Johannesburg – The PAC distanced itself from a statement by Pan Africanist Youth Congress (Payco) spokesperson Sello Tladi calling former president Nelson Mandela a “sell-out”.

“The PAC would like to distance itself from the reckless statement issued on the Youth Day [16 June], by some cranks parading themselves as youth leaders of the PAC,” General Secretary Narius Moloto said on Tuesday.

“In their statement, they callously wished that the former president should die. As the PAC, we are sad that such a reckless statement was issued in the first place, and that the persons who issued such foolish and reckless statement attached the name of the PAC to [the] statement.”

Moloto said the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania did not know the source of the statement and said Tladi was not part of the youth leadership.

Freedom Charter

On Monday, the Citizen reported that Tladi said Mandela was a sell-out and greedy.

“He betrayed us by rubber-stamping the 1913 Land Act through the adoption of [the] Freedom Charter,” Tladi was quoted as saying.

“The problem with the Freedom Charter is that it made African people to be landless.”

Tladi was reportedly addressing PAC, Azanian People’s Organisation (Azapo), and Socialist Party of Azania (Sopa) supporters at the Regina Mundi Church in Soweto at a Youth Day event on Sunday.

Moloto said the PAC regretted that such a statement was made on the organisation’s behalf.

“We hold the former president in high esteem as a struggle icon who helped this country gain its freedom from the shackles of oppression and apartheid rule,” he said.

“We also take this opportunity to wish him well as he recovers from his illness.”

Mandela was admitted to a Pretoria hospital on 8 June with a recurring lung infection.

– SAPA

South African Football Association (SAFA) President Kirsten Nematandani has swiftly moved to dampen speculation on Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund’s future saying the coach had a contract that runs until next year.

Only then, said SAFA President, would the coach’s future come up for discussion. The SAFA President has in the past told the media about his admiration for Igesund and again reiterated the same sentiments when the team arrived home on Monday from the World Cup qualifying assignments where they beat Central African Republic (CAR) and lost to Ethiopia.

The 2-1 defeat to Ethiopia effectively knocked Bafana Bafana out of contention for a place to Brazil 2014. That defeat led to speculation that Igesund’s contract would be reviewed and that he would meet his employers soon to chat the way forward.

However, Nematandani who was with the team on the two assignments said the Association would not meet Igesund with regards to his contract because that item ‘is not on the agenda’.

“We are aware of the media reports doing rounds about Gordon’s future,” said Nematandani. “One thing must be made clear here, the coach’s future is not under discussion. He (Igesund) is the Bafana Bafana coach and we have a contract with Gordon until next year and I don’t know where the media is picking the story that we would meet the coach to talk about his contract. There is nothing like that.”

Bafana Bafana trail Ethiopia by five points in Group A of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers with one match to go (against Botswana).

The SAFA president said it was important to stay focused on the challenges at hand which included the outstanding World Cup match against Botswana.

“We still have that (Botswana) match to play and also the Cosafa Cup next month. Once we are done with that we have to start looking at the CHAN as well as the qualification for the 2015 Afcon,” Nematandani said.

The SAFA President said he was very impressed with the fighting spirit and commitment shown by the players despite some travel logistics nightmare in Cameroon.

“We have to commend Bafana Bafana for their fighting spirit against CAR and Ethiopia. If anything, our players can never be accused of not trying especially against Ethiopia. They went down fighting and were just unfortunate on the day. We have to give credit to Gordon and his technical team for instilling that kind of fighting spirit,” said Nematandani.

Meanwhile, the SAFA President said he was aware of reports that Ethiopia is facing Fifa sanctions after fielding a suspended player in their qualifier against Botswana. “In all fairness, this has nothing to do with us,” he said. “It is a matter between Botswana and Ethiopia, but we will wait and see.”

Ethiopia vs. Bafana Bafana (Gallo Images)
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Addis Ababa – Ethiopia soccer officials have admitted that they fielded an ineligible player in a World Cup qualifier against Botswana by mistake and said they would not appeal any FIFA disciplinary rulings made against them.
“We have evaluated the situation and we came across the issue that we made a mistake,” said Sahlu Gebrewold, chief executive of Ethiopia’s Football Association.

“We accepted the allegation that this was inappropriate.

“There won’t be an appeal from us being lodged.”

Ethiopia are now almost certain to be docked three points, meaning South Africa would get a reprieve and may still be able to qualify for the 2014 finals in Brazil.

FIFA match records have also confirmed that Togo, along with Ethiopia have fielded suspended stars in 2014 World Cup qualifiers during June.

Midfielder Manyahile Beyene played for Ethiopia in Botswana instead of serving a one-match ban having been cautioned in Group A games away to South Africa and at home against Botswana.

Another midfielder, Alaixys Romao of Togo, committed a similar offence, starting in a Group I home game against Cameroon when he should have been sidelined following cautions in two earlier matches.

World football governing body FIFA issued a statement last weekend saying they were probing games involving Togo, Ethiopia and Equatorial Guinea over the alleged use of ineligible players, but did not name them.

