Nkatha Completes Move
From Chiefs To SuperSport
Kingston Nkhatha is no longer a Kaizer Chiefs player and has
joined SuperSport United with immediate effect. After initially posting the news on
their Twitter page,Chiefs provided further confirmation on their
official website. “We wish to take this opportunity to thank Kingston for
the service he has rendered during his time with us,” Chiefs’ director of
football, Bobby Motaung, told kaizerchiefs.com. United announced their capture
of Nkhatha last week, stating that the player would join the Pretoria team at
the end of his contract with Chiefs on July 1. But the two clubs successfully
managed to negotiate the player’s early release, paving the way for the
Zimbabwean striker to make his move to Matsatsantsa six months ahead of
schedule. Nkhatha had entered into the final six months of his contract at
Chiefs, meaning he was able to speak to any club regarding a move away from
Naturena. Nkhatha spent two-and-a-half years with the Glamour Boys after
signing from Black Leopards on July 1, 2012.
The 2015 edition of the Nedbank Cup
has kicked off with the draw being conducted in Johannesburg last Thursday
evening, with a few mouth watering clashes early on. Arguably the most notable of the first
round clashes pits Absa Premiership rivals Bidvest Wits vs Free State Stars as
well as Mpumalanga Black Aces vs Maritzburg United. Absa Premiership leaders
Kaizer Chiefs will wait to find out who they face as they host either African
All Stars or Edu Sports FC, who are yet to play for a spot in the last 32,
while defending champions Orlando Pirates host a Jerry Skhosana-coached outfit
in Tornado FC.
The full Nedbank Cup Last 32 fixtures
read as follows:
Bellvue
Winners Park v Vasco Da Gama
Bidvest Wits
v Free State Stars
AmaZulu v
Golden Arrows
Mpumalanga
Black Aces v Maritzburg United
Orlando
Pirates v Tornado FC
University of
Pretoria v Moroka Swallows
Mamelodi
Sundowns v Thanda Royal Zulu
SuperSport
United v Polokwane City
African
Warriors v Maluti FET College
Black
Leopards v FC Cape Town
Bloemfontein
Celtic v North West Shining Stars/Roses United
Chippa United
v Natal United
Phiva Young
Stars v Jomo Cosmos
Kaizer Chiefs
v African All Stars/Edu Sports FC
Platinum
Stars v The Magic FC
Mainstay
United v Ajax Cape Town
Jerry Sikhosana says
his Tornado FC side won’t do Orlando Pirates any favours in the Nedbank Cup,
but they also “won’t inflict too much pain” if they win. Sikhosana,
famous for his winning goal in the 1995 African Champions Cup that earned the star
above the Pirates badge, will face his former team in the last 32 of the
national cup. “It’s a strange one because I will be coming home, but with
the away side. I’m a massive supporter of Orlando Pirates so it will be a
difficult game. If I lose people will say that I am doing them [Pirates]
favours, but if I win, I also need to make sure we don’t inflict too much
pain,” ‘Legs of Thunder’ tells Pirates club’s website. “I’m bringing
a group of kasi boys from East London and it will be wonderful for them. Most
of them support Pirates, even my chairman is a fan so he is also very excited.
We know that this will be a big test. I just hope the guys give a great account
of themselves in this game.”
AmaZulu have received
a boost after Marc van Heerden and John Arwuah returned to training with the
squad. Both players missed a chunk of the first half of the season with
knee injuries, with Van Heerden’s problem having troubled him for some time in
his career.
Bidvest Wits coach Gavin Hunt says they will be signing Fikru
Lemessa. “I’m taking Fikru. I
have to. He is free and we are
going to sign free players. He will add fight. If you want to go to Africa this
is the player you want to go with. “He is a soldier, he will fight and
kick he knows what to do and that’s one of the reasons. He can also help us
balance the strikers we got here.” Lemessa first arrived in the country in
2006 when he joined Orlando Pirates, and has also turned out for SuperSport
United, Free State Stars, University of Pretoria and Milano United. He last
featured in the Indian Super League for Atletico de Kolkata.
