly-disputed penalty when beating Al Masry of Egypt 2-1 on Sunday to top their CAF Confederation Cup group with one round remaining.
Flavio Da Silva conv...
South Africa smashed 47 off the last three overs to pile up 213-4 against Canada on Monday in Ahmedabad, the highest total so far in this year's T20 World Cup.
David Miller hit an unbeaten 39 off 23 ...
Jaisen Clifford scored in added time to give Marumo Gallants a shock 2-1 victory over Orlando Pirates on Tuesday, which took the Bloemfontein club to the top of the South African Premiership.
Jaisen Clifford scored in added time to give Marumo Gallants a shock 2-1 victory over Orlando Pirates on Tuesday, which took the Bloemfontein club to the top of the South African Premiership.
The substitute poked a cross past goalkeeper Sipho Chaine and home supporters in a capacity 15,000 crowd erupted with joy at the unexpected second-round triumph.
Pirates, reeling from a home loss to Sekhukhune United at the weekend, led after 16 minutes when Patrick Maswanganyi sidefooted a cross past veteran Zimbabwe goalkeeper Washington Arubi.
Marumo avoided falling further behind when under severe pressure and levelled just before half-time when another Zimbabwean, Daniel Msendami, fired home from close range.
Pirates seemed the likelier winners for much of the second half as they attacked relentlessly, only for Clifford to strike and leave the Buccaneers pointless from two outings.
Marumo are coached by Alexandre Lafitte from France, 28, the youngest coach in the Premiership this season.
"We played good football and achieved a good result. I have worked hard to improve the mentality of the players," he said.
Moroccan coach Abdeslam Ouaddou, a former Premier League defender with Fulham, joined Pirates during the close season after quitting Marumo.
Marumo have six points, two more than defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns, who beat AmaZulu 2-0 in Pretoria through second-half goals from Iqraam Rayners and Tashreeq Matthews.
Sundowns, who began their campaign with a draw at Chippa United three days ago, are chasing a record-extending ninth straight league title.
A notable absentee from the Sundowns line-up was Brazilian forward Lucas Ribeiro, who was voted the 2024-25 South African player of the season and players' player of the season.
He is reportedly keen to take up a new challenge after two seasons at Sundowns, with Qatar Sports Club a possible destination.
*This article was first published by Eye Witness News
Players at the upcoming Women’s Rugby World Cup will sport high-tech mouthguards that light up red when they suffer heavy head impacts, in a move aimed at improving player safety and reducing concussion, British media reported.
The smart gumshields will send an alert to the match-day doctor warning of possible concussions during the August 22 to September 27 tournament in England, while referees will be advised to stop play upon seeing the red flash.
The LED mouthguards are set to be implemented in top-flight rugby next season following the Women’s Rugby World Cup, British media reported.
The technology builds on World Rugby’s introduction of smart mouthguards as part of the Head Injury Assessment (HIA) process in October 2023, which debuted in the WXV women’s competition that year before being integrated into the HIA from January 2024.
“If you want to be involved in the off-field assessment, you need to be wearing the mouthguard, so there are male players who opt out of getting an off-field HIA because they don’t want to wear an instrumented mouthguard,” Dr Eanna Falvey, chief medical officer at World Rugby, was quoted as saying by The Times.
“We’ve had players who decided that they don’t like the fact that it’s a Bluetooth device, we’ve had players that feel it’s uncomfortable, we’ve had players who don’t want to know.
“The women’s leagues and teams and competitions, I don’t know the reason for it, but they’re much more likely to collaborate, they’re much more accepting and excited about opportunities in technology.
“We have full opt-in for the World Cup now. There are two people wearing braces so they physically can’t wear it, but other than that we’re full opt-in.”
A brilliant display of tactical acumen by South African coach Benni McCarthy saw Kenya's Harambee Stars secure a historic 1-0 victory against two-time champions Morocco in a thrilling African Nations Championship (CHAN) match.
The win, which puts Kenya in a strong position to advance to the knockout stages, was a masterclass in coaching by McCarthy, who took the helm of the Kenyan national team earlier this year.
McCarthy definitely proved his credentials on the international stage by applying a relentless, aggressive approach that unsettled the Moroccans. The crucial moment of the game came just before halftime when Ryan Ogam found the back of the net, giving Kenya a lead they would not relinquish up until the end of this nailbiting continental duel.
