Khune, Mashamaite,
Masango and Baxter Released
Stuart Baxter, Itumeleng Khune, Tefu Mashamaite and Mandla
Masango will all leave Kaizer Chiefs upon the expiry of their contracts next
month. Amakhosi announced the news at a press conference on Tuesday
morning, confirming speculation that has been doing the rounds in recent weeks.
Also released is Katlego Mphela, Siyabonga Nkosi and Josta Dladla. Chiefs also
revealed that Simphiwe Mtsweni, Chris Matombo, Levy Mokgothu, Zitha Macheke,
Ovidy Karuru will be loaned out next season. Kaizer Motaung says an inability
to agree on financial terms led to the exit of PSL Footballer of the Season
Tefu Mashamaite. Motaung feels Khune was poorly advised by his agent,
ultimately resulting in his exit from the club. “We cannot be held to
ransom by anyone, it does not take one or two players to make a team. We look
after our players well. I can be proved wrong, but Itu last season was the
highest-paid player. But we understand that life should go on and people should
be free to move on,” Motaung said. The Amakhosi boss says the fact the
Khune’s agent works from overseas may have been detrimental to the player. The
chairman also said that Chiefs made Masango an offer to stay, but that the
counter-offer (presumably from Mpumalanga Black Aces) was too enticing.
Motaung says the club
will cast its net wide in sourcing a replacement for coach Stuart Baxter. Speculative
reports have linked Maritzburg United boss Steve Komphela with the hotseat, but
Motaung appears put off by the ex-Chiefs defender still being under contract. “I
would like to believe Steve belongs to this club, but I believe he has a
contract with his club,” Motaung said at the press conference. “As
far as the coach is concerned, we’ve always said that we cast our net very
wide. Why must we restrict ourselves? We
will not subscribe to the local versus foreign coaches. Our net is wide. We
will decide at an appropriate time.” He added: “As far as Doctor
Khumalo and the technical team is concerned, we will make those announcements
soon.” Glamour Boys football manager Bobby Motaung said: “The club
has a policy when a new coach comes, we will not disclose the policies, there
are structures here.” Baxter – a two-time and the current PSL Coach of the
Season – delivered two League titles, the Nedbank Cup and the MTN8 trophy in
his time with the Soweto giants.
Safa have released a statement slamming a report which they
say “made damaging inferences” that South Africa paid a $10 million
bribe to secure hosting rights for the 2010 World Cup. Safa have
taken issue with a story in the Sunday Independent which came in the wake of
the corruption scandal that has rocked Fifa. The statement reads as follows:
‘The South African Football Association (Safa), the governing body of football
in South Africa, categorically refutes claims made by the Sunday Independent.
The article published on 31 May 2015 is not only misleading but false and
defamatory. It passes inferences as fact in a way that is disingenuous and
misleading to the public. ‘The story, the main story in the Sunday Independent
and under the headline “Danny: Yes, we paid R120m”, implied that the 2010 Local
Organising Committee (LOC) paid $10 million to Concacaf: “Newly-elected Nelson
Mandela Bay executive mayor and South African Football Association (SAFA)
president Danny Jordaan has confirmed that the 2010 Local Organising Committee
(LOC) paid $10 million (now about R120m) after South Africa won the bid to
host. The statement attributed to me in this article and subsequent conjectures
are simply put, factually incorrect. We paid no one as implied by the article.
As CEO of the 2010 Organising Committee, I had no mandate to pay out an amount
above R1 million,” concluded Dr Jordaan. ‘The story further made damaging
inferences that the aforementioned amount was a bribe paid by South Africa:
“Instead the money was deducted directly from a payment Fifa made to South
Africa to help finance the hosting of the tournament, thereby concealing the
alleged bribe.” ‘SAFA is currently seeking legal action for the
misrepresentations.’