The standard punishment for a team guilty of using an ineligible player is that their opponents are awarded a 3-0 victory, with Sudan, Burkina Faso and Gabon already punished during the 2014 qualifying competition.

Sudan played suspended Eldin Adris, Burkina Faso used Cameroon-born Herve Zengue, and Gabon picked Charly Moussono, who represented Cameroon at the 2006 Beach Soccer World Cup.

Should Togo, Ethiopia and Equatorial Guinea be found guilty, it would have a major impact on three groups with eliminated countries South Africa and Botswana (Group A) and Cape Verde Islands (Group B) coming back into contention.

Cameroon, who trail Libya by two points with a home fixture against them to come during September, would take a one-point advantage, leaving them needing a draw to reach the play-offs.

The matches being investigated are Togo 2 Cameroon 0 on June 8 in Lome, Botswana 1 Ethiopia 2 on June 7 in Lobatse, and Equatorial Guinea 4 Cape Verde Islands 3 on March 24 in Malabo.

On Tuesday, FIFA said in a separate statement they were also probing whether Equatorial Guinea contravened the competition regulations when they lost the return match against Cape Verde 2-1 on June 8 in Praia.

An undisclosed decision was reached by FIFA regarding the Equatorial Guinea-Cape Verde game in Malabo, but the part-island state must have been found guilty as they lodged an appeal.

It does not appear yellow card-related as match reports show Ben Konate was the only Equatorial Guinea player to receive two cautions and he served a one-game suspension.

A probable cause of the probe is the use of foreign-born players by the Equatoguineans with the side that started against Cape Verde including no footballer born in the country.

Five were born in Brazil, three in Spain and one each in Ivory Coast, Liberia and Ghana. Malabo-born Konate was among the three substitutes used with the others born in Brazil and Colombia.

FIFA rules state that if a footballer is not born in the country he wishes to represent, a parent or grandparent of his must have been born there, or he must have lived there continuously for at least five years.

Respected London-based magazine World Soccer has regularly reported that some players fielded by Equatorial Guinea, who co-hosted the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations and reached the quarter-finals, meet none of the criteria.

For more http://www.news24.com

Not even doves of peace could defuse the tension at Marikana on Monday as relatives of the victims of last year’s massacre gathered for a cleansing ceremony.

Firstly, three of the 44 families of the miners, policemen and security guards who died in August last year would not take part in Monday’s ceremony, which was marked by the slaughtering of 41 sheep, because the koppie was not the scene of their deaths.

The family of a Lonmin security guard, Hassan Fundi, slaughtered their sheep according to Islamic tradition on a spot separated by a dusty road from where families of the miners were slaughtering theirs.

About 2 000 people attended the ceremony, where a group, some dressed in Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union T-shirts, attempted to disrupt the event by demanding that police leave the koppie.

To keep the peace, the police moved their vehicles out of sight behind the koppie.

Some miners then sang a distance away from the marquee as they boarded buses destined for Impala Platinum mines, where they attended a rally organised by United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa.

The widow of one of the slain miners reflects as a ritual is performed during the cleansing ceremony. Picture: Bongiwe Mchunu

The Star

The miners said they were not going to be part of an event where the ANC was present.

Once they left, the ceremony, attended by North West Premier Thandi Modise and the ANC’s chairman in the province, Supra Mahumapelo, continued uninterrupted.

Families of the deceased were later called to the front, where they were each given a white dove to release.

This was preceded by prayers delivered by various religious leaders for peace, forgiveness and stability in the troubled mining sector, which has been marred by violence and bloodshed since early last year.

Andile Yawa, who lost his son Cebisile, 24, made an appeal for the violence and killings to stop.

“Since last year, people are continuing to die. This must stop, enough is enough. Forgive each other because violence won’t take you anywhere,” he said.

When the ceremony was over, Bojanala district municipality mayor Louis Diremelo, whose council organised the ceremony, said arrangements would be made for the families who were not part of Monday’s event to hold their own ceremony.
For more http://www.iol.co.za

Johannesburg – The PAC has distanced itself from a statement by Pan Africanist Youth Congress spokesman Sello Tladi calling former president Nelson Mandela a “sell-out”.

“The PAC would like to distance itself from the reckless statement issued on the Youth Day by some cranks parading themselves as youth leaders of the PAC,” general secretary Narius Moloto said on Tuesday.

“In their statement, they callously wished that the former president should die. As the PAC, we are sad that such a reckless statement was issued in the first place, and that the persons who issued such foolish and reckless statement attached the name of the PAC to (the) statement.”

Moloto said the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania did not know the source of the statement and said Tladi was not part of the youth leadership.

On Monday, the Citizen reported that Tladi said Mandela was a sell-out and greedy.

“He betrayed us by rubber-stamping the 1913 Land Act through the adoption of (the) Freedom Charter,” Tladi was quoted as saying.

“The problem with the Freedom Charter is that it made African people to be landless.”

Tladi was reportedly addressing PAC, Azanian People’s Organisation, and Socialist Party of Azania supporters at the Regina Mundi church in Soweto at a Youth Day event on Sunday.

