Black Racists vow to “Rape & Kill” White World Cup fans

<p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">A VILE Facebook campaign to incite race hate ahead of the World Cup in South Africa in June is being investigated by police.</span></strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUPTl5YpslETYk05xfRYaWAwYRcekJ-7MpbtyaXmTs9W9bO0HeAJWhnvygGeKozA9Jg1f4nTxcMijTmrsPZ4fZTHHbo3ktXIcfDqzoFCk_Vn76LzMqV2IEjomVhztxa_3dmczzN7RocjUe/s1600/2010+chaos.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk52Yj_YttFlXsVH3gD0kId3nGO3qHdKhse48ySZu3ygKMxR5XaapYDMGLMlVUMxh4FOz6Q3uomJkuWEW6ERzPpFRWWRPFaq6Zv75Cpj6-c5JJiqpC5SiwiydMq1vhwcfqKbCJqFttd6S5/s1600/WCTshirt1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466680820338604242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk52Yj_YttFlXsVH3gD0kId3nGO3qHdKhse48ySZu3ygKMxR5XaapYDMGLMlVUMxh4FOz6Q3uomJkuWEW6ERzPpFRWWRPFaq6Zv75Cpj6-c5JJiqpC5SiwiydMq1vhwcfqKbCJqFttd6S5/s400/WCTshirt1.jpg" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 295px; CURSOR: hand" /></a>The official probe was launched into a group set up by alleged supporters of firebrand politician Julius Malema.<br /><br />One entry, emailed to football fans around the world, calls for the “rape and slaughter” of whites and the murder of President Jacob Zuma.<br /><br />In a chilling message a Malema “fan” called Thato Mbateti Mbateti warns: “Every trespasser, namely white whores, we will rape them and kill them… White kids will be burned.” </span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The Facebook page, which attracted more than 15,000 followers, has been shut down. Malema and the ANCYL insisted it was not an official supporters’ page.<br /><br />Lawrence Schlemmer, vice president of the South African Institute of Race Relations, said: “There is no reason why these things, as tragic as they are, should affect the safety of fans or players at the World Cup. The World Cup and sport, as it is supposed to, channels passions and reconciles conflict.”<br /><br />The article has appeared on Express.co.uk but they have deleted it so the article is now available only on </span><a href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:sVWoQUVEF8QJ:www.express.co.uk/posts/view/167653/Racists-vow-to-rape-and-kill-white-World-Cup-fans+http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/167653/Racists-vow-to-rape-and-kill-white-World-Cup-fans&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Google Cache</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> and in the following screenshot.<br /><br />UPDATE: Express.co.uk probably realised it was lame to remove their article so they have added it back again. Here’s the </span><a href="http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/167653/Racists-vow-to-rape-and-kill-white-World-Cup-fans"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">source</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> link.</span><br /></p><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; CLEAR: both" class="separator"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaN6enctnHVn6fUuOaOsALhjHmHbXe6_2mWmOg47J3QtZarsSEZdJv6z4yG29wcfS5hkA32qWr7kusUopoMnkAjBo-qTCEGxA_CIkkla_C__93DAAwr1XED30F2AsG4fZWMZLwJJjnjUPN/s1600/express-vow-to-rape-and-kill-white-world-cup-fans.png" imageanchor="1" style="MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; MARGIN-RIGHT: 1em"><img border="0" height="588" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaN6enctnHVn6fUuOaOsALhjHmHbXe6_2mWmOg47J3QtZarsSEZdJv6z4yG29wcfS5hkA32qWr7kusUopoMnkAjBo-qTCEGxA_CIkkla_C__93DAAwr1XED30F2AsG4fZWMZLwJJjnjUPN/s640/express-vow-to-rape-and-kill-white-world-cup-fans.png" tt="true" width="640" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><em><strong><span style="color:#000099;">Related posts: </span></strong><br /><br />1.</em></span><a href="http://www.eutimes.net/2009/07/south-africa-world-cup-2010-why-going-to-south-africa-for-the-world-cup-terrifies-me/"><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>South Africa World Cup 2010: ‘Why going to South Africa for the World Cup terrifies me’</em></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><em><br />2.</em></span><a href="http://www.eutimes.net/2009/06/south-africa-world-cup-2010-anc-government-does-nothing-to-prevent-black-looting-and-murdering-white-africanerboers-have-defend-themselves/"><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>South Africa World Cup 2010: ANC Government does nothing to prevent black looting and murdering, Whites Africaner/Boer have to defend themselves</em></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><em><br />3.</em></span><a href="http://www.eutimes.net/2009/07/dont-go-to-the-world-cup-2010-in-sa-world%e2%80%99s-top-security-company-refuses-to-work-in-south-africa-too-dangerous/"><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>Don’t go to the World Cup 2010 in SA: World’s top security company refuses to work in South Africa – Too Dangerous</em></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><em><br />4.</em></span><a href="http://www.eutimes.net/2010/03/zumas-heir-blamed-for-inciting-racist-attacks-on-south-africas-white-farmers/"><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>Zuma’s heir blamed for inciting racist attacks on South Africa’s white farmers</em></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><em><br />5.</em></span><a href="http://www.eutimes.net/2009/07/in-south-africa-rape-is-linked-to-manhood/"><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>In South Africa, rape is linked to manhood</em></span></a> <p></p>

Black Racists vow to “Rape & Kill” White World Cup fans

A VILE Facebook campaign to incite race hate ahead of the World Cup in South Africa in June is being investigated by police. The official pr...

Read more »

Ras Fried Chicken Unplucked wants to cluck the national anthem for the 2010 games

<p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Pieter Stuurman, a car guard in Randburg says he can do a better job than Ras Dumisani. He admits he also doesn’t know the Xhosa and the English segments of the anthem, but he says he can improvise.<br /><br /><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405854063371633570" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8kh4DduzTfMSpKm2SYlZKfLyn1hpXfChOP19a5z-45crbBrfVSPUmgos86VdPqmarnT-86un3WJyLsZqbwlkHEJAR9bA9jf-LkI_FoP-6L3o4abJw_3ofpwSs81f0eSk87QZjIH5bOWg/s400/Boks-Rasta-Final.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 368px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" />So far his version goes something like this:<br /><br />Nkosi soek ’n le plek in Afrika, mal ou pak a mes op Donderdag, yo! Jy is my tandarts Zoe, jy toe, Nkosi soek a le plek, Tina is ‘n pora, yo! He says he is still working on the rest. He says he can sing it on cue and nobody will notice the difference. </span><p>

Ras Fried Chicken Unplucked wants to cluck the national anthem for the 2010 games

Pieter Stuurman, a car guard in Randburg says he can do a better job than Ras Dumisani. He admits he also doesn’t know the Xhosa and the Eng...

Read more »