Chippa United have
strengthened their defensive ranks with the acquisition of Cape Town All Stars
right-back Kristopher Bergman. Bergman has signed a two-and-a-half-year
deal with the Chilli Boys, reports CapeTownFootball. “I never expected it
to happen this quickly, but it’s been a lesson to myself, and hopefully to
others that things can change in such a short space of time when you put in the
hard work and dedication,” says Bergman. “It is my second PSL
contract, the first was at Santos, but I wasn’t able to reach the levels I
wanted to due to injury. But I am very happy for this opportunity to play at
the highest level. This was my goal.”
Bidvest Wits coach
Gavin Hunt admits he is interested in signing Orlando Pirates winger Daine
Klate, but says the stumbling block is the salary he is earning at Bucs. Hunt
was speaking after the Nedbank Cup draw in Johannesburg last week, where his
side were pitted against Free State Stars at home in the last 32. Klate’s
contract with Pirates is coming to an end in June and he has been linked with a
move to either Wits or SuperSport United. “We can’t afford him,” Hunt
said. “You guys in the media, I don’t know if you know, the way things are
going now … You heard about the Oupa Manyisa story and if that ever transpires
… my God, I wouldn’t want to know what that costs from both sides. It’s an open
market and people can do what they want. We can’t compete in that market.” Hunt
added: “As much as I want Daine, I would like to take him like Elias
Pelembe and Anthony Laffor, but we will have to sell the franchise.”
Bloemfontein Celtic CEO Khubulani
Konco has revealed that the club will hold talks with Joel Mogorosi and a host
of other players when they finish mid-season camp. The Botswana international is in the
last six months of his contract with the club and the same goes for Malawian
international Limbikani Mzava. Last week Mzava’s agent Walter Mokoena informed
this website that there have been offers for the 22-year-old but no decision
has been taken yet if he’ll stay at Celtic or not. Celtic CEO Khumbulani Konco
says that the players will be attending camp and once they return from the camp
then contract talks with respective players will happen. “At the moment we are
not talking about contracts with the players, we will be doing that once the
players return from the camp,” Konco said. Meanwhile, last week Siwelele
recalled Lerato Manzini from his loan spell with SuperSport United after he
failed to make any impact at Matsatsantsa.
Orlando Pirates captain Oupa Manyisa is poised to join
Mamelodi Sundowns this month. Pirates
chairman Irvin Khoza and his Downs counterpart Patrice Motsepe are said to be
currently discussing the transfer fee. The midfielder’s agent Thabo Moloto is
quoted as saying: “Currently the status is that the two presidents have
met. And they are still negotiating the transfer fee. However, as things stands
Manyisa will join Mamelodi Sundowns before the transfer window closes.” Moloto
added: “Look he is okay. He is happy because of what he has achieved at Orlando
Pirates and it’s not like is leaving Pirates without achieving nothing. He won
back-to-back trebles under the tutelage of Rudolf ‘Ruud’ Krol and reached four
finals. He’s very excited to be joining Mamelodi Sundowns.” Manyisa has been
with Bucs since 2008, and has made over 200 appearances for the Soweto giants.
Ajax Cape Town were beaten 4-1 by
Bundesliga title contenders VfL Wolfsburg in a friendly at Cape Town Stadium last
Wednesday night. Bas
Dost struck twice for the visitors to go with goals from Ivica Olic and Daniel
Caligiuri, while Tashreeq Morris headed home for Ajax, who defeated Dutch side
PEC Zwolle 2-1 two weekends back. Urban
Warriors playmaker Keagan Dolly notably made his return off the bench following
a lengthy spell out with a toe injury. The game, billed as the Turkish Airlines
Friendship Cup, was played in honour of Wolfsburg midfielder Junior Malanda,
who died in a car crash in Bielefeld two weeks back.