The South African
Under-23 side’s bid for a place at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro will
take place late this year after CAF announced the dates for the African
Under-23 Championship to be staged in Senegal. The tournament, which will
serve as a qualifier for the Rio tournament, will be held from November 28 to
December 12, offering more headaches for coach Owen da Gama, who must persuade
PSL clubs to give up their best youngsters. South Africa have not yet qualified
for that tournament, but have a very good chance with just one of Zimbabwe or
Swaziland standing in their way. Those two played to a 0-0 draw in Swaziland in
the first leg of their preliminary round tie and, with the return in Maseru to
come, Zimbabwe may well consider themselves favourites. They will meet the
winner of that tie in July for a place in the continental finals. South Africa
got a stroke of fortune in qualification for the Under-23 competition with
Senegal initially in their path to the finals. But when DR Congo pulled out of
hosting the event and it was moved to Senegal, the latter qualified as hosts
and the draw opened up for South Africa. Meanwhile, CAF also announced that the
2016 African Women’s Championship in Cameroon has been moved to November
19-December 3 and will be played in Yaounde and Limbe. The tournament had
initially been scheduled for October, but heavy rains at that time of year saw
Cameroon request the date change, to which CAF agreed. CAF also ruled
favourably on the request of the Tanzanian Football Association to host the
2019 African Under-17 Championship, as well as on Niger’s request for the CAF
Under-20 Championship the same year. CAF has also opened tenders for the
organisation of the 2017 Africa Beach Soccer Championship, 2018 African Women
Championship, 2020 African Nations Championship (CHAN) and the 2020 African
Futsal championship.
The PSL Disciplinary
Committee has found Mamelodi Sundowns defender Alje Schut and Mamelodi Sundowns
guilty of bringing the League and sponsors into disrepute. This following a
post-match incident after the Absa Premiership fixture between Sundowns and
Mpumalanga Black Aces that was played on 8 April 2015. Sundowns coach Pitso
Mosimane was acquitted. This is contrary to information they received from the
PSL on May 29. Schut was fined R10 000 and Sundowns R20 000 which amount has
been suspended for 12 months on condition that the club is not found guilty of
a similar offence during the period of suspension. The parties were ordered to
pay the costs of the sitting.
Platinum Stars
striker Patrick Malokase has announced his retirement from professional
football. The 33-year-old announced via Twitter that he will be hanging up
his boots when his contract expires at the end of June. “A very emotional
day for me. I have decided to officially retire from professional football
after 15 years,” he tweets. “Thank you to the players I have played with,
coaches and supporters.” Malokase made six lague appearances for Dikwena
this season and got one assist. He started his career with Young Tigers in 2000
and went on to play for Free State Stars, Bloemfontein Celtic and Orlando
Pirates.
The South Africa
women’s team destroyed Gabon 5-0 on Sunday to advance 8-2 on aggregate in the
2016 Olympic Games qualifiers. Jermaine Seoposenwe struck twice for Banyana
Banyana to go with goals from teammates Amanda Dlamini, Refiloe Jane and Sanah
Mollo at Dobsonville Stadium. Vera Pauw’s charges will face Kenya in the third
round of qualifying in July after the East Africans edged Botswana on the away
goals rule following a 2-2 stalemate across two legs.
PSL chairman Dr Irvin
Khoza says the artificial economy that has been created by clubs that are paying
big salaries is unsustainable. Speaking to the Sunday Sun on various
issues, the Iron Duke was at pains to explain that there are not a lot of club
bosses with ‘deep pockets’ and therefore, the situation is unfortunate. “The
reality is that we don’t have club owners who have deep pockets. Unfortunately,
the way the market has turned out is an artificial economy, which is not
sustainable. Sadly, these club chairmen who have sacrificed so much to protect
this industry for so long are not enjoying the fruits of their labour,” he
said. In what appears to be a swipe at agents, Khoza insists that the clubs
cannot afford to keep up. “Destructive forces have been developed by this
artificial economy. There is a lot of outside influence because they invest nothing
and benefit – and now they expose the club chairmen as unreasonable people.