Chuene’s trail of lies

<p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="font-size:180%;color:#990000;">Secret report reveals Chuene's plotting</span></strong><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLPKm5Xm8o6vksVqdKwlSwPNX0E2KKLloV8TLlHGUhyphenhyphenWE_MsVAYhdbWai3S6VlQLt33yXLqWZfYTT8H1gEM5zV75jJi_3Hbd82EnDjipYfF6Hy_Mfc_tJHNovPl_AmmlG6RatVesBOu4I/s1600-h/chuene_anc1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395898404005122034" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLPKm5Xm8o6vksVqdKwlSwPNX0E2KKLloV8TLlHGUhyphenhyphenWE_MsVAYhdbWai3S6VlQLt33yXLqWZfYTT8H1gEM5zV75jJi_3Hbd82EnDjipYfF6Hy_Mfc_tJHNovPl_AmmlG6RatVesBOu4I/s400/chuene_anc1.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 378px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" /></a>In a bombshell report the doctor of the South African athletics team, Harold Adams, has accused Athletics South Africa (ASA) boss Leonard Chuene of deliberately politicising and sowing confusion in the Caster Semenya gender test saga.<br /><br />Adams’s confidential report, leaked to the Mail & Guardian, suggests that Chuene consulted top-level politicians before deciding, against Adams’s advice, to field Semenya in the World Athletics Championship in Berlin in August.<br /><br />The M&G understands that one of these politicians was the controversial ANC head of Parliament’s sports committee, Butana Komphela.<br /><br />In the report Adams asks: “Did Chuene consult with the ‘high-powered politicians’ to merely get an endorsement and political backing for his pre-conceived plan of getting a medal at all costs?”<br /><br />He says Chuene told a medical team of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) that “withdrawing Semenya was not acceptable to top-level South African politicians who are also in government and that if the IAAF insisted on Semenya’s withdrawal they would face the wrath of the South African government, because it would not hesitate to take the IAAF to the highest court in the land”.<br /><br />Adams accuses Chuene of “an orgy of lies” and “selfish interest to cover his back at the expense of Semenya’s welfare”. He describes his decision to let Semenya race in Berlin as “reckless, short-sighted and grossly ­irresponsible”.<br /><br />Chuene did not reply to the M&G’s questions this week and Komphela was unavailable.<br /><br />In Parliament this week Chuene blamed the IAAF and the media for Semenya’s woes, saying he had only acted to protect the athlete.<br /><br />Adams’s report indicates that Chuene lied to Parliament by saying that the IAAF had suggested Semenya should fake an injury and withdraw from the race, which he considered “unethical”.<br /><br />The report was sent to the ANC and South Africa’s Olympic governing body, Sascoc.<br /><br />It has come to light in the week that IAAF president Lamine Diack was due to have visited South Africa to discuss Semenya’s gender test with her and the government. But Diack announced on Thursday that he had cancelled the trip.<br /><br />Komphela has declared Diack unwelcome in the country.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdbKCfw0XpJXwgYb5jDFm1pHJFfaFVOfe1liXnEbbrAuOdiTIsxsAKyJfi05RwzdxWuv0jWBOrg336xzjusSnaLL1-0iNTG_B3wLnE7CYOJeURiFIlkFmZj-datpP6e7Cd9PemiOkHrAI/s1600-h/malema-fuckr.bmp"></a>Said a senior athletics official: “The report should raise questions about why Komphela has kept quiet all this time. Chuene told him he was going to do something bad and would need the support of politicians when he gets back home. “After Komphela realised that Chuene was in trouble, he spoke to [ANC Youth League leader] Julius Malema to try to squash this whole thing.”<br /><br />The report reveals that when Adams recommended that Semenya be withdrawn from the championships, Chuene initially agreed.<br /><br />Adam says: “The reason for my advice was that the tests might prove too traumatic for Semenya to handle, especially without the necessary support of family and friends around her.<br /><br />“The other reason was that being tested at the World Championships would not give her enough time to consult extensively and perhaps arrive at a decision to refuse the testing, if she felt it would infringe on her privacy and personal rights.”<br /><br />Adams alleges that Chuene changed his mind the next day after consulting ASA deputy president Kakata Maponyane and politicians back home.<br /><br />The report reads: “The following day Chuene informed me that he had changed his mind about Semenya’s withdrawal. He said if we withdrew Semenya, what explanation would we give the politicians back home?<br /><br />“Chuene then requested me to set up a meeting with the IAAF’s medical team. I asked him why he did not discuss the matter with the president of the IAAF and agree with him on how to take the process forward, because this was such a delicate matter.<br /><br />“Chuene said talking to the president of the IAAF would be his last option. He first wanted to politicise the whole thing and to cause confusion within the IAAF medical team.”<br /><br />Chuene has defended his decision to field the 800m champion in Berlin by saying that “no reasons were given to him on why he should withdraw Semenya from the championships”.<br /><br />Adams asks: “The question is: why did Chuene suddenly doubt my credibility when I have such credentials behind my name? Did Chuene consult with the ‘high-powered politicians’ to merely get an endorsement and political backing for his preconceived plan of getting a medal at all costs?”<br /><br />At Chuene’s request, Adams arranged the meeting with the IAAF’s medical team, where he said Semenya’s withdrawal would be unacceptable to top-level politicians and the South African government. “He told me to keep quiet in that meeting and that he and Maponyane would defend the country’s position ...”<br /><br />On Tuesday Chuene told Parliament’s sports committee that the IAAF medical team gave him two options during their meeting: the first, that Semenya should fake an injury and withdraw from the race, which Chuene rejected as “unethical”, and the second that “she run and finish and the matter can be addressed after the race. Chuene was not comfortable with this option.”<br /><br />But Adams says that the IAAF team made it clear “that Semenya could compete at the World Championships, on condition that she accepted that she would be subjected to the IAAF’s gender verification tests in Berlin and that, if any unfair advantage was detected on the part of her, she would be stripped of any medal she might have won at the championships; or that Semenya is withdrawn from the world championships.<br /><br />“If [the latter] was to be the option exercised, the IAAF was comfortable with ASA handling the matter of the gender verification tests back in South Africa and a report on the said tests sent to the IAAF.”<br /><br />The Democratic Alliance’s Donald Lee said Chuene should be “ashamed of the role he has played in this saga. It is disgraceful that he has never been admonished, much less dismissed, for his role in violating the dignity of Caster Semenya. He needs to be held accountable and needs to step down as the head of ASA.”<br /><br />Last month the M&G exposed Chuene’s trail of lies, including his claim that no gender tests had been conducted on Semenya in South Africa.<br /><br />The report says that Chuene asked Adams to be present at his press conferences to confirm this claim to put the matter to rest “once and for all”.<br /><br />Adams turned down both requests because he could not endorse a lie.<br /><br />“I sincerely believe that Chuene’s decision to refuse that Semenya be withdrawn was ... reckless, short-sighted and grossly irresponsible. Chuene’s orgy of lies had absolutely nothing to do with Semenya but all had to do with Chuene’s selfish interest to cover his back at the expense of Semenya’s welfare,” Adams says.<br /><br />Youth league president Malema continues to give public support to Chuene, and the ANC’s Caster Semenya task team also attacked the IAAF this week, saying the gender tests “were not conducted in keeping with their own stated gender verification policies and rules”.<br /><br />It demanded that the IAAF make a public apology.<br /><br />Sources said Adams was reluctant to present his report to the task team on Tuesday because the ANC had already taken a position.<br /><br />“The whole thing was well planned; everyone is now blaming the IAAF and this was part of the plan,” the senior official said. </span><p><br /></p>

Chuene’s trail of lies

Secret report reveals Chuene's plotting In a bombshell report the doctor of the South African athletics team, Harold Adams, has accused ...

Read more »

Buffoona Buffoona: Do we even need a coach?

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL2wt02jCejEcTAKXFp-bIpL86pjR4IEoarQKd7mef-FU6r70Af19SyARORkJ6Efs5vXwu2n3YEkrz8J2JppnNbV_2Z9VejJW2QjQMi-cVD4VnrYhTJufayNleD-4BgeqkgVxPut04JAw/s1600-h/ZumaSouthAfricaSoccerTeam.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395350604253940514" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL2wt02jCejEcTAKXFp-bIpL86pjR4IEoarQKd7mef-FU6r70Af19SyARORkJ6Efs5vXwu2n3YEkrz8J2JppnNbV_2Z9VejJW2QjQMi-cVD4VnrYhTJufayNleD-4BgeqkgVxPut04JAw/s400/ZumaSouthAfricaSoccerTeam.jpg" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 299px" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><em><span style="font-size:78%;">Out to lunch<br />David Bullard</span></em><br /><br />Soccer..... I have been paying attention to press reports recently and notice that it's been much in the local news lately because the coach (who struggles by on about R1.5m a month) has been given his marching orders. He was apparently a foreign chappie who couldn't speak any of our 11 official languages which might have made life a bit difficult I guess. Still, one and a half bar a month isn't to be sniffed at.<br /><br />Obviously somebody appointed him to the job and I guess that must have been SAFA and the general assemblage of vacuous blazers that make up that organisation. So it's actually their fault because you've got to be a complete anagram of a Danish king to appoint someone with no previous experience of international coaching and who can't speak any of the languages to a job paying that much. Apparently SAFA were acting on the recommendation of a previous coach who also could hardly speak any intelligible language and had a similar lack of success with the local squad. He pushed off home to be at his sick wife's bedside but not before he had also helped himself to large amounts of our moolah. Shades of SAA about all this don't you think?<br /><br />So now we're looking for a new coach to bring the team that is currently at number 85 in the world (didn't know there were that many countries that played football) up to speed a mere few months before we host the FIFA World Cup. Well, I'm no soccer expert but it ain't going to happen because the problem isn't just the coach, it's the players. Put bluntly, they're not very good at doing the job they are being paid to do. Which means that they are proud South Africans because our peculiar economic system encourages the employment of people who are incapable of doing what they are paid to do on condition that they pass the melanin test. If we had an all white national football squad we might actually win a game but the ANC wouldn't like it. But then again they complained bitterly about the whiteness of our national rugby team until they won the world cup. Then they were all over them like a bad rash because they realised there might be some money in it for them. If we continue to insist on racial demographics in sport and business then we are doomed to mediocrity. Winning nations appoint the best person for the job.<br /><br />The question that puzzles me is why we need a coach at all. It's been demonstrated that an orchestra will continue to play without a conductor and that newspapers still get produced even when the editor spends most of his time in a bar. So why do we need a coach? What does he do anyway for R1.5m? Surely the team members know that the ball is the thing they are supposed to kick, have a rough idea of the rules of the game and know which goal post to aim for. Apart from energetically chewing gum, pacing the borders of the pitch and yelling encouragement in a language that none of the players understand it seems that Mr Santana had a pretty easy job. Dare I suggest Kirsten that I could have done the same for a fraction of the cost and been a damn sight more entertaining.<br /><br />Quite honestly it doesn't matter who is appointed as coach to the national soccer squad because the money is so good that it's of no concern if the team win anything ever again. For one and half million a month I also wouldn't give a toss about the result. On the other hand it is going to be very embarrassing when we make the record books for being the first country ever to host the World Cup to be eliminated in the first round. That's going to really give the nation a sense of pride isn't it?</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><p></p>

Buffoona Buffoona: Do we even need a coach?

Out to lunch David Bullard Soccer..... I have been paying attention to press reports recently and notice that it's been much in the loca...

Read more »