Equatorial Guinea President Teodoro
Obiang Nguema has bought 40 000 tickets for the poor of the host country of the
Africa Cup of Nations. President
Nguema called other wealthy shareholders to do the same in a bid to make the
tournament a success after the country stepped in to host the Nations Cup in
place of Morocco. “Let those who have the means help the poor. Myself, I
bought 40 000 tickets at a rate of 10 000 per region [four sites are hosting
the event]. These tickets cost 500 FCFA [R10] which amounts to 20-million CFA
francs [R415 000],” Nguema is quoted as saying by AFP. Equatorial Guinea
needs fans to fill stadiums to bring money into state coffers, and the working
day for civil servants has been cut by two hours on matchdays. In an show of
solidarity, neighbours Gabon have offered 20 buses to be used to transport
teams during the tournament. “This is our contribution to support
Equatorial Guinea,” said Gabonese sports minister Blaise Louembe. “We
have a saying that when your neighbours are having a party the entire village
is celebrating.”
Roscoe Pietersen has completed his
loan move to AmaZulu from SuperSport United having undergone his final medical
tests on Friday. Amazulu
also have an option to buy the player outright included in the deal. Pietersen,
who can play across the back four or in defensive midfield, could be vital to
Steve Barker’s side over the next few months as they seek to lift themselves up
from the bottom of the Absa Premiership table. Pietersen has featured in seven
games in all competitions for SuperSport this season and will be keen to get a
lot more game time during his spell in Durban that will last until the end of
the season.
Ugandan goalkeeper Denis Onyango has
completed the signing of his new three-year deal with Mamelodi Sundowns and is
also in the club’s squad for the 2015 CAF Champions League. Sundowns have already submitted their
squad for the Champions League to CAF, with Onyango amongst the goalkeepers. Onyango
signed his new contract over the weekend following the team’s return from their
mid-season mini-camp in Mpumalanga. According to his new deal, the 29-year-old
will be at Sundowns until June 2018. Sundowns are expected to release their
Champions League squad this week once they have put to bed all contract issues
for players whose deals are due to run out in June.
Lebohang Mokoena has started new
contract negotiations with Mamelodi Sundowns amid talk of a possible return to
Orlando Pirates. Speculation
has been doing the rounds that ‘Cheeseboy’ could make a sensational return to
the Buccaneers. Mokoena started his career with Pirates and made over 60
appearances for the Sea Robbers before joining the Brazilians in 2009. Prosport
International CEO Mike Makaab wouldn’t be drawn on speculation that Mokoena
could return to Parktown. “There is no certainty at this stage [that Mokoena
could join Pirates].” Mokoena’s contract with Sundowns is set to expire at the
end of the season and since joining Downs the 28-year-old has made 89
appearance, scoring 11 goals.
Tshepo Gumede is on the verge of being
confirmed as an Orlando Pirates player after rejecting a second contract offer
from Platinum Stars. The
defender has already turned down an offer from Mamelodi Sundowns, and has now
also said no to a last-ditch attempt from Dikwena to keep him in Rustenburg. It
is rumoured that Gumede has already signed a pre-contract with the Buccaneers
and could be unveiled before the end of this week.
The prize-money at the 2015 Africa Cup
of Nations finals will remain unchanged from the 2013 tournament, with the
winners set to walk away with R17.4-million. The 16 finalists will share $10-million
(R116-million) when the tournament ends on February 8 in Bata, Equatorial
Guinea. According to CAF, the losing finalists will go away with $1-million
(R11.6m) with the two semi-finalists banking $750 000 (R8.7m) each, while teams
that reach the last eight will be handed $600 000 (R7m). Teams that finish
third in each of the four groups will get $500 000 (R5.8m) with the least
prize-money to be paid out standing at $400 000 (R4.65m) for the four teams
finishing bottom in each of the groups. The prize-money paid out by CAF remains
the same despite the fact that revenues for the continental mother body have
improved. In comparison, Euro 2012 champions Spain were paid $27-million
(R314m) out of the $245-million (R2.85-billion) tournament package while the
CONMEBOL paid $7-million (R81.4m) to 2011 Copa America champions Uruguay. The
Asian Football Confederation will pay $10-million (R116m) to be shared amongst
the top three teams this year.