When those players come to the end of their careers, they have nowhere to go.
Not many clubs can afford those high salaries. I can’t afford it myself. Some
players earn more than me. If other clubs can do that, good luck, we can’t
compete. We can’t blame them. We hope that those people are going to be here in
the next 20 years. It won’t be right if they come and leave the market in a
mess like that. That’s why in Europe, they always talk about financial fair
play. That’s why I have respect for people like Jomo Sono, Mike Mokoena and
Veli Mahlangu. They’ve taken income from their families for football. It is not
about your riches, it is about what you do for your country. Everybody can buy
a Mercedez Benz, but not everyone can buy wisdom,” Khoza concluded.
Free State Stars defender Themba Tshabalala believes that
Daniel Cardoso will succeed at Kaizer Chiefs next season. Cardoso is
set to be officially unveiled as an Amakhosi player, with the Johannesburg-born
defender believed to have already signed a three-year contract with the Phefeni
Glamour Boys. And fellow defensive teammate at Stars this season Themba
Tshabalala feels the 26-year-old will be a hit at the current PSL champions.
“I only heard rumours that Daniel might be going to Chiefs. If it’s true
that he has signed, that’s great news to hear! He deserves it,” Tshabalala
said. “He is quality. There is no doubt about that. He is not only going
to add numbers at Chiefs, but value. I believe he will get his jersey.”
Tshabalala described Cardoso as one of the most hard-working players at Ea Lla
Koto this past season. “He works hard and can play in any position on the
field, he says. “In the last six games, Cardoso showed his worth and true
potential. As a person, he is quiet, but also friendly to everyone around him,”
Tshabalala adds.
Midfielder Sameehg
Doutie is set to become a free agent next month after SuperSport United decided
against extending his stay. Doutie spent the last season on loan at Bidvest
Wits but both Wits and United have not yet expressed their interest in keeping
the Cape Town-born winger. The former Ajax Cape Town man made 17 starts and
seven substitute appearances for Wits this season scoring two goals and notching
up four assists. The Students have already released Zambian striker Christopher
Katongo. Wits have already signed midfielder Daine Klate from Orlando Pirates.
Tthe National Soccer
League has agreed to raise the grant to National First Division teams next
season. The second-tier sides currently receive R380 000 a month, with this
said to be rising to R700 000, according to an official at a NFD club. “This
is certainly a great relief for NFD teams,” says the official. “This
will go a long way to ease the financial burden and improve the quality of
football in the National First Division.” Premier Soccer League clubs
receive R1.5million from the League every month.
Dean Hotto’s brace
secured Namibia’s first Cosafa Cup trophy after a 2-0 victory over Mozambique
at Moruleng Stadium on Saturday. The Golden Arrows midfielder capped an
impressive tournament in fine style with two goals in the final to take his
tally for the tournament to four, joint-top of the scoring charts with his
teammate Benson Shilongo. Ricardo Mannetti’s side saw out the remainder of the
game with little trouble to record their first-ever southern African title.
They were runners-up in 1997 and 1999.
Ghana defender Rashid
Sumaila has confirmed that he won’t be returning to Mamelodi Sundowns after his
loan spell at Kuwait side Al Qadsia SC. The 22-year-old has spent the last
five months at Al Qadsia after he was not registered by Sundowns for the
2014/15 season and now says he will be signing a permanent deal with Al Qadsia.