However, the true test of McCarthy's genius came after a first-half red card left Kenya with only ten men for the entire second half.
Instead of wilting under Morocco's unrelenting pressure, McCarthy's side displayed remarkable discipline and resilience. He quickly reshuffled his team, bringing on extra defenders to clearly "park the bus" -a blatant defensive tactic reminiscent of his playing days under José Mourinho at Portugal outfit FC Porto.
The defense indeed held firm and every Kenyan player fought for every ball. Harambee Stars’ gritty determination ultimately frustrated the Moroccan attack.
This monumental win not only elevates Kenya on the continental stage, but also serves as a powerful testament to the growing coaching capacity of South African tacticians abroad.
McCarthy's success in the international fray, following his impressive stints at AmaZulu and Cape Town City, demonstrates that coaches from the region can deliver results at the highest level. Kenya will now face Zambia next Sunday at 19:00 in their next CHAN tournament.
Siwelele FC made a powerful start in their historic Betway Premier League debut match as they beat Lamontville Golden Arrows 3–1 to set the pace at the top of the premiership table.
The Dr. Rantlai Molemela Stadium in Bloemfontein was packed to the rafters by supporters of the Green and White, who got a perfect glimpse of what their team is all about in 2025/2026 league campaign.
From the first whistle to the last, Siwelele gave their fans plenty to cheer about, as put on a dominant performace that saw Siviwe Magidigidi score a brace while Vincent Pule netting a single goal to wrap a historic victory on home turf.
Magidigidi opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a thundering top of the net close finish, with Pule doubling Siwelele's lead a few minutes later to send their supporters into a huge frenzy.
Siwelele dominated the first half, putting constant pressure on Arrows who struggled to keep possession of the ball. The visitors, however, came back stronger in beginning stages of the second stanza with Keenan Phillips pulling one back for Abafana Besthende in the 50th minute.
Siwelele’s fighting spirit remained as Magidigidi's header found the back of the net six minutes later from a corner kick.
Magidigidi's brace was enough to seal the game and give Siwelele all three points in Bloemfontein, with the striker ultimately claiming the Man of the Match accolade.
Siwelele will hope to notch up their second win on the trot when they face fellow debutants, Orbit College, away on Tuesday evening at Dobsonvile Stadium in Soweto, Johannesburg. The match will kick-off at 19:30.
Premier Soccer League (PSL) entrants Siwelele FC officially unveiled their new kit and player acquisitions in front of their loyal supporters in Bloemfontein ahead of their opening fixture this Saturday. For their home games, the team will don green shorts paired with a shirt featuring green vertical stripes. In contrast, for away games, the team will wear black shorts accompanied by a shirt with green and white horizontal stripes in front. The club further announced the signings of four new players ahead of the 2025/26 Betway Premiership season. The new signings include Bu hle Mkhwanazi, a veteran centre-back and former Bafana Bafana defender, Relebogile Mokhuoane, a central midfielder joining from Sekhukhune Unit ed, Thabo Makhele, who joins from Chippa United, and Wayde Lekay, a striker returning to South Africa after playing for Churchill Brothers in India. Drawing from the passion Siwelele fans are re nowned for Pule Mabena, Siwelele FC supporter’s chairperson, humorously warned the new players to not lose a game against Kaizer Chiefs – given the Soweto giants’ underwhelming league perfor mance over the past decade. Bloem Duo Set to Shine Internationally “Players, there is one team in the PSL that you are not supposed to lose against, that is Kaizer Chiefs, if you lose against them, you won’t get out of the stadium but exercise the whole night,” said Mabena at the Siwelele Homecoming launch at Hoffman Square. The 2025/2026 season promises to be a season to be remembered especially for North West and Free State football enthusiasts following the promotion of Orbit College and the acquisition of SuperSport United’s PSL status by Siwelele FC. The Mswenko Boys promotion into the PSL gave the North West province a team in the topflight since Platinum Stars in the 2017/2018 football season. The Limpopo derby between Polokwane City and Magesi FC will get the league off the mark at the Old Peter Mokaba stadium, while the defending champions, Mamelodi Sundowns will kick off the season away to Chippa United at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. Amazulu will welcome the Orbit Col lege at the Moses Mabhida in Durban, as their Kwazulu-Natal provincial rivals Richards Bay will be hoping to redeem themselves when they go up against Marumo Gallants after their 4-0 ham mering by Sundowns in the MTN 8 last weekend. All the games will kick off at 15:00. Orlando Pirates will welcome Se khukhune United at Orlando Stadium before Siwelele and Golden Arrows wrap up the day with what promises to be a league opening thriller at the Dr Molemela Stadium in Bloemfon tein. The Siwelele supporters are ex pected to paint the match venue in green and white. On Sunday, the two matches will wrap up the opening round weekend f ixtures with TS Galaxy locking horns with NFD champions and PSL debutants Durban City at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit. The other fixture will see Stellenbosch FC welcome reigning Nedbank Cup champions, Kaizer Chiefs, who will be hoping to stage a much better league campaign this season. On Tuesday, Bloemfontein will be abuzz again with football action as Marumo Gallants welcome Orlando Pirates at the Dr Molemela Stadium. The game is expected to produce fireworks as Abdeslam Ouaddou returns to Bloemfontein to face his former employer in Gallants. This fixture will kick off at 19:30.