Athletics SA have known for years Caster Semenya is a HE

<p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">An Australian newspaper, <a href="http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/semenya-has-no-womb-or-ovaries/story-e6frexni-1225771672245" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/semenya-has-no-womb-or-ovaries/story-e6frexni-1225771672245');">The Daily Telegraph</a>,</span></strong><strong><span style="color:#990000;"> has published a story online saying that tests done reveal the South African world champion has no womb nor ovaries according to a source who has leaked confidential medical information.</span></strong></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><blockquote><em><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380310339153725666" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd99AZ5EaNeROMvtwOHDqkhDAGFuEMVcPYFM4SsfUbNNUqCj-3sb_F_LHCTbI-rJf3ZYlQGp9y8Pm6Nk-2kbRp14I5kJXUfluut3G67yP5lxrHTgDYWjOQIdWjf3mL9UC8dcIUbiLrDEA/s400/caster-semenya-medals.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 343px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" />The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) is ready to disqualify Semenya from future events and advise her to have immediate surgery because her condition carries grave health risks. They have also not ruled out stripping Semenya of her 800m world championships gold medal.</em></blockquote><p>This morning the IAAF told The Times that they had the test results from Germany but these would first be interpreted by a panel of experts before discussing the matter with Caster, and then making a public statement. Well that didn’t happen.</p><p>The anonymous source familiar with the IAAF enquiry says that the two parties at fault for the debacle are “the IAAF and especially Athletics SA. The South Africans have got a massive responsibility, but no one seems to be attacking them. Basically they (ASA) have known for months, for years, that she’s not normal. They could have set in process these kind of tests if they had been more responsible.”</p><p><strong>Testosterone<br /></strong><br /><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380310349803577250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiqkgu3ydtkQWJrgfpeOx3N4Yf1wsgg758jZ2g-9ZhnW0hfety_de3BzVChOjiCHCWlzV1aXdBaZuMHIT2gaD5jiUrRHfQW0iuFpyJ8CkdxlMIZGMTIIeKEYtA2MbznfUc2SAfSN6o-qs/s400/caster-semenya-makeover-athlete-gender.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" />Semenya is claimed to have NO womb or ovaries — and has internal testes, the male sexual organs which produce testosterone.<br /><br />The row over Semenya's biology has caused huge divisions — with South African politicians calling slurs she is a man "racist and sexist." Her birth certificate has the teen listed as female and urine tests showed that, despite her having higher than average male hormone levels, they are within the official limits for a woman.<br /><br />But an IAAF source was today quoted as saying: "There certainly is evidence now that Semenya is a hermaphrodite.<br /><br />"But the trouble is the IAAF now have the whole ANC and the whole of South Africa on their backs.<br /><br />"Everything is going to have to be done absolutely by the book, no question of a challenge to our findings.<br /><br />IAAF spokesman Nick Davies was not immediately available to comment on the story.</p><p></span></p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOz1ka4MbowV6HAD3PhB6XnghCV8xFv7UKBdr9QMMoJF9W6WNosC4nE7pNMX0covFvXG6JraZVOtDQZJX6Jufzoc3c3DG71pUGvuf7ZCs55ueqSg4ni9SJiPysJrl5ZNHdrRB8dzxF5XM/s1600-h/caster_Main-pic.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379906545854505458" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOz1ka4MbowV6HAD3PhB6XnghCV8xFv7UKBdr9QMMoJF9W6WNosC4nE7pNMX0covFvXG6JraZVOtDQZJX6Jufzoc3c3DG71pUGvuf7ZCs55ueqSg4ni9SJiPysJrl5ZNHdrRB8dzxF5XM/s400/caster_Main-pic.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 195px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 232px" /></a>The organisation confirmed this morning that it had received the test results back and was processing the data.<br />Semenya was ordered to take tests straight after her 800 metres gold at the World Championships in Berlin.<br /><br />The athlete received a heroine's welcome when she arrived back home in South Africa following the backlash.<br /><br />And Semenya's family have slammed the claims, saying: "It is God who made her look that way but she IS a girl."<br /><br />The runner was last week given a make-over by YOU magazine — and called the row over her gender "a joke" as she posed in make-up and a dress.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><a class="l" href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2631482/Runner-is-a-hermaphrodite.html" onmousedown="return clk(this.href,'news_result','','res','2','&sig2=2YuRBBQKIi9T5qBkIm9Jbw')"><em><span style="font-size:85%;">Runner is a 'hermaphrodite'</span></em></a><em><span style="font-size:85%;">‎ - The Sun</span></em></span><em><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><a class="l" href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/othersports/article-1212568/Gender-row-runner-Caster-Semenya-hermaphrodite-womb-ovaries-claims-Australian-newspaper.html" onmousedown="return clk(this.href,'news_result','','res','1','&sig2=etz8UXKp3DvbIJMY82L99g')">Gender-row runner Caster Semenya 'is a hermaphrodite with no womb ...</a>‎ Daily Mail </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Caster is a hermaphrodite. <a href="http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/semenya-has-no-womb-or-ovaries/story-e6frexni-1225771672245" onclick="javascript:pageTracker._trackPageview('/outgoing/www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/semenya-has-no-womb-or-ovaries/story-e6frexni-1225771672245');">The Daily Telegraph</a></span></span></em><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br /><em><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color:#000099;">See:-</span> <span style="color:#990000;">H</span></span></em><a href="http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0022346801664170"><em><span style="font-size:100%;">ermaphroditism occurs quite commonly in South Africa</span></em></a><em><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color:#990000;">n</span> black people: A disproportionally high incidence of true hermaphroditism is seen among the South African black people, constituting 51% of children in local study on all intersex types.</span> </span></em></span><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em>Click on link to see full story </em></span><a class="l" href="http://bornagainredneck.blogspot.com/2009/08/semenya-south-african-hermaphrodite.html" onmousedown="return clk(this.href,'','','res','2','&sig2=79dxSVW5Fasd5FgdP3a3Hw')"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em>Semenya the South African hermaphrodite runner</em></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em> </em></span></p><p></p>

Athletics SA have known for years Caster Semenya is a HE

An Australian newspaper, The Daily Telegraph , has published a story online saying that tests done reveal the South African world champion ...

Read more »

ASA faces race charge

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRC-vDlBhcOVZketa10WJO5Ew4G0W92w9knUvCIu_7sbt-ToU5Vo2CAy71kC86WXzDkpgYh-ooeIDu5pUjB7WFqHeV8nDa0k92txbTs0wY_KmgT2tLmVcM7vJHPl9tnPu4q86SfHuHaLs/s1600-h/Chuene.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5376279042243893442" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRC-vDlBhcOVZketa10WJO5Ew4G0W92w9knUvCIu_7sbt-ToU5Vo2CAy71kC86WXzDkpgYh-ooeIDu5pUjB7WFqHeV8nDa0k92txbTs0wY_KmgT2tLmVcM7vJHPl9tnPu4q86SfHuHaLs/s400/Chuene.jpg" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 229px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 337px" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Cape Town - A civil rights organisation has laid a charge with the world's governing body of athletics against the president of Athletics South Africa (ASA) for inciting racial polarisation over athlete Caster</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> Semenya.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><em><span style="font-size:85%;color:#000099;">Athletics South Africa head Leonard Chuene </span></em><br /><br />AfriForum chief executive Kallie Kriel said he had laid a charge against Leonard Chuene, with the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).<br /><br />"Chuene's polarising statements, which transformed the deplorable events regarding Caster Semenya's gender into a racial issue... is a gross violation of the IAAF's constitution and rules."<br /><br />Kriel said Chuene had also been charged by AfriForum with allowing the ASA's media conference and gathering at the time of Semenya's return to South Africa to be used as a platform for ANC politicians to exploit Semenya for political purposes.<br /><br /><strong>Attack against whites</strong><br /><br />"The president of the ANC Youth League, Julius Malema, amongst others launched a scathing attack against whites at this occasion," Kriel said.<br /><br />He said AfriForum had asked the IAAF to take strong action against those responsible for disclosing the information about the gender testing which caused the violation of Semenya's privacy and human dignity.<br /><br />Semenya, 18, won a gold medal in the women's 800m race at the World Athletics Championship in Berlin, Germany. Her win, however, was marred by controversy as the IAAF ordered she undergo gender verification tests. </span><p>

ASA faces race charge

Cape Town - A civil rights organisation has laid a charge with the world's governing body of athletics against the president of Athletic...

Read more »

Is she a he, or isn’t she?

<p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">Nazi cover-ups, sexually ambiguous sprinters and tell-tale five o’clock shadows </span></strong><br /><br /><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372461044459673330" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU3DqmsntxpgSXcbFg6VY1c7fH9ZeYQW-enT8NUt6fRqdC01e-QNEExdoO_xPbFolycbDpLNauC6KA4FmBfsZ9eGoBI04P8fNXrvfzJyXXzgioXSsbCntGUPUIIFSVQzKd7-u6rvQDkJY/s400/caster-semenya-pic-getty.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 267px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /><strong>Is she a he, or isn’t she?</strong> A South African 800 metre runner’s gender has been questioned after she stormed to victory in the World Championships in Berlin yesterday. <strong>Below see top 10 gender benders in sport.</strong> And - a word of warning - be prepared to stomach phases like, ahem, 'ambigious genitalia', 'transitioning’ and 'gender reassignment'.<br /><br /><strong><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372821377982587282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioRMRu4ogNGCr9Wu3VY6kwLCrXPFetLUxW8BeJTPux54GEqQ6EnCk1FCGNYT50A7jtXRhEoN6bwuUuYQA0m5z1coeMYbTkjpfWG4GTK_ExgpGdAwKdADhX9PLXB-yNaBH-TOa7IjDjJ3w/s400/c-semenya03.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 358px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" />1.</strong> </span><a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/08/20/is-she-a-he-sex-scandal-surrounding-women-s-800m-gold-medallist-caster-semenya-115875-21609514/" nodeindex="2"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Physically imposing middle-distance sensation Caster Semenya, 18, was at the centre of an inquiry on Tuesday due to concerns over whether she is really a bloke or lass</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">.<br /><br />Weeks before the race the International Association of Athletics Federations made <strong>Semenya</strong> take a gender verification test, the results of which are not yet known.<br /><br />Below shows her storming to victory in Berlin yesterday:</span><br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/5bpeem7bJ6o&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/5bpeem7bJ6o&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Strong running, you must agree. <strong>Make up your own mind about Semenya.</strong> </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Here she is speaking after her semi-final win.</span><br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/G-bqET22vEU&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/G-bqET22vEU&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong>2.</strong> Poor Caster could lose her (his?) medal if the IAAF determine she is actually a he – and it would not be the first time an athlete has been stripped of a medal … not to mention their dignity.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Three years ago Indian runner <strong>Santhi Soundarajan</strong> had to hand back her 800m silver medal after failing a gender test at the Asian Games in Doha. Sadly, feeling publicly humiliated, Soundarajan (below) later attempted suicide.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372462370472503874" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidkqImxkgx147r9Uq5MjMHi7A8XkJq0yO2vUpsCu-Lioo0xQZrZMuIQYU2lqDpoJZ4p5M4rG73RejsbbNabLX1p_GqMCePVgulDE9eu4t1t2o2v6lHH4Qd_nMZqdt9mhmh66r58Q2Snrk/s400/gb-santhi-soundarajan-pic-getty.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 236px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" />3.</strong> Back in 2005 a judge in Zimbabwe sentenced a leading youth athlete to four years in prison for competing in female events, after <strong>Samukeliso Sithole</strong> was caught with his pants down and found to be a man.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The 18-year-old, who earlier claimed to be a hermaphrodite, notched up seven gold medals in women's competitions in 2004.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">After six witnesses - including two doctors – confirmed that Sithole was a man, she / he confessed and then was locked up.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong>4.</strong> <strong>Stanisława Walasiewicz</strong> (later <strong>Stella Walsh</strong>) won Olympic gold for Poland in the 100 metres at the 1932 Los Angles Games. Four years later she won silver in the same event.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">So popular was Walasiewicz in her homeland that she was named Polish sportsperson of the year in 1930 and from 1932-4 while in her career she set over 100 national and world records, including 51 Polish records, 18 world records, and eight European records.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">And she would have gone down as one of the greatest sportswomen in history if she had not been caught up in an armed robbery in 1980. Walasiewicz was a bystander in the heist in Cleveland, Ohio, and was shot dead. An autopsy revealed that she possessed male genitalia.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372464104302265266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Zlo63bxOlyiYpbcvGIqZyCLlWt5RN27a5GHlnNTywv7saBFHFKLBXn-toB-sAnQWCkakD92B5ympsYWCt4SnU_tjgPfmNQ1cGO_7xOl3SVQF1w8wWs4_txt5xSmEW3Qe53fj2TJJNwA/s400/gb-mianne-baggher-pic-getty.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 248px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /><strong>5.</strong> In 2004 Australian golfer, and former man, <strong>Mianna Bagger</strong> qualified for the Ladies European Tour, becoming the first transsexual in history to do so. The LET had previously stated all entrants must be “female at birth”, but the rules were changed for Bagger following a ruling by the International Olympic Committee.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong>6.</strong> American <strong>Richard Raskind</strong> was a pretty good tennis player – in 1972 he reached the final of the national championships for those 35-and-over. Later, as Renee Richards, he would go as high as 20th in the women’s world rankings.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">In the 1960s Raskind travelled to Europe to seek out a famous gynaecologist in the hope that he would make him a woman. However the lady was for turning and shelved that idea to return to the states to marry and father a child.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">But Raskind’s longings would not go away and in 1975 he underwent sex reassignment surgery. As Richards she gained notoriety for initially being denied entry into the 1976 US Open by the United States Tennis Association, who citied an unprecedented women-born-women policy. Renee disputed the ban, and the New York Supreme Court ruled in her favour a year later. <strong>New balls please</strong>!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong>7.</strong> German pole vaulter <strong>Yvonne Buschbaum</strong>, 29, was crowned world junior champion in 1999 and went on to finish sixth at the Sydney Olympic Games the following year. She also won Bronze at the European Championships in 2002, making her the second best female German pole vaulter in history … and then things went a little bit strange.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372465418395397778" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglo8j5LEN_eeNwQrg-kJgGm2qOQVAOPty2pYoiI6eeoQo_yiR5v5v56-eSF0Aw6dMBtr_EYS6CzrgXJq0wcI9N43tcvKEbO3sOYsb4hYGRmEcya07AT1RQfDrG4h2CcyZ7jPOHFigNfok/s400/gb-yvonne-buschbaum-pic-getty.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 317px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" />In 2007 Buschbaum retired from the sport and began gender reassignment and demanded to be called ‘Balian’, after the blacksmith played by Orlando Bloom in the 2005 movie Kingdom of Heaven.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong>8.</strong> Canadian cyclist <strong>Kristen Worley</strong>, a former man, very nearly competed at last year’s Olympic Games in Beijing. She would have been 40, but her gender ‘transitioning’ began in 1996.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Years of hormone injections followed and while she claimed that she could achieve the Olympic qualifying time for the 3,000m pursuit, the Canadian Olympic committee brought an end to her dream, stating that the times had not been achieved in correct circumstances.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">If she had have gone to Beijing, she would have been the first openly transitioned athlete to compete at an Olympic Games.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong>9.</strong> <strong>Ewa Klobukowska</strong> was the first Olympic athlete to fail a gender test. In 1967 she was found to have ‘one chromosome too many’. Three years earlier she had stormed to prominence at the Tokyo Olympics having won gold in the women's 4x100 m relay and the bronze medal in women's 100 metres.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">In Prague a year later Klobukowska ran the 100m in 11.1 seconds – then a world record. Further, in 1966, at the European Championships in Budapest she won two gold medals in 100 m sprint and 4x100 m relay and the silver medal in 200m sprint.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong>10.</strong> World record breaking high jumper <strong>Hermann Ratjen</strong> was forced by the Nazis in Germany to pretend to be a woman at the Berlin Games in 1936. The Nazis wanted to ensure that Germany won much more medals than they had done the previous Games – and many more than the dominant Americans – and Ratjen, or Dora, as he became known, missed out on a medal that year – he / she came fourth in the high jump.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">But he won the European Championships in Vienna in 1938, setting a world record for the ladies high jump with a 5 feet 5.75 inches leap.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Ratjen was only found out while travelling back from the European Championships. Although Ratjen was wearing a skirt, two women spotted him with a five o'clock shadow at a train station and a doctor was summoned and his sex revealed.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Though Ratjen never competed again, because of his <strong>‘ambiguous genitalia’</strong>, in 1957 he had been made to disguise himself as a woman “for the sake of the honor and glory of Germany”. He added: “For three years I lived the life of a girl. It was most dull.”</span> <p></p>