“My future has been decided I will be signing for Al Qadsia and Sundowns are
aware. I have been here for some time and I’m certain that this is the right
deal for me at this point in my career,” he says. Sumaila was part of the Black
Stars squad that competed at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Siyaya TV and Safa
have disputed claims that the SABC and Safa have signed a new TV rights
agreement to broadcast Bafana Bafana matches. The public broadcaster
claimed on Wednesday that they have reached a three-year agreement with Safa
regarding the broadcast rights to showcase all local games for Bafana, Banyana
Banyana, as well as the men’s Under-20 and Under-23 teams on SABC platforms. Hlaudi
Motsoeneng, SABC’s chief operations officer, was quoted saying that: “As the
SABC this agreement will provide a platform for soccer-loving South Africans,
through our various channels, which have a far-reaching footprint across the
country, an opportunity to see their national teams in action.” However, Siyaya
TV and SAFA have, according to News24, released a joint statement that states
the contrary. The statement reads: “Safa wishes to place on record that
Siyaya TV is and will remain a long-term strategic broadcast partner of Safa.
We emphatically reject any speculation or statements to the contrary. The
partnership between the two parties (Safa and Siyaya TV) has enabled Safa to
take its broadcast platform to an entirely new level, which will now enable
soccer-loving fans greater access to the beautiful game.” Safa signed a
deal with new pay-TV service Siyaya TV, reportedly worth R1-billion, last year.
Bafana Bafana coach
Ephraim “Shakes” Mashaba has entered dangerous territory by playing the race
card in response to criticism of the team’s plate semi-final exit from the
Cosafa Cup. After losing their quarter-final against Botswana on penalties
in their first match at the tournament, the seeded Bafana again lost via the
lottery of the shootout (5-4) to Malawi in Rustenburg on Wednesday. The South
Africans again failed to score and were even less convincing against Malawi,
managing one effort on target. After a bright start 10 months ago, guiding a
young team to qualification for their first major tournament – the 2015 Africa
Cup of Nations – questions are being asked if the current technical team have
lost their way. A first round exit from the Afcon in January has been followed
by Bafana falling at the first hurdle in a tournament Mashaba had identified as
important to win if they were to make an impact on the continent. Naturally,
the two failures have raised doubts about his suitability for the job and spelt
the end of Mashaba’s honeymoon period. The coach’s last line of defence was
that such questions are because of race. “I understand – it goes with agendas.
I want to repeat today, we had a World Cup-winning coach [Carlos Parreira]. We
went the same route. I’ve never heard the question, ‘Is he the right coach or
not?’” Mashaba said at the postmatch press conference. “He came and he went.
I’m going to be rude – I think my colour is a problem here. That’s what I’m
going to say.” Adding to the confusion was Mashaba’s failure to announce his
squad for the June 13 opening Afcon qualifier against Gambia like he said he
would. Journalists waiting for the announcement in Rustenburg were informed the
coach had left for Johannesburg and the announcement would be made next week. On
Wednesday night, Mashaba was confident he has unearthed “two or three” players
who could make that squad. He said his team performed well against Malawi. “According
to my judgment the boys did very well to be where they are. Unfortunately we
can’t define what well is all about. But I think they played their lungs out to
lose on a penalty shootout. Once it gets to that stage it’s everyone’s game. In
tactical terms, our opposition were a bit on top of us here and there. And that
you cannot blame the players because it’s all about exposure to these kinds of
tournaments.”
Orlando Pirates have
announced they will now host AS Khaloum at Bidvest Stadium due to “pitch
maintenance” at Orlando Stadium. The Sea Robbers will battle their
Guinean opponents on June 6 for a place in the group stages of the CAF
Confederation Cup. Eric Tinkler’s men won the first leg 2-0 in Mali.
New Bidvest Wits
midfielder Daine Klate has explained why he decided to join the Clever Boys on
a two-year deal. The 30-year-old, who is the only player to win the PSL
title five consecutive times with SuperSport United and Orlando Pirates, admits
that Wits offered him a deal he simply couldn’t refuse. “I was not happy with
SuperSport United’s offer and Wits offered me a much, much better deal,” he said.