After two days of intense training at
the Balfour Alexandra Football Club grounds, the Castle Lager Football Academy
23-man squad was selected. Coaches Neil Tovey and Phil Masinga assisted by Helman Mkhalele,
together with Calvin Petersen and Thomas Nare, selected the 23 players who will
continue in the academy camp until 2 February. The 45 players who were selected
after months of scouting in the SAB Regional League and Varsity Football had
two days to impress the coaches in the bid to make the final 23-man squad. Before
naming the final 23, Tovey had some encouraging words to the talented
youngsters who hope to one day play in the PSL. Tovey said: “We saw a lot of
talent in these two days. We had a tough deliberation with the scouts on
deciding which players should stay and which ones should go home. Some players
stood out more than others, but at the end we had to make the hard decision.
Those who did not make the final 23, your football career doesn’t end here, you
must continue working hard.” The 23 players have a tough two weeks ahead of
them as they will be taken through intense training methods and play friendly
matches against PSL sides Bidvest Wits, SuperSport United, Mpumalanga Black
Aces, Orlando Pirates and NFD side Highlands Park. The initiative aims to give
young, talented amateur players aged between 18 and 21 exposure to the
professional football setup and an opportunity to be scouted by PSL and NFD
teams, and one day represent South Africa.
Castle Lager Football Academy final
23-man squad
Goalkeepers: Tshepo
Sekgotla (Limpopo), Martin Mthimkhulu (KZN), Mpho Ndlovu (Gauteng)
Defenders: Tshepo
Mathobela (North West), Thabang Mothogwane (Gauteng), Sello Mokhele (Free
State), Zinzan Coetzee (Northern Cape), Happy Mashau (Mpumalanga), Lebogang
Serache (North West), Pheko Rankonko (North West), Sifiso Nkosi (Gauteng)
Midfielders: Christoffer
Balie (Northern Cape), Lonwabo Ngangalaza (Eastern Cape), Tshepo Mokhabi (Free
State), Lloyed Mbumbe (KZN), Sheniel Benn (Eastern Cape), Bafana Dlamini
(Mpumalanga), Sabelo Mtshali (KZN), Malesela Monama (Limpopo)
Strikers: Dawny
Makgatho (Limpopo), Dylan O’Brain {Free State), Candy Khaukanani (Limpopo), Bongumusa
Mabuza (Mpumalanga).
The South Africa U-20 team are on
course to make the quarter-finals of the Commonwealth Cup following a 3-1
victory over Tajikistan in St Petersburg, Russia on Sunday. Amajita got the goals through their
captain Motjeka Madisha, Tshidiso Monamodi and Hashim Domingo, with their
opponents pulling one back late on via a penalty from Abdurasul Rakhmonov. David
Notoane’s men, who started the tournament with a 1-1 draw against Lithuania on
Saturday, will next play Kazakhstan on Tuesday (20 January). Amajita are using
the 12-team competition to prepare for the CAF Under-20 Youth Championships,
scheduled for March in Senegal.
Amajita XI:
Sibongiseni Mkhize, Kabelo Seriba, Motjeka Madisha, Chaz Williams, Tebogo
Moerane, Siphelele Luthuli, Tlotlo Leepile, Ricardo Lourenco, Hashim Domingo,
Siyanda Ngubo, Tshepo Liphoko.