Is she a he, or isn’t she?

Nazi cover-ups, sexually ambiguous sprinters and tell-tale five o’clock shadows Is she a he, or isn’t she? A South African 800 metre runner...

Read more »

Conspiracy anyone?

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHKsG2Dkl7zqBvIsMFAxeW0SM1QRwY3zQ0MYCWFsJVKIOxAJF36Rkh22K2TGaaM1banc_WxeeuZCKM8tct1kKqQ6BnFPi47sQ0M_MgfvccKYlOpdEa3y2XtFGHW0CVOH7PNv1uvzkGTN4/s1600-h/Rugby-Giteau-Matt.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5369161280240824930" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHKsG2Dkl7zqBvIsMFAxeW0SM1QRwY3zQ0MYCWFsJVKIOxAJF36Rkh22K2TGaaM1banc_WxeeuZCKM8tct1kKqQ6BnFPi47sQ0M_MgfvccKYlOpdEa3y2XtFGHW0CVOH7PNv1uvzkGTN4/s400/Rugby-Giteau-Matt.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">It has been interesting to watch Saru's battle with the IRB — over the Springboks' protest over Bakkies Botha's suspension — play out this week, particularly when you consider that absolutely nothing happened to Wallaby flyhalf Matt Giteau for his cheap shot on Fourie du Preez.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><em><span style="font-size:85%;color:#000099;">Matt Giteau is free to score more tries...</span></em><br /><br />I initially thought the 'Justice-4-All' protest was a bit melodramatic, and sent a rather poor message to the rugby-watching public at large, but now I am not so sure. It is hard not to believe that there is some sort of agenda against South African rugby when these sorts of inconsistencies happen.<br /><br />The fact that Giteau didn't even get cited is quite bizarre, but hardly a shock. The only thing consistent about IRB disciplinary procedures is how inconsistent they are… But it is fitting that the latest debacle occurred the weekend before Saru had to answer to an IRB tribunal over their team's protest action.<br /><br />Giteau's flying elbow, meanwhile, was quite ridiculous. What he did was obviously borne out of frustration, but that doesn't make it any easier to swallow. For years, the Australian media has been at pains to highlight the 'thuggish' play of the Springboks, (and often you could not argue with them), but on Saturday, Giteau took the prize for the biggest yobbo on the park.<br /><br />The Wallaby playmaker picked up a yellow card for his transgression, but really it should have been a red, because he was never going for the ball. It was deliberate and, in my mind, that means he intended to do harm. You can imagine the ruckus the Australians would kick up if the shoe were on the other foot.<br /><br />Personally, I have never seen such a negative performance from an Australian team. Sure, they generally play games at scrum-time, and are a touch cynical too, but on Saturday they played like a team that knew they could not go toe-to-toe with the opposition, so instead opted to kill the game as a fair contest.<br /><br />At times I was convinced we were playing Italy, Japan or Georgia, so intent were the Australians in killing the ball at the breakdown. Their ball-carriers held on in the tackle, their tacklers just held on and at times they seemed to be entering from everywhere but 'the gate'.<br /><br />Some scribes in Oz are claiming that the Boks have benefitted from northern hemisphere refs in this year's Tri-Nations, and that we won because of numerical advantages. What a load of rubbish! The Wallabies are lucky they only got the three yellows on Saturday because it could have been a lot worse for them.<br /><br />It is also worth remembering that the reason the Australians were constantly being penalised was because they were guilty of infringing — something even the players and coach can admit to. Why were they infringing? They were forced into it by a ruthless Springbok pack.<br /><br />The Boks have reached the half-way point in this year's campaign, and while nothing is won yet, with the overseas leg still to come, they are well on their way to claiming a third title.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><em>Article By: Rob Peters</em></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><a class="title_lk_cs" href="http://iafrica.com/sport/features/1841000.htm"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">On the brink of greatness</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> iafrica.com's </span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Rob Peters believes this Springbok side is on the brink of true greatness.</span> </p><p><a class="title_lk_cs" href="http://iafrica.com/sport/features/1847700.htm"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The Springbok Opus</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> SA rugby received the ultimate compliment with news that a 'Springbok Opus' is being produced.</span></p><p><a class="title_lk_cs" href="http://iafrica.com/sport/rugby/team/news/1856203.htm"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Boks cement top spot</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> South Africa have cemented their position as the number one side on the IRB world rankings.</span> </p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><a class="title_lk_cs" href="http://iafrica.com/sport/columns/dan_world/1842120.htm">How good are these Boks?</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br /></p></span><p></p>

Conspiracy anyone?

It has been interesting to watch Saru's battle with the IRB — over the Springboks' protest over Bakkies Botha's suspension — pla...

Read more »