“I enjoyed my stay at SuperSport United, so it was basically about the two
offers.” In fact, ‘DK7’ reveals that he could have joined Wits in January after
they started showing interest but SuperSport, where he spent the past few
months from Orlando Pirates, made a quick move and snapped him up on loan.With
this in mind, Klate says he felt wanted by Wits when they persisted in their pursuit
of him that in the end it was an easy decision to make considering as well that
his Pirates contract comes to an end at the end of June. “I spoke to Coach
Gavin Hunt quite often and he checked up on me, so that makes a person feel so
wanted. Wits is also pretty similar to SuperSport United; the way the club is
run, the structures and everything,” he said. “It was difficult to leave
SuperSport; coach Gordon [Igesund] was brilliant so it had nothing to do with
playing … it was a decision about my future.”
Baroka FC chairman Khurishi Mphahlele
has confirmed the sale of midfielder Gift Motupa to Orlando Pirates.Motupa, a former target of Mamelodi Sundowns,
netted nine goals in the National First Division this season.
Moroka Swallows
director Godfrey Gxowa believes the team is heading to the ABC Motsepe League
if current CEO Leon Prins does not step down. Swallows lost 1-0 to Black
Leopards in their promotion play-off match on Sunday to get relegated to the
First Division. Gxowa, who has been with the club since 1951, said that he was
heartbroken to see his beloved relegated. “What happened this weekend was a
disaster,” Gxowa says. “I’ve never seen a technical team that goes into a match
as if there is a third leg to be played. The match against Leopards was a
must-win, but we had 10 players behind the ball and invited them to come at us.
There was no third leg between us and Leopards; that was a final match and the
technical team didn’t know. When Nyundu scored I knew things were bad for us.” In
the last 15 years, Gxowa and other club minority shareholders have been at
loggerheads with current CEO Leon Prins about the running of the club. Gxowa
says if Prins doesn’t step down, things will go from bad to worse. “For the
last 15 years things have been building up to relegation. Things were only
better when Gordon Igesund was in charge – after that we continued going down. Now we are going straight to the Motsepe
League because NFD is no pap en vleis … things are tough there. Prins has lost
the plot and he needs to hand the team back to the people who were running the
club. We have good players from Soweto who are coached by Ace Mnini, but they
are ignored by the current coaching stuff. Things must change but that will not
with the current people running the club.”
SA players abroad
round-up: Lebogang Phiri featured for Europa League-bound Brondby, Siyanda Xulu
remains in limbo, while May Mahlangu was sidelined with a knock in European
action on the weekend.
LEBOGANG PHIRI – Phiri played for Brondby in their 1-1 Danish
league draw at Rangers, with the team assured of a third-placed finish with a
game to go. Brondby sealed a spot at next season’s Europa League with a 3-2
victory over Midtjylland a week ago.
SIYANDA XULU – Xulu was not involved at all as his Russian
Premier League side finished the regular season in the relegation playoff
position.
MAY MAHLANGU – Mahlangu was not involved in the final match
of the season for Knoyaspor after picking up a knock in the week.
CHEYNE FOWLER – Fowler was a second half sub as his Finnish
second-tier side Haka won 1-0 at home to AC Oulu.
PULE MARAISANE – Maraisane was a late substitute for Swedish
second-tier side GAIS as they thumped Mjallby 4-1. It was his second appearance
for his new team.
AYANDA NKILI – Nkili came off the bench for Orebro in their
2-2 draw with Elfsborg in the Swedish top-flight.
RICARDO NUNES – Nunes played the full game for Pogoń
Szczecin as they lost 1-0 to Lech Poznan in Poland.
LUKAS SCHENKEL & JOEL UNTERSEE – Neither featured in the
match day squad for Swiss league sides FC Thun and FC Vaduz respectively.
Schenkel has already been confirmed as leaving Thun, while Vaduz was on the
threshold of a yellow card ban that can be carried over into next season.
TIYA SHIPALANE – Shipalane helped Carolina Railhawks up to
second in the NASL with a thumping 4-0 win over Jacksonville Armada.