Entries for the Metropolitan SASFA U16 Cup are open and schools have until 20 March 2013 to enter their teams into this national competition, which is open to all South African schools.

Since its inception four years ago, the Metropolitan SASFA U16 Cup has had a significant impact on youth soccer development in South Africa.  Last year’s winners, Rosina Sedibane Modiba School from Gauteng, represented South Africa in Brazil at the ISF World Championships in 2012 and this year they will once again have this honour when the travel to France.

The competition format comprises three main phases prior to the national play-offs, including zonal, regional and provincial phases. The zonal segment consists of a round-robin league phase for schools registered with the Department of Education in the 1016 designated districts across the country, in which each team play a maximum of seven matches.

In the regional phase, the top two teams that emerge from each district will be divided into 63 regions where they compete in a knock-out competition for qualification for the provincial phase.

The top two finishers in each region then enter their respective provincial play-offs in another knock-out round from which the top two teams in each of the nine provinces proceed to the national play-offs.

To register, fill in the form below and fax to (011) 494 4109 or contact Themba Tshabalala on 084 290 0602 themba.tshabalala@safa.net

Cape Town – Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund revealed on Monday he had brought their 2014 World Cup qualifying match against the Central African Republic to Cape Town for a reason.

Saturday’s match will be played at the Cape Town Stadium in what is a must-win game for Bafana, who currently lie third behind Ethiopia and Botswana.

“I brought it to Cape Town because we have always had a very good feeling here,” Igesund said.

“In the game against Norway, the vibe was fantastic.

“The stadium will suit us, it’s a nice big stadium, CAR is a team that like to play on a small ground. They want to close people down. They want to kick. They are a physical side.”

Igesund believed the excellent playing surface, and the size of the pitch would give his team an advantage, as would the potentially adverse weather conditions.

“I think the Cape Town Stadium is ideal for our game,” he said.

“If the players play the type of football they can, we can knock the ball around, don’t let them get it, play attacking football with a lot of possession, and get the crowd here behind us.

“Over the years, teams come to Cape Town and always battle. It’s not easy here.”

The Bafana contingent arrived in Cape Town on Monday and will have a full week to prepare for the encounter.

Igesund will fill his players in about what to expect from the CAR on Saturday, the opposition being a closed book to most South Africans.

“I’m very aware of them, and this week I’ll pass the info on to my players.

“I have watched their tapes against Egypt, against Burkina Faso.

“We do know a lot about them, but both those games were at home, so they may play a little bit more effective, a bit more on the counter-attack.”

The Bafana mentor said most of the opposition’s players – with the exception of two – played in Europe.

“Some are in France, some in Morocco, some at West Ham.

“So they have a formidable team and are no slouches. We won’t underestimate them.

“Playing a team like the Central African Republic, it’s not too bad because with the latest technology (analysis software), I get a lot of information and individual snips of players.”

For more details go to www.news24.com

Pretoria – Tshwane metro police officers have been accused of assaulting an elderly woman and locking her up for two days in a police cell.

Sindiswa Hejena, 60, of Silverton, told The Sowetan how she was assaulted by a female officer and two male colleagues after a church service last Tuesday.

“A Nigerian man, a congregant at our church, was given a traffic fine for parking incorrectly and he was begging them not to give him a ticket,” she said.

“My husband and I told him to take the ticket and that’s when the woman officer told my husband ‘voetsek you old man’.

“I told her not to speak to him like that because he was elderly,” Hejana said.

She said the female officer became angry and attacked her.

Hejana was taken to the Pretoria Central police station and was allegedly attacked again.

A police spokesperson said the matter would be investigated.

For more details go to www.news24.com

Former ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema has missed the deadline to challenge the SA Revenue Services’ application for the sequestration of his estate to cover a R16 million tax bill, The Times reported on Tuesday.

Malema filed a notice of intention to oppose the application in the High Court in Pretoria on February 18. He had until last Monday to file his answering affidavit.

According to a court document dated March 14, Malema failed to file the affidavit. As a result the application was set down on the unopposed motion court roll.

The hearing has been scheduled for April 17. Malema’s lawyer Tumi Mokwena refused to comment, the newspaper reported.

In December, Sars secured a court order for the attachment of Malema’s assets.

In January, sheriffs seized his Sandton and Polokwane homes. Sars then rejected a R4m settlement offer and auctioned Malema’s assets in the Sandton and Polokwane homes in February. – Sapa

A Pietermaritzburg father has admitted to raping his 13-year-old daughter on several occasions over four months, the Witness reported on Tuesday.

According to the paper, the 39-year-old man admitted in the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court to having committed sexual acts with his daughter on various occasions between December and March.

This was contained in a statement read by his Legal Aid attorney, Amsha Narain.

The man’s wife caught him raping their daughter when she unexpectedly returned home. The man was found guilty on a single count of rape. He would appear in court again on April 9. – Sapa

Johannesburg – Eighteen-year-olds can drive, pay taxes and join the army – but will be banned from drinking alcohol if Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has his way.