Confed Cup Soccer Superfans Wanted

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwv1hcw32bHXL5rdLEzhjkyC9XlNz1M_WkMLdP6R9ty_-rGLmXSx-roSTd3vlEI0qmiQQqbeqtRaRb1Zmf-b_P6yvRCDGA8MqT-C6fGQPl-euAVVjAc2JZ8lmQ_TkeZHl_wZ1qJ2AriNc/s1600-h/confed-spain-rustenburg.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348001701916493234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwv1hcw32bHXL5rdLEzhjkyC9XlNz1M_WkMLdP6R9ty_-rGLmXSx-roSTd3vlEI0qmiQQqbeqtRaRb1Zmf-b_P6yvRCDGA8MqT-C6fGQPl-euAVVjAc2JZ8lmQ_TkeZHl_wZ1qJ2AriNc/s400/confed-spain-rustenburg.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 274px" /></a></p><p><a class="newshead" href="http://www.thetimes.co.za/SpecialReports/2009ConfedCup/Article.aspx?id=1018986" target="_parent"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:180%;">Fifa free tickets</span> </a></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">Been watching the 2009 Confederations Cup? </span></strong></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">Noticed anything?<br /><br />If you're an astute observer, you've probably noticed the abundance of empty seats at the stadiums in South Africa.<br /><br />Apparently, so have FIFA. And they're not too happy about this.</span></strong> </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><em><span style="font-size:78%;color:#000099;"></span></em></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><em><span style="font-size:78%;color:#000099;">More than half of the Royal Bafokeng stadium seats in Rustenburg were empty for the Confederations Cup match between Spain and New Zealand</span></em></p><p>Sepp Blatter was yesterday highly critical of the Confederations Cup local organising committee for the lack of supporters at Spain's 5-0 thrashing of New Zealand at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Phokeng on Sunday night.<br /><br />Despite the presence of the European champions and world number one ranked side, the stadium was at best half full, a seriously poor attendance for Phokeng's first match of the tournament.<br /><br />Organizers had insisted in the buildup that all but the expensive 700 Rand seats had been sold out for the opening Group A match. But come kickoff, two-thirds of the seats sat empty, with yellow and blue seats outnumbering fans at the 45,000 capacity stadium before late arrivals brought the total number to 21,649 as Liverpool's Fernando Torres scored a hat-trick inside 17 minutes to lead Spain to a 5-0 win.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1oBUYdUJkBXCA6ymUlS_3iYWyz09O50W5GUGiSYuSTx96zni5LP4UHKTJirwuLGE9v5sOwcrUUPAx7D_pdl3w10xD46r-uumkWIn3g9muq3U-TiFreAbhN68dm-2YQSiZIMOcYUcOOzM/s1600-h/confed-empty-seats.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348001716562191266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1oBUYdUJkBXCA6ymUlS_3iYWyz09O50W5GUGiSYuSTx96zni5LP4UHKTJirwuLGE9v5sOwcrUUPAx7D_pdl3w10xD46r-uumkWIn3g9muq3U-TiFreAbhN68dm-2YQSiZIMOcYUcOOzM/s400/confed-empty-seats.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 255px" /></a>"On Sunday evening in Rustenburg the committee should have done more to bring people to the stadium," the Fifa president said.<br /><br /><em><span style="font-size:78%;color:#000099;">The atmosphere at the Royal Bafokeng stadium was dulled by the thousands of empty seats </span></em><br /><br />While Blatter professed himself content with the crowd at Ellis Park for Bafana Bafana's opening match against Iraq, he suggested that the organising committee could have filled the empty seats clearly visible at the ground.<br /><br />Blatter said organisers should have tried alternative ways to get the stadiums full. There must be some action taken for the rest of the competition. To have half-empty stadiums is not FIFA. They have to do something about it.<br /><br />Despite the Confederations Cup being the first major footballing event of its kind on the African continent, South Africa played against Iraq to a crowd of under 50,000 in a 61,000-capacity stadium at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.<br /><br />Blatter added: "We were not happy with the crowd at the opening match (South Africa v Iraq) or on Sunday evening when the European champions Spain were playing New Zealand in Rustenburg. It is up to the organisers, the local media, to get the message across."<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirFM1tvu8pEp6gynEuRyXzTjquEwfbiQ8QMbiHcPwzcLQ4fZSMyTXVolFeyhobiuBdRBBYKUppGuTKi0uEYo7RDmqIMnn_DTcRC-i5kkm29x3noJ3gyEkuNxeAgVw-EucxZBkeIBJgVXI/s1600-h/confed-spain-nz-rustenburg.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5348001707177548546" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirFM1tvu8pEp6gynEuRyXzTjquEwfbiQ8QMbiHcPwzcLQ4fZSMyTXVolFeyhobiuBdRBBYKUppGuTKi0uEYo7RDmqIMnn_DTcRC-i5kkm29x3noJ3gyEkuNxeAgVw-EucxZBkeIBJgVXI/s400/confed-spain-nz-rustenburg.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" /></a>In Bloemfontein the attendance at the match between five-times world champions Brazil and African champions Egypt, which Blatter attended was also disappointingly low with the 40,000-capacity Free State Stadium only about half full when the match kicked off.<br /><br /><em><span style="font-size:78%;color:#000099;">There was no clamour for seats in the match between Spain and New Zealand</span></em><br /><br />Blatter was reluctant to comment on Bafana's disappointing goalless draw with Iraq, meanwhile, though he did suggest that the national team ought to have managed to score. "As Fifa president I am not in a position to comment, but I do hope that in their next game Bafana can at least score a goal," said Blatter.<br /><br />Organizers of this event and next year's World Cup finals have called for a better response from the South African public for the games.<br /><br />"The South African nation's job is to host the event, not attend it. You can take the horse to the water, but you can't force it to drink that water." 2010 World Cup organizing committee spokesman Rich Mkhondo told a news briefing in Johannesburg.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#000099;">Sizing Things Up - that's just what the soccer world is doing as it assesses South Africa's ability to host the World Cup next year.</span></strong><br /><br /></p><ul><li>Rows of empty seats at the 16 Confederations Cup matches in Johannesburg, Rustenburg, Pretoria, and Bloemfontein won't help, as organizers are scrambling to sell the approximately 30 percent of tickets still available.<br /><br /></li><li>South Africa appears to have overcome the main criticism that the stadiums for the World Cup wouldn't be ready on time.<br /><br /></li><li>For many months after South Africa was awarded the World Cup, very little work was done to build and refurbish the grounds or improve transportation. Work is still going on, with long lines of traffic in Johannesburg evidence of last-minute efforts to improve the city's main roads.<br /><br /></li><li>Days before Bloemfontein's first game between Brazil and Egypt on June 15, workers were still busy renovating and modernizing the quaint little airport. Passengers arriving and departing had to squeeze past each other with half the terminal cordoned off for ongoing construction work. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;color:#000099;"><em></em></span></li><li><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;color:#000099;"><em>Related story:-</em></span><br /><a href="http://iluvsa.blogspot.com/2009/06/nevermind-criminals-mind-police.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><em>Nevermind the criminals, mind the police</em></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Reuters soccer correspondent </span><a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/soccer/author/mikecollett/" style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold" title="Posts by Mike Collett"><span style="font-family:arial;"><em>Mike Collett</em></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> has an encounter with the local constabulary - an incident that will no doubt be repeated many times when the soccer fans descend on South Africa for the big event.</span> </span><br /><a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/soccer/2009/06/15/mind-how-you-go-sir-a-lesson-with-the-south-african-police/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><em>Mind how you go, sir — a lesson with the South African police</em></span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> </span><br /></li></ul></span><p></p>

Confed Cup Soccer Superfans Wanted

Fifa free tickets Been watching the 2009 Confederations Cup? Noticed anything? If you're an astute observer, you've probably notic...

Read more »

2010 World Cup - Afro-pessimism rears its head?

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoVUY6UMfECPjvjpBgROamqPRpRRy49oQzBcOqYoZvXfLtYGzQxRAWigBO80buXyYh3befd_NYr20OPxWW_v9XL5gRgTkk_ctGNeRoNj0sAW9udR8QEssgAGedhxnJn-7l-wXBoHrnYEU/s1600-h/soccer_for_2010_soccer_world_cup.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347712412032785986" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoVUY6UMfECPjvjpBgROamqPRpRRy49oQzBcOqYoZvXfLtYGzQxRAWigBO80buXyYh3befd_NYr20OPxWW_v9XL5gRgTkk_ctGNeRoNj0sAW9udR8QEssgAGedhxnJn-7l-wXBoHrnYEU/s400/soccer_for_2010_soccer_world_cup.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 390px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">In post-apartheid SA, mediocrity is celebrated, incompetence rewarded and criminals get cabinet posts.</span></strong></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;color:#000000;">It took Mugabe's regime only eight years to ruin a prosperous country. Wanna bet the ANC can do it faster? </span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;color:#000000;">South Africa was Africa's last hope to prove a black government could rule a country successfully. Unfortunately that hope has faded away to nothing. <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/04/anc-record-rules-out-my-vote.html">ANC record rules out my vote</a> </span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#000000;">Strange, isn't it, how all the hypocritical leaders immediately flock to Kenya to condemn political violence, but have ignored the cry for help and justice when Mugabe did the same - and is still doing it with impunity. ... </span></span></p><p><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120302713130669641.html?mod=opinion_main_europe_asia"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Dark South Africa</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> <strong><span style="color:#990000;">has too many failure stories already... </span></strong></span></p><p><a class="l" href="http://www.soccerblog.com/2008/10/2010_world_cup_afropessimism_r.htm" onmousedown="return clk(this.href,'','','res','1','&sig2=h0NrAIHJQWXRjY6sCYCvfw')"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">2010 World Cup: Afro-pessimism rears its head?</span></a></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">An old and deep rooted fear was stoked by a SA minister promoting the World Cup at the Beijing Olympics. Dr Essop Pahad, was </span><a href="http://www.mg.co.za/article/2008-10-03-fifa-afropessimism-hits-cup-preparations"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">recently reported</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> as saying that ‘Even though they are a minority, there are still a lot of whites who don't support Bafana Bafana". In addition, he reportedly stated: "They also don't care that the World Cup is being staged in South Africa'.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br />The first part of the statement can obviously be disputed. The lack of support reflects fans who have been disenchanted with Bafana Bafana's performance for a while. Craig Urquhart </span><a href="http://mathaba.net/news/?x=609986"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">points out</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">, "It's no secret that the South African public has, for the most part, fallen out with its team, which inspired the international football community in the early years following their re-admission into the Fifa fold."</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br />The abrupt departure of Carlos Alberto Parreira who obviously came for the money and his handpicked replacement Joel Santana, a manager with no national or even substantial club appearance further eroded the teams support. It reached its nadir when the team failed to qualify for the 2010 ACN.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br />The brickbats came from all sides. Both Clive Barker and Jomo Sono, SA's eminence gris </span><a href="http://www.kickoff.com/static/news/article.php?id=4505"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">slammed</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> SAFA for the selection of Joel Santana urging indigenous selections. The vice-president of the South African Football Association, chief Mwelo Nonkonyana, </span><a href="http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=872754"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">warned</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> the country could ill afford to have Bafana Bafana "behave like the rand on world financial markets, or to be a source of amusement in Zapiro cartoons." So the loss of faith comes universally.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br />However it is the second part of Pahad's statement that is problematic. It hearkens to the colonial hangover of </span><a href="http://science.jrank.org/pages/7475/Afropessimism.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Afro pessimism</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">, that of a continent too riddled with problems for good governance and economic development. The phenomenon specifies sub-Saharan countries in particular as failed states. SA was never part of this stereotype. But those were in the days of apartheid. Pahad's statement instigates that </span><a href="http://mhambi.blogspot.com/2008/02/afro-pessimism-is-spiralling-out-of.html"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">whites maybe disillusioned</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> enough to believe that the phenomenon could become a reality in SA with the ANC in power. So the World Cup is doomed to failure.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">To counter this perception that whites are secretly rooting for the World Cup to fail, the Human Sciences Research Council conducted a survey to find the attitudes amongst the different groups. They found no difference in the level of support for the World Cup between the different groups but there were differences in perception in what it would achieve. </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Differences appear in the perception that SA's international profile would rise with the World Cup. Less whites and Indians were sold on this benefit. HSRC does not give a reason for this finding because the differences are less than significant but it is nevertheless worthy of comment. The advent of the ANC has given blacks and coloreds political power at the cost of whites and Indians. The World Cup was awarded by FIFA to showcase the new post-apartheid SA. The blacks feel that they have a responsibility to the world to </span><a href="http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=6&click_id=19&art_id=nw20070306115049735C264192"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">fulfill that confidence</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br />The one difference that is significant is the benefit from tourism. More whites and Indians believe that having the World Cup would improve that benefit. The service and manufacturing base is owned and staffed by predominantly these two groups. The banking, retail, jewelry and tourism sector is white majority owned. A company like SAB operates pubs, casinos, and hotels. Indians in Durban own family operate hotels, travel agencies, pharmacies, petrol stations, cab companies, provision stores, telecom and clothing stores. The government has started entrepreneurship programs for black businesses but success seems to be mixed and concentrated to the privileged few.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br />SA's preparedness for the World Cup remains more of a concern to whites and they also see less long lasting benefits. Most of the skepticism probably derives from the fact that the high crime rate is more of a issue to this group while infrastructure problems seem to be slowly but steadily getting resolved. The abnormally high rates of murder and rape has led to <a href="http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2008/09/white-flight-from-south-africa.html">White flight from South Africa</a>. It appears to be the single </span><a href="http://journals.worldnomads.com/red24/post/3282.aspx"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">most contentious issue</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">. Will the security apparatus put in place for the World Cup be enough to control crime?</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">All this pales somewhat in comparison to the </span><a href="http://features.csmonitor.com/olympics08/2008/08/03/for-chinese-its-the-teflon-olympics/"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">gung ho reception</span></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> of the Chinese to their Olympics. Eighty percent of them stated that the Olympics were personally important and ninety six percent believed that they would be a success. Sixty six percent said that the games had improved their country's standing.</span> </p>