Orlando Pirates injury update: Orlando
Pirates winger Daine Klate faces at least another week on the sidelines, while
fullback Patrick Phungwayo is expected to resume training in 10 days. Klate is nursing a grade two tear to
an abdominal muscle. Phungwayo strained his medial cruciate ligament at a
Bafana Bafana training session in Johannesburg on December 30, ruling him out
of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea. Lennox Bacela, who
damaged ligaments in his knee, and Maselaelo Seanago are also nursing knocks,
with the latter facing a further month out with a fractured metatarsal. Meanwhile,
central midfielder Thandani Ntshumayelo has recovered from a hip problem.
University of Pretoria have won the
race to sign defender Vukile Mngqibisa from Polokwane City. Mngqibisa was on the wanted-list of
Free State Stars and Moroka Swallows but according to a source at AmaTuks, the
player has agreed to join the Tshwane club on a three-year contract after a
successful meeting. The 27-year-old was in the last six months of his contract
and will now join AmaTuks at the start of next season.
Kaizer Chiefs lost 1-0 to German
Bundesliga side TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in a friendly at FNB Stadium on Friday
night. Anthony
Modeste’s sweetly struck 70th-minute volley was enough to hand the Germans the
result in a game they made the majority of the play. Hoffenheim dominated most
of the first half but the home side did get back into the game towards the end
of it, although failed to trouble Hoffenheim goalkeeper Oliver Baumann. The
second half was disrupted by numerous changes on both sides, with Doctor
Khumalo bringing on Siyabonga Nkosi, Ovidy Karuru and Katlego Mphela as new
signing David Zulu remained on the bench.
Chiefs XI:
Khune, Gaxa, Gould, Mashamaite, Mtsweni, Rusike, Bukenya, Maluleka, Lebese,
Tshabalala, Mthembu
Hoffenheim XI: Baumann, Beck, Strobl,
Bicakcic, Abraham, Schwegler, Polanski, Volland, Firmino, Elyounoussi, Szalai
Kaizer Chiefs
coach Stuart Baxter says the friendly against Hoffenheim ticked all the boxes
with regards to what he was looking for from the match.
Liam Jordan scored a solo break-away
goal as the South African U17 Men’s National team played to a 1-1 draw with
Bloemfontein Celtic in a friendly match at Kaizer Sebothelo Stadium on Saturday
afternoon. Amajimbos
impressed in the first half as they created many opportunities in front of goal
but failed to put the ball behind the net. Sibongakonke Mbatha alongside Jordan
created many opportunities in the midfield although the striking pair could not
punish the hosts.
SA players abroad: Thulani Serero
tasted victory with Ajax Amsterdam, while Kamohelo Mokotjo and Ayanda Patosi
were also in action for their respective clubs in Europe on the weekend.
THULANI
SERERO
Serero put
his Bafana Bafana troubles behind him with a solid display as Ajax Amsterdam
beat Groningen 2-0.
KAMOHELO
MOKOTJO
Mokotjo
played for FC Twente in Sunday’s 3-1 away loss to old club Feyenoord as the
Dutch league resumed after the festive season break. That would have stung.
AYANDA PATOSI
Patosi played
the full 90 minutes as Lokeren resumed their Belgian league campaign with a 1-1
home draw with Genk.
MICHAEL
TRAVIS
Travis turned
out for new club Forfar Athletic in the Scottish third tier as they won 1-0 at
home to Stenhousemuir to stay in second.
STEVE CANN
Goalkeeper
Cann played for Port Talbot Town in Sunday’s 4-3 home win over Bala Town in the
Welsh Premier League, the only game to survive the weather.
DEVON JACOBS
Jacobs played
Berwick Rangers in the Scottish fourth tier as they were held 3-3 by Montrose,
who scored an injury-time equaliser.
KYLE JACOBS,
KEAGHAN JACOBS, BURTON O’BRIEN
The South
African-born trio saw their game for Scottish second-tier strugglers Livingston
against Alloa Athletic called off due to heavy snow.