Raising the legal drinking age from 18 to 21 is just one of a raft of measures being considered by Motsoaledi and 10 government ministries to reduce the harm caused by alcohol consumption.

Motsoaledi also wants to see a complete ban on drinking before driving, a ban on alcohol advertising, and a review of alcohol pricing.

For more details go to www.iol.co.za

CAPE TOWN – Communications Minister Dina Pule says she wants to restore stability to the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) as quickly as possible.

Pule and the remaining SABC board members will report to Parliament today about the situation at the public broadcaster.

The board could likely be dissolved after most of the members quit, leaving the SABC without a functioning governing body.

Six board members resigned yesterday, leaving only three positions filled.

The minister’s spokesperson Siya Qoza said she “has noted the request from the president to liaise with the National Assembly to try and find a solution as quickly as possible.”

Qoza said the minister was trying to do that as soon as possible.

The corporation has been thrown into disarray after infighting over several issues, most notably Hlaudi Motsoeneng’s position as acting chief operations officer.

Former board chairperson Ben Ngubane and his deputy Thami ka Plaatjie resigned earlier this month. It is understood they wanted Motsoeneng to continue as COO, while most board members felt he should be replaced.

Motsoeneng has faced questions over his ability to lead the SABC’s operations after it emerged he did not complete matric.

PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE TO DECIDE ON PLAN

On Monday, President Jacob Zuma’s office announced that he had accepted the resignations of chairman Ngubane, his deputy and six board members.

The Communications Portfolio Committee Chairperson Eric Kholwane said the committee has to take a decision on one of two things.

Kholwane said “appropriate” steps would be taken once the committee has heard from the remaining board members and the chief executive officer today.

The committee could opt to fill the posts, which could take months to complete, or it could dissolve the board and appoint an interim one.

Courtesy of http://www.ewn.co.za

By Obakeng Maje

Rustenburg-National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega has will be cross-examined at Marikana Commission in Rustenburg after her appearance was adjourned last week.

Phiyega came under siege for her utterances after commended police on what they did to slain miners on the 16 Aungust last year.

According to the commission, Phiyega was seen laughing in that. Tape. 

The Commission want Phiyega to explain her remarks.

However Phiyega said she has been targeted because of her gender and called for truthful and balanced reporting by the media. This she told the Marikana Commission of Inquiry and added that she was hurt by media reports last year that she laughed when video footage showing how mineworkers were shot at Marikana, was shown at the commission.

Phiyega says it would be against her character to act in such a way. Phiyega has drawn massive crowds at the Marikana Commission of Inquiry as she testifies for the first time. 

Legal Resources Centre advocate George Bizos has criticised legal counsel for the police, advocate Ishmael Semenya’s for the way he has been questioning her. 

The human rights lawyer has suggested the Semenya has so far been lenient to Phiyega. 

The police chief will take the stand this morning and she is expected to testify on the role of the police in the Marikana tragedy in which 34 lives were lost in August last year. 

Bizos says Phiyega should explain whether she understands the public order policy document. 

The legal counsel for the police, Ishmael Semenya however says there’s nothing wrong with his line of questioning.

Last week Phiyega has spent the morning agreeing with the contents of a public order policy document relating to crowd management as she appears before the Marikana Commission of Inquiry. 

Phiyega is the first witness that the police force has brought to the commission. 

The commission was established after 34 people were killed following a violent unprotected strike at the Lonmin Platinum Mine’s Marikana operations in the North West in August last year. Advocate Semenya has been reading out the outlines of the document to Phiyega.

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The province’s ANC Youth League (ANCYL) on Monday expressed shock at reports that the mother body has dissolved the league although provincial secretaries from Limpopo and Gauteng have confirmed being informed of the disbandment.

Provincial secretary Dikgang Stock said: “This is news to me, I only heard about it in the news. I am in Johannesburg now and we will be having an NEC meeting this evening. Maybe it is then when I will be briefed about the outcome.”

He said if the ANCYL NEC is shown the door, they will accept the resolution.

“We are operating in a democratic state, if democracy suggests that it is proper to dissolve leadership of a structure within the ANC, we will therefore abide by that resolution.”

The province’s ANCYL has been a stronghold of expelled ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema and declared its support for Malema publicly and his policies. Stock had at one stage even made a call on national television for the removal of President Jacob Zuma as the ANC president in Mangaung, and vowed that his deputy then, Kgalema Motlanthe, would emerge victorious at the conference.

He said if the league’s NEC was disbanded, then their provincial structure would be illegitimate. The ANCYL is expected to host its provincial conference in April.

Meanwhile, the Youth Communist League in the province said it accepted the decision to dissolve the NEC.

Provincial spokesperson, Kabelo Mohibidu said: “We welcome the decision by the NEC to dissolve them, actually it is long overdue.

“Structures of the league were dysfunctional.”

He said they would support an interim structure which would be put in place till the next conference.

“At least now young people will have a voice, they have been subjected to other individuals’ ideas for a very long time,” Mohibidu said.

For more details go to http://www.thenewage.co.za