2010 World Cup - Afro-pessimism rears its head?

In post-apartheid SA, mediocrity is celebrated, incompetence rewarded and criminals get cabinet posts. It took Mugabe's regime only eigh...

Read more »

Our Bafana boys are full of tricks

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL7yijU52UMh8rjhY8zfZWTeUYZ83p28m9NJut_R04byweum0jX57wmoQoKzx91XDkFjQaS7fp_UicHWx4HEO-p5bQeR796WBRC3K49N4Eds983ceayPyn0ZwFqykqq1hnl0Ul4QAQT6I/s1600-h/soccer-vuvukela.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347717663315004770" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL7yijU52UMh8rjhY8zfZWTeUYZ83p28m9NJut_R04byweum0jX57wmoQoKzx91XDkFjQaS7fp_UicHWx4HEO-p5bQeR796WBRC3K49N4Eds983ceayPyn0ZwFqykqq1hnl0Ul4QAQT6I/s400/soccer-vuvukela.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 250px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 295px" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">NOW that Bafana Bafana have enacted their usual pre-tournament blackmail ploy, the Confederations Cup can begin. Crikey, aren't you excited?</span></strong></span></span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#990000;"><strong><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /></span></strong></span><br />The SA team's plan to extricate untold millions in exchange for gracing the tournament with their presence was worked out weeks ago - but they waited until the coach had announced his final squad before making their move.<br /><br />According to a source quoting impeccable sources, their ransom demand was somewhere in the region of R34-million. Unfortunately, it didn't work; their bosses have seen this ruse too many times before.<br /><br />One of these high-ranking fellows, one Chief Nmwelo Nonkonyana, was amazed that the players waited so late in the day before declaring a pay dispute "which will put South Africa in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons" so close to the global tournament.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#000099;"><br /><p></span></strong></span></span></p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">He obviously knows little of the tricks of trade unionism which I don't think is big in <span style="color:#000000;">Iraq either. </span></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="color:#000099;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#000000;">This is a country that has faced some worse threats in its time, but has it ever faced</span><strong> </strong></span></span><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#000099;">the VUVUZELA ?</span></strong></span></span><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#000099;">This is our own WMD (Weapon of Mass Deafness) and its purpose is to drive opponents to mass distraction.</span></strong><br /><br />Iraq is known for two musical instruments, namely the oud, a kind of lute, and a rebab, a sort of fiddle. These, of course, are no match for the vuvuzela, which is not a musical instrument at all. It is simply a noisome thing designed to cause immense aggravation.<br /><br />For the benefit of our guests, permit me to acquaint them further with the quaint device. Briefly described, the vuvuzela is a long plastic tube that people blow.<br /><br />It makes the sound of a large animal in quite a bit of pain. That is an unnerving thing, which is what the vuvuzela is. It is not designed to produce any musical notes that are recognisable on any of the known scales.<br /><br />When blown in unison, mass vuvuzelas make a sort of droning sound not dissimilar to a swarm of monster bumblebees that you may encounter in a horror movie.<br /><br />Not everyone is qualified to blow the vuvuzela. To do so successfully, one must have large lungs and a deranged mind. Blown properly, it can cause the eyes to cross and sometimes remain that way. This is the distinguishing feature of the accomplished vuvuzelist.<br /><br />The vuvuzela blower lives by one golden rule: never stop blowing. This is done with total disregard for what is actually happening on the football pitch. If your team is 3-0 up or 0-3 down, they blow the same note, of which we know there is only one at best.<br /><br />For a nation whose ancestors apparently invented the wheel, the Iraqis may find this all a bit much. That, confidentially, is the whole idea. </span></span></p><p></p>

Our Bafana boys are full of tricks

NOW that Bafana Bafana have enacted their usual pre-tournament blackmail ploy, the Confederations Cup can begin. Crikey, aren't you exci...

Read more »

I double-dare Bafana to strike

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhec6-oRVkKlkdJ93rfbbC3bpDpE1xo0RdKIDjlsPChtGaIaG9wSPNqZ219idZsmv08HACUP5r-LIBUfkQuy6J42Spb_ZHsvy4CkDV3uHd1MAcCeMzOo_zdRrTWmiwUwSTQaFzXwz0Jic0/s1600-h/bafana.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347618640655049202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhec6-oRVkKlkdJ93rfbbC3bpDpE1xo0RdKIDjlsPChtGaIaG9wSPNqZ219idZsmv08HACUP5r-LIBUfkQuy6J42Spb_ZHsvy4CkDV3uHd1MAcCeMzOo_zdRrTWmiwUwSTQaFzXwz0Jic0/s400/bafana.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 239px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 272px" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">When the building of the 2010 World Cup stadiums started not so long ago there was lots of mass action by workers who demanded more money for their work.<br /><br />It was at the time when the Bafana Bafana hitmen (with the exception of Benni McCarthy) couldn't even finish their lunch, let alone get the ball into the back of the net.<br /><br />So the inevitable jokes made the round that South Africa were definitely going to win the World Cup because we had the best "striker" with Cosatu in the No.9 jersey.<br /><br />Now it looks as if Bafana are taking their cue from those workers by "threatening to strike" for more money from Safa ahead of the biggest tournament most of them have yet played in.<br /><br />They are also looking for a cut from the millions Irvin Khoza and Co have made from their role in our country hosting the Confederations Cup and the 2010 World Cup.<br /><br />I don't think the Bafana threat to strike is such a bad idea. In fact, I think coach Joel Santana should be happy with this. If I was in his shoes, I wouldn't give them a cent and would demand that they strike.<br /><br />I would even double-dare them to strike - be it from inside or outside the penalty area. I would even say strike from as far as you can as often as you can.<br /><br />The more you try the more you are likely to hit the target and score instead of trying to walk the ball into the back of the net as you normally do.<br /><br />I even hope whoever plays goalkeeper also has a crack sometime in the tournament.<br /><br />Yes, folks, Bafana striking from all angles on the pitch could just make our Confederations Cup experience on home soil that much more rewarding.<br /><br />I would pay the Bafana players everything they demand for striking. Goodness knows, if they can get it right, they will deserve every cent coming their way.<br /><br />Iraq, the hosts' opponents in Sunday's Confederations Cup opener, must be seriously quaking in their boots at the news of the strike. The Asian champions must know there will be no place to hide from all the striking, and must be concerned that their kit covers only a third of their bodies with balls seemingly going to fly from all directions at Ellis Park.<br /><br />New Zealand quite rightly also looked nervous about the planned striking. On Wednesday night they almost beat world champions Italy in a warm-up match and the All Whites' coach admitted that they didn't get much sleep after hearing about South Africa's strike plans.<br /><br />On enquiring how European champions Spain - Bafana's final opponents in the group stage - felt about the threat, they said they were unaware of it. However, they did say they hoped the strike was not that bad because they dearly want to break Brazil's record for an unbeaten streak.<br /><br />One thing all three countries - and their supporters - will also be worried about is which kit Bafana are going to wear in the tournament.<br /><br />The plea has been for everybody to go yellow for Bafana's matches but the home side have played in their newly launched green away strip in their last couple of internationals at home.<br /><br />So the plea to spectators to get to stadiums early on match days may not have the desired effect because confused fans will not be sure whether to wear yellow or green. They may only arrive by half-time because they will first want to make certain what the national team are wearing.<br /><br />The Springboks seem to think Bafana will be wearing yellow with even big Bakkies Botha walking around with a jersey on Thursday.<br /><br />But I have a sneaky feeling that, because of the impending strike, it might be a bright red. So to be safe and still show your support for the national team, rather wear red to their games. You will fit in perfectly. </span><p><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:78%;">John Goliath - </span></em><a href="http://www.capetimes.co.za/" target="_blank"><em><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:78%;">Cape Times</span></em></a></p>

I double-dare Bafana to strike

When the building of the 2010 World Cup stadiums started not so long ago there was lots of mass action by workers who demanded more money fo...