The Betway Premiership season opener between Stellenbosch FC and Kaizer Chiefs has been relocated to Athlone Stadium, with Chiefs aiming to strengthen their squad to compete with top teams like Orlando Pirates and Mamelodi Sundowns.
The Premier Soccer League (PSL) on Wednesday confirmed a venue change for the Betway Premiership season opener, between hosts Stellenbosch FC and Kaizer Chiefs over the weekend.
The clash on Sunday was initially scheduled to take place at DHL Stadium in Cape Town, but has now been moved inland to Athlone Stadium.
Stellies already began their new campaign as they took part in the MTN8 quarter-final season opener last weekend.
Steve Barker’s men held their nerve for a 3-2 extra time victory over AmaZulu at DHL Stadium.
Chiefs Miss Out on Competition: Failing to Qualify for the Second Consecutive Season
Meanwhile, Chiefs were not involved in the competition as they failed to qualify after finishing outside the top eight in the league for a second season in a row.
Chiefs have also made a number of new signings in Ethan Chislett, Nkanyiso Shinga, Flavio Silva, Thabiso Monyane, Paseka Mako and Siphesihle Ndlovu.
This could be an important step for Chiefs if they seriously want to compete with their Soweto Derby rivals Orlando Pirates and the reigning Betway Premiership champions Mamelodi Sundowns.
Former Chiefs forward Justice Sithole said: “You need to have quality players who understand the team if you really want to compete for major trophies.
“I think that at the moment, after the Nedbank Cup final, Chiefs can take it from there and move forward.”
It’s also Nasreddine Nabi’s second season in charge as Chiefs coach, and now that he has settled into the role and clearly has the backing of the club, he has all the ingredients he needs to ‘start cooking’.
Toyota Cheetahs jumped over the angry and aggressive Airlink Pumas when they beat them 42-25 during their Carling Black Label Cup at Toyota Stadium on Friday night.
The first half was action-packed with both teams showing their fighting spirit early on.
The visitors were the first to strike with a try in the 14th minute, taking a narrow 5-0 lead, however, they missed the conversion.
Just three minutes later, the home team responded strongly with a well-worked try in the 17th minute and they made no mistake with the conversion to lead 7-5.
In the 20th minute, the Pumas were awarded a penalty and slotted it in t take the lead again, 8-7. But the Cheetahs came back firing, scoring a try in the 22nd minute and converting it to regain the lead 14-8.
The home side kept the pressure on, adding another converted try in the 28th minute to stretch the score to 21-8.The Pumas managed to come back into the game with a try in the 32nd minute, but once again missed the conversion, bringing the score to 21-13.
The final moment before the halftime, Cheetahs showed their strength once more with another try and successful conversion, ending the half in a strong position.
Halftime score, Toyota Cheetahs 28-13 Airlink Pumas.s
In the second half, Cheetahs continued to take charge of the game and scored the try in the 48th minute, but missed the conversion for the first time in the game; the score was 33-13.
Pumas hit back with a try in the 53rd minute and once again, missed it. A few minutes later, Cheetas got a penalty and extended the lead to 35-18.
The Cheetahs opponents pushed hard to get a try in the 76th minute and convert it, however, the home team bounced back with another try and conversion a minute later. The match ended with the Cheetahs claiming a hard-fought 42-25 victory over the visiting Pumas.