Moloto said the PAC regretted that such a statement was made on the organisation’s behalf.

“We hold the former president in high esteem as a struggle icon who helped this country gain its freedom from the shackles of oppression and apartheid rule,” he said.

“We also take this opportunity to wish him well as he recovers from his illness.”

Mandela was admitted to a Pretoria hospital on June 8 with a recurring lung infection. – Sapa

South African Football Association (SAFA) President Kirsten Nematandani has swiftly moved to dampen speculation on Bafana Bafana coach Gordon Igesund’s future saying the coach had a contract that runs until next year.

Only then, said SAFA President, would the coach’s future come up for discussion. The SAFA President has in the past told the media about his admiration for Igesund and again reiterated the same sentiments when the team arrived home on Monday from the World Cup qualifying assignments where they beat Central African Republic (CAR) and lost to Ethiopia.

The 2-1 defeat to Ethiopia effectively knocked Bafana Bafana out of contention for a place to Brazil 2014. That defeat led to speculation that Igesund’s contract would be reviewed and that he would meet his employers soon to chat the way forward.

However, Nematandani who was with the team on the two assignments said the Association would not meet Igesund with regards to his contract because that item ‘is not on the agenda’.

“We are aware of the media reports doing rounds about Gordon’s future,” said Nematandani. “One thing must be made clear here, the coach’s future is not under discussion. He (Igesund) is the Bafana Bafana coach and we have a contract with Gordon until next year and I don’t know where the media is picking the story that we would meet the coach to talk about his contract. There is nothing like that.”

Bafana Bafana trail Ethiopia by five points in Group A of the 2014 World Cup qualifiers with one match to go (against Botswana).

The SAFA president said it was important to stay focused on the challenges at hand which included the outstanding World Cup match against Botswana.

“We still have that (Botswana) match to play and also the Cosafa Cup next month. Once we are done with that we have to start looking at the CHAN as well as the qualification for the 2015 Afcon,” Nematandani said.

The SAFA President said he was very impressed with the fighting spirit and commitment shown by the players despite some travel logistics nightmare in Cameroon.

“We have to commend Bafana Bafana for their fighting spirit against CAR and Ethiopia. If anything, our players can never be accused of not trying especially against Ethiopia. They went down fighting and were just unfortunate on the day. We have to give credit to Gordon and his technical team for instilling that kind of fighting spirit,” said Nematandani.

Meanwhile, the SAFA President said he was aware of reports that Ethiopia is facing Fifa sanctions after fielding a suspended player in their qualifier against Botswana. “In all fairness, this has nothing to do with us,” he said. “It is a matter between Botswana and Ethiopia, but we will wait and see.”

Mark Mayambela will have just over a week’s pre-season training with Orlando Pirates before jetting out of the country for trials.

The 25-year-old midfielder will report back for duty with the rest of the squad tomorrow at Rand Stadium, despite his contract expiring at the end of the month.

ALSO READ: Roger de Sa preparing for new season

His agent, Tim Sukazi, confirms his client will link up with the Buccaneers before heading off to Turkey.

“Mark will report for duty as instructed, before heading to Turkey for trials early in July,” Sukazi tells KickOff.com. “It actually suits us fine … it means he will have a little bit of fitness under his belt when he gets to Europe.”

ALSO READ: Fatau Dauda at Pirates for medical

Mayambela has failed to make any impact at Pirates after joining from Bloemfontein Celtic in 2010 and will be relishing some game-time at a new club.
For more http://www.kickoff.com

The transfer of Ghanaian goalkeeper, Fatau Dauda, to Orlando Pirates took a step closer to finalisation today, after he underwent a medical with Bucs.

It was revealed by the Siya crew last week that the 28-year-old was due to have his medical with the club this week, after arriving in South Africa yesterday, with his current chairman explaining that his check-up went well.

Kudjoe Fianoo, the chairman of Ashanti Gold, said that, once the medical report has been filed, ‘serious negotiations’ can begin.

Fianoo told the Siya crew, “It went okay, we’re now just waiting for a report from Orlando Pirates. I spoke to him this morning, he’s finished and he’s on his way back to Ghana.

“Pirates are waiting for the medical report, and then when the coast is clear we can enter into serious negotiations. No personal terms have been agreed yet.”

It is thought that the talented shot-stopped favours a move to Parktown and that his transfer to the Buccaneers should be completed within the next week, if all goes according to plan.

Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs will clash on July 27, with the title of 2013 Carling Black Label Cup champions up for grabs.
For more http://www.soccerladuma.com

Durban – Inkatha Freedom Party leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi’s sometime speech writer joined the African National Congress on Tuesday.

Roman Liptak, who represented the IFP in the KwaZulu-Natal legislature, was presented by the ANC, along with the IFP’s former provincial health spokesperson Usha Roopnarain, at a news conference in Durban.

Roopnarain was also a member of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature. Pat Lebenye, a former IFP Youth Brigade leader, was also presented as a new ANC member.

Provincial ANC chairperson Senzo Mchunu said none of the three had been promised positions in the party.

The IFP said it would comment later.

– SAPA