Read more »

New Bok jersey revealed

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVJnnB_prDiHtyxuDSArdCAOjd1n3onw_gKLLDzl6CnihzfW-SiGQTwVe7yHL3ZHH8u-O6rptlCzV58K-xlZyPkNgXL0zC_l87VxmC1_Vyf97zlJ_3Xdc-kP3VD9yv2ntluzcwSduSRWj-/s1600-h/rugby-jersey-new.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334259362989066978" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVJnnB_prDiHtyxuDSArdCAOjd1n3onw_gKLLDzl6CnihzfW-SiGQTwVe7yHL3ZHH8u-O6rptlCzV58K-xlZyPkNgXL0zC_l87VxmC1_Vyf97zlJ_3Xdc-kP3VD9yv2ntluzcwSduSRWj-/s320/rugby-jersey-new.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 300px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">South Africa's top players have pulled on the new-look Springbok jersey for the first time.<br /><br />Springbok captain John Smit and host of other contracted Boks wore the jersey recently at the recording for an advertisement for the British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa - which starts next month.<br /><br />The redesign sees the jumping springbok move to the right of the jersey, the sponsors' logos in the middle and the national sports emblem, the King Protea, on the left.<br /><br />"We decided to be proactive rather than reactive and not wait for the promulgation of the pending National Colours act," said Andy Marinos, acting MD of SA Rugby.<br /><br />"Our leaders met with government as we were fully aware that the King Protea is the national symbol and that it had to be properly incorporated into the Springbok jersey.<br /><br />"Obviously modifying something that has such strong emotional symbolism as the Springbok jersey generates a lot of emotion, but team will still be known as the Springboks as we realise the importance and strength of the brand, both locally and abroad.<br /><br />"Having seen the new jersey, we're actually very excited as it underlines the fact that we are the team of all the people of South Africa." </span><p>

New Bok jersey revealed

South Africa's top players have pulled on the new-look Springbok jersey for the first time. Springbok captain John Smit and host of othe...

Read more »

Aussie rugby star Mackay dies from blood infection in Durban hospital after hit-and-run in South Africa

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHEfw-IABzjHKIdVWO8XrP_nbFGTJjzeRpHRBwm3lLnWUEBQ6AU5aHvlKThX8bmaNXJhsFjDB0BmBpynqcrwLuGD5pQ2JjxI-ePbayVQoazuGv1jMm7gxdIgmm8Avw7DW0UXZKPU3ObzaU/s1600-h/mackay.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321719671934444626" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHEfw-IABzjHKIdVWO8XrP_nbFGTJjzeRpHRBwm3lLnWUEBQ6AU5aHvlKThX8bmaNXJhsFjDB0BmBpynqcrwLuGD5pQ2JjxI-ePbayVQoazuGv1jMm7gxdIgmm8Avw7DW0UXZKPU3ObzaU/s400/mackay.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 238px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 286px" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;"><em>While Brumbies lock forward Shawn Mackay was battling for his life in hospital, someone was looting his team-mates’ Durban hotel rooms. KwaZulu-Natal police spokesman Jay Naicker has meanwhile confirmed that laptops and cellphones were stolen from a Durban hotel room where some of the Brumbies rugby players were staying...</em></span></strong></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">Australian Super 14 rugby union player, 26-year-old forward Mackay, a victim of a hit-and-run, died in a Durban hospital just over a week after suffering multiple injuries when <a href="http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,25265651-5003411,00.html">he was hit by an armed response car in a Durban street</a>.. </span></strong></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">BRUMBIES coach Andy Friend had the difficult task of breaking the news of Shawn Mackay's death to his teammates when they landed in Sydney this afternoon.<br /><br />"It is the worst possible news," Friend said.<br /><br />"We are all in shock and we have taken the news very, very hard.<br /><br />"When we left South Africa we all hoped that Macca would recover quickly and would be joining us home in a matter of weeks.<br /><br />"To hear that the blood infection has led to a cardiac arrest and has taken his life is very hard for us to reconcile.<br /><br />"He had the respect of everybody at the Brumbies and everybody in Australian rugby.<br />"His passing is a tragedy.<br /><br />Australian Rugby Union boss John O'Neill, who came to know Mackay last year when the back row forward captained the Australian sevens team, described him as a larger-than-life character and a fine young man and great bloke.<br /><br />"A great leader and a great mentor and a very fine person, struck down far too young."<br /><br />Mackay had shown some positive signs after being brought out of a medically induced coma late last week and underwent surgery.<br /><br />"After his surgery Shawn contracted an infection in his bloodstream," said Brumbies chief executive Andrew Fagan.<br /><br />"He deteriorated rapidly and suffered a cardiac arrest from which he didn't recover."<br /><br />Mackay had been admitted to St Augustine's hospital in Durban with a cervical spinal fracture and dislocation, a fractured skull as well as a broken leg and multiple facial fractures after being struck by the vehicle.<br /><br />The incident occurred about 4.15am Durban time when Mackay and a number of other Brumbies were leaving a nightclub, having wound down after their Super 14 loss to the Sharks the previous evening.<br /><br />Mackay's parents, John and Leonie, and girlfriend Trish flew to South Africa on Tuesday to be by his side.<br /><br />The Brumbies were flying back to Australia on Monday after completing their three-match trip to South Africa with a win over the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein at the weekend.<br /><br />Brumbies chief executive Andrew Fagan Fagan said Mackay picked up an infection a couple of days ago which was being treated with antibiotics.<br /><br />"However, those antibiotics were failing to do the job and the doctors were unable to identify the source of the infection," he said, adding it led to a rapid deterioration of Mackay's condition in the last 12 hours.<br /><br />"It's been a shock."<br /></p></span><p></p>

Aussie rugby star Mackay dies from blood infection in Durban hospital after hit-and-run in South Africa

While Brumbies lock forward Shawn Mackay was battling for his life in hospital, someone was looting his team-mates’ Durban hotel rooms. KwaZ...

Read more »

Soccer World Cup Tragedy: 22 Killed In Stampede

<p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">SA 2010 Qualifiers: Ivory Coast Football Stampede Kills Many</span></strong><br /><span style="font-size:85%;color:#000099;"><em>March 29, 2009 </em></span></span><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;">Ivory Coast hosted Malawi today in Abidjan, part of the 2010 World Cup qualifying matches that took place earlier today. A stampede ensued before the game resulting in multiple deaths. Some news media reported at least 19 deaths, others say at least 22.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;">This is the second deadly stampede to disrupt the 2010 qualifiers in Africa. In June, eight people died in Monrovia as spectators scrambled to get into an overcrowded stadium for a match between Liberia and The Gambia.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000066;">Stampedes are common at Africa's crowded stadiums. Badly-equipped security forces are far outnumbered and are often unable to control the huge crowds.<br />Last September, 11 people were killed in a stadium riot in Democratic Republic of Congo.</span></span> </p><p><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319383268974994834" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMAvejjP1HPB0RF3k1AT31Ica9QtgzUILFvT3KPiAuSjaI9NNCa9SW5pVm7twdSvVNnaZ1wLNsCSfgTDR_ONDQxKKGTcD1du9sQzxZtSvxAN0cwOVbkq4HPMEtfX1ioFvmbQERK65QuGPF/s400/ivory+coast+stadium+disaster.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 258px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /> </p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:85%;color:#000099;"><p><strong><span style="font-size:130%;color:#990000;"></span></strong><em><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319375506786436178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpm2iYwFK1gVucuSKKfoCg0m7ZbDmJoZsa5DiVDHjP-TBr-YJmya6O1chigp4_Jb-nmkPbGgzNPqd8FSLgHEmyBehxseeKCE7ZSrkzKchuWWtImQ83yuP6sQsrxcesTTBnj50AEdtdpxw/s400/abidjan_ambulance.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 297px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></em></span></span></p><p align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">At least 19 people have been left dead and 132 injured at </span></strong></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">a World Cup qualifying match in the Ivory Coast last night</span></strong></p></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319342060793261202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGG4jA7D4mpNIbquInEZKBdMTFEb1mi1ERCsRcZSrQPaAV1at9xKP3ZqRnmQZg6nSLPebTDEWgH9y2XP4JrqT2irrPFUT1tgBKLL_3p4lhn4D-QdXy7Dstk1Qlm1QS_Wg6PG0uSGUGmSg/s400/ivory+coast+stampede.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 225px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319375523036136690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQSS1RJlOudWAPvvnlQFJhw_L6vKukM6vbnI28Y6EgyXQHuZELJMQoU7DXn6jqVUsEXGKxvOCnQvao0sTvnabrOQxNl_Wfy0wPGGRtCHPUxwNeG3ibVpLuSa0cr7Ci7njjLRfXc5k4fxc/s400/abidjan_crowd_v.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 297px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></span></strong></span><br /><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">The incident occurred when a wall collapsed </span></strong></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">at the Felix Houphouet-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan </span></strong></span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">which was hosting the match between Ivory Coast and Malawi <p></span></strong></span></p></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#990000;"></span></strong></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#990000;"></span></strong></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#990000;"></span></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#990000;"></span></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#990000;"></span></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#990000;"></span></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#990000;"></span></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#990000;"></span></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#990000;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319375537576582642" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuunNFElWsXoFN1NgBz2JWwZCfU8fuN9dJZdEHp_LTbt89tItmN1CPb3X7rKx2muyHrvsINMbsZdJuALuK-QWKQ7s5zOlOMSDNeP-lgvNMQ8vXa7Hq9RT4uypl0Hk7kQqFY6wJkqXEPN8/s400/abidjan_victim.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 297px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></span></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#990000;">Before the match began fans pushed forward, </span></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#990000;">causing the wall to collapse <p></span></strong></p></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#990000;"></span></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#990000;"></span></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#990000;"></span></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#990000;"></span></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#990000;"></span></strong></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#990000;"></span></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#990000;"></span></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#990000;"></span></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#990000;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319375527149232258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqihN3O2AhZd59KNGvPJGrxZ0UJqegB1k71QcjLzcGpBDkcM9pWZpuUs8YvDIbe1LgNRD0I4vra4w4p53_R7MNCWXP2PTRaH1v5r08bbzN6lq9DickLOnwbQ9BWRGDnQ0bBjM-jtkli_s/s400/abidjan_ladder.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 297px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></span></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#990000;">In the panic more people were killed or injured as </span></strong></div><div align="center"><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#990000;">authorities failed </span></strong><strong><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#990000;">to control the stampeding fans</span></strong></div><p align="center"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319377934541215906" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijhd8tCnF-_20nL6WtuyTFiP4qeMaRO5Uyj_Jm1akmZxkTsMtFUEz2GKpUooFCqBQDMqcajXTXWYsP-pyUbqVHKjlqVtcQBGRbschIAqVHFZD3SQvALhr3q3RwdxdBvreQ2aC2ZvlwOW0E/s400/abidjan_victim_512642a.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 297px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></p><p align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">People tend to a man injured in the stadium crush</span></strong></span></p><p align="center"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319375532465499490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtoP2phKK_y3jS-CgzS8i15v0ftXKx8EjIxYSVpH3FgqVGRkdmANkwFX-ao9XP8qcObE7V0nDxOx2b7ZhRbUNBholTZfpem0n_wzk2EkOMdvzlNAUwvfJrnhsNv5P9FC0qBYBVk4-Nx7w/s400/abidjan_security.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 297px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /></span></strong></span></p><p></p><p align="center"><a class="l" href="http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Nineteen-Killed-In-Rioting-At-World-Cup-Qualifier-Match-In-Ivory-Coast/Article/200903415251452?lpos=World_News_Top_Stories_Header_1&lid=ARTICLE_15251452_Nineteen_Killed_In_Rioting_At_World_Cup_Qualifier_Match_In_Ivory_Coast" onmousedown="return clk(this.href,'','','res','1','&sig2=SH2rkT5NOVqq_8nF233sDg')"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;color:#3333ff;"><strong>World Cup Tragedy: 22 Killed In Stampede</strong></span></a> </p><p><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319364570405909042" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_xlG5u_U15871sZGSHUa8aExJEG8A-IklQDXISy0HKVdZnvnwHVTDbVcVCqXuYBuRQdCdlB2unn7SzGbaNL07AxNZ0i0jQwLLaKqa4oaXaAPVn0hRjbV9kb4WmSx-A2uUAAxRPSpLN_4/s400/ivorycoast-stampede.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 269px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /><span style="font-family:arial;"></p></span><span style="font-family:arial;color:#000099;"><p align="center"><a class="Headline" href="http://www.congoo.com/logarticleclicks.aspx?chid=-1&catid=-1&url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/international/worldcup/5073085/World-Cup-football-match-22-killed-in-stadium-stampede-in-Ivory-Coast.html" onclick="return true;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>World Cup football match: 22 killed in stadium stampede in Ivory Coast</strong> </span></a><br /></p></span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:85%;"><strong><br /></strong></span><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319390069120361666" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeTEYOgyWcdVeOID7tr9Xmpz6FRTyd6icQZ648uXo2c4b16mU_e4wJiTj6oj0HbOGcYZyWG_2Ux0X5V62J6tniqOk7aiNTlDbkue2Opt7QMYTKfD3tMnQqdjsNVithGZJg3IhX7ZQ6NNEs/s400/ivory-coast-stadium.jpg" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 220px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;"><a __eventidglow141181214="108" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/7971897.stm">'Stampedes not an issue' for 2010</a> says South Africa </span></strong></span><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><strong><span style="color:#990000;">The organisers of the World Cup in South Africa insist stampeding fans will not be a problem for the tournament in 2010.<br /></span></strong></span><span style="font-family:arial;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">The organisers of the 2010 World Cup have insisted that the problems that often lead to stadium stampedes in Africa will not be an issue in South Africa.<br /><br />Danny Jordaan, the president of the World Cup organising committee, was speaking a day after a stampede at a 2010 qualifier in Ivory Coast.<br /><br />At least 19 people were killed before the Elephants game with Malawi.<br /><br />Jordaan says many African fans buy their tickets only when they reach the stadium, and often arrive late to do that, creating an impatient crowd outside that can spark an incident.<br /><br />When the World Cup comes to South Africa in 2010, match tickets will have to be purchased well in advance.<br /><br />Jordaan says those without tickets will be "stopped kilometres away," and fans will be urged to arrive early.</span><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#990000;">Deadly Soccer Stampede Kills 19 people in Ivory Coast</span></strong><br /><br />The Ivorian government has opened an investigation into a stampede that killed 19 people and left 132 injured before a World Cup qualifying match between Ivory Coast and Malawi Sunday in Abidjan.<br /><br />Prime Minister Guillaume Soro convened an emergency Cabinet meeting to discuss the stampede. Officials say they plan to investigate what caused a wall to collapse as fans forced their way into a packed Houphouet-Boigny stadium.<br /><br />The fans had overwhelmed security, and in the ensuing panic, police fired tear gas into the crowd.<br /><br />FIFA is also demanding a full report from the Ivorian Football Federation and local authorities to establish what happened outside the stadium before the match.<br /><br />This is the second deadly stampede to disrupt the 2010 qualifiers in Africa. In June, eight people died in Monrovia as spectators scrambled to get into an overcrowded stadium for a match between Liberia and The Gambia.<br /><br />FIFA had already expressed concern about the safety of soccer facilities across the continent and threatened that countries without adequate arenas would forfeit home advantage during preliminary matches for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.<br /><br />A FIFA audit in August 2007 found just 18 African nations out of the 50 they inspected had stadiums safe enough to host the World Cup qualifiers. Houphouet-Boigny stadium was judged safe for international matches. <em><span style="color:#990000;"><span style="font-size:100%;">(Nothing is K-Proof)</span><br /></span></em><br />FIFA also appointed a security officer for each World Cup qualifier, but African football officials have long complained that <span style="color:#990000;"><span style="color:#000000;">police refuse to cooperate and often unilaterally impose their own security plans on big matches.</span> <em><span style="font-size:100%;">(Typical! so what else is new?)</span></em></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /></span><br />While some families went from hospital to hospital in search of injured loved ones on Monday, others spent the day at Abidjan's largest morgue identifying the bodies of their family members. <em><span style="font-size:100%;color:#990000;">(Welcome to Africa!)</span></em></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;"><em><span style="font-size:85%;color:#3333ff;"><strong>See also:</strong></span></em></span></p><p><a href="http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=632388&sec=worldcup2010&cc=3888"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:78%;"><em>http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=632388&sec=worldcup2010&cc=3888</em></span></a></p><p><a href="http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Nineteen-Killed-In-Rioting-At-World-Cup-Qualifier-Match-In-Ivory-Coast/Article/200903415251452"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:78%;"><em>http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Nineteen-Killed-In-Rioting-At-World-Cup-Qualifier-Match-In-Ivory-Coast/Article/200903415251452</em></span></a></p><p></p>

Soccer World Cup Tragedy: 22 Killed In Stampede

SA 2010 Qualifiers: Ivory Coast Football Stampede Kills Many March 29, 2009 Ivory Coast hosted Malawi today in Abidjan, part of the 2010 Wor...

Read more »

'STAR' a badge of shame or honour?

<p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtHcwJA086aNNWgMlu8Tb8BIhPDwr5sBy04qkZR2Y4ksCCiUQezmmeDj4hxGQh1HDyeu6_mQE0ZcX-OZjrtHVEaEPQg-xsUS_MLNPmVqi41poEGnHhNLNfV2jcy_rBVvzSwtCU-KHf6zQ/s1600-h/Yellow-Star-Holocaust.jpg"><strong><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268668018630393010" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtHcwJA086aNNWgMlu8Tb8BIhPDwr5sBy04qkZR2Y4ksCCiUQezmmeDj4hxGQh1HDyeu6_mQE0ZcX-OZjrtHVEaEPQg-xsUS_MLNPmVqi41poEGnHhNLNfV2jcy_rBVvzSwtCU-KHf6zQ/s320/Yellow-Star-Holocaust.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 214px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" /></strong></a><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;color:#990000;">The degrading “star” (stand together against racism) currently forcibly displayed on the Springbok rugby jerseys is another case of double standards and selective morality being foisted upon sportsmen by dishonest and self-congratulating politicians.<br /><br />The ANC government has driven a bigger wedge between black and white than any racist white man could ever achieve. A letter in The Citizen a few months ago attested to white spectators losing their seats at a soccer match to black racists, but nothing was done and no anti-racism slogans were worn.<br /><br />More than 60 years ago a minority group in Europe ended up the target of “The Final Solution”. Strangely enough it all began with a little yellow star.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#990000;"><span style="color:#000000;">Another recent development is the redesign of the Bok jersey - the much-maligned, hated <a href="http://sport.iafrica.com/rugby/news/1269880.htm">Springbok logo has been reduced in size, and moved to the left side. In its place now appears the protea flower.</a></span><span style="color:#000000;">This is clearly another mind-numbing attempt to appease the insatiable white-hating ANC government who will not rest until every <a href="http://sport.iafrica.com/news/1040739.htm">last vestige of white culture and heritage </a></span><span style="color:#000000;">has been utterly decimated. Expect the Bok logo to disappear altogether in the near future.</span><strong><br /></strong></span></span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color:#3333ff;">New logo on Springbok jersey</span><br /><br /></span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The Springbok rugby team will wear a green and gold star on their playing jersey on the end-of-year tour as part of South African rugby's campaign to highlight the sport's opposition to racism.<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9NCulAuOmOB23p85Fq4w0sfgij0DNEZWzP5Pvo8SO4meimvB1K1CNuaFfp7gkNyEWu-YCCrrr_aRvRDTBR7wI_6ZOUhqU7Kl5Kn9ZZ1hqr0nF5iFTBX-eFl5sZzVG0NqIxdv_ptV7Rzw/s1600-h/RUGBY-STAR-logo_1433220.jpg"><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5268668206555381298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9NCulAuOmOB23p85Fq4w0sfgij0DNEZWzP5Pvo8SO4meimvB1K1CNuaFfp7gkNyEWu-YCCrrr_aRvRDTBR7wI_6ZOUhqU7Kl5Kn9ZZ1hqr0nF5iFTBX-eFl5sZzVG0NqIxdv_ptV7Rzw/s400/RUGBY-STAR-logo_1433220.jpg" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 170px" /></span></a><span style="font-size:130%;">"We chose the STAR symbol as it is an acronym for Stand Together Against Racism. There is no wording in the design but we're hopeful that the symbol will instantly send out our message.<br /><br />"Racism is not just rugby's problem - it is a South African problem and this is rugby's approach to tackling it."<br /><br />The Springboks will wear the STAR in their three end-of-year Tests against Wales (November 8), Scotland (November 15) and England (November 22).<br /><br />"That was a spontaneous response to a particular incident," said Mr. Hoskins, "and was a new departure for a South African sport and it would have been easy to leave it there.<br /><br />"But it was the feeling of SA Rugby and our stakeholders that we would be failing in our responsibility as a sport if we didn't continue to address this issue.</span></span><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></p></span>

'STAR' a badge of shame or honour?

The degrading “star” (stand together against racism) currently forcibly displayed on the Springbok rugby jerseys is another case of double s...

Read more »