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Pirates coach Ouaddou defends team selection after City win
Orlando Pirates head coach Abdeslam Ouaddou has defended his decision to field a strong team for the game against Durban City which the Buccaneers won 2-1 after extra-time.
Ouaddou was expected to rotate his squad for the cup competition, but the Moroccan mentor decided to field his regular players from last season.
Speaking after the game, Ouaddou insisted that there are strong expectations from the club’s management and fans to bring home silverware, so only players deserving to start will be picked.
“No, no, me. I’m not here to give flowers to people. We are not in the circus. We are in a professional ecosystem,” said Ouaddou. chickenroad.qpon
“There are a lot of expectations. If you want me to remind you of my two first games last season, you feel that I was happy to have eight bodyguards around me?
“I want to win, of course I’m gonna play the strongest team because the fans want to win this competition, the club wants to win it as well and I want to win it as well and it won’t be easy,” continued Ouaddou.
“I want to win it as well. So, I need to put a strong team, and the players who deserve to play because they show in training, they show in the preparation.
“There is nothing guaranteed, and it’s how we push the players to have competition.
“But I’m not here to give flowers, because when you lose two or three games, who is in the headlines?” concluded the Moroccan.
Fifa condemns ‘concerted and ongoing effort’ to weaken Infantino
Fifa on Saturday condemned “a concerted and ongoing effort by some to undermine” the world game’s governing body and its president Gianni Infantino as the controversy over his now shelved private investment plan rumbles on.
Infantino has faced calls to resign and was also subject to allegations from a British newspaper on Friday that he paid off a lover while at European governing body Uefa.
“Recent reporting has included unsubstantiated assertions and demonstrably false claims concerning Fifa and its president,” said the Fifa statement.
Infantino served as secretary general of European football’s governing body from 2009 to 2016.
According to The Telegraph newspaper, the Italian-Swiss lawyer previously used his influence to secure a promotion for a Uefa employee with whom he was in an intimate relationship.
The newspaper added – without revealing its sources – that the same employee received a “six-figure sum” upon her departure in addition to the payment of tuition fees for a business school amounting to around £45 000 ($60 700).
When contacted by AFP, Uefa acknowledged that “a departure payment was made to the individual in question” at that time, “coupled with the payment of fees for an MBA course at a local business school”.
Growing pressure
In Saturday’s statement on social media, Fifa insisted it “welcomes legitimate scrutiny”.
“But scrutiny is not a licence to distort facts, amplify unsubstantiated allegations or manufacture distractions designed to undermine progress. Where reporting is inaccurate or misleading, Fifa will challenge it directly and vigorously,” it added.
Infantino, who is standing for re-election next March, has been embroiled in a crisis since the announcement late last month of his controversial – and ultimately abandoned – plan to open up the World Cup to private investors.
He faces opposition in particular from Uefa, which on Thursday stood by its threat to boycott the World Cups, deeming the mere withdrawal of the controversial plan to be insufficient.
Fifa said on Saturday it “will not support, facilitate or tolerate any process concerning the election of the Fifa president that is inconsistent with Fifa’s statutes, democratic procedures and established governance framework”.
The statement added: “Those who do not have the support of Fifa’s member associations should not seek to achieve through allegation, insinuation or misinformation what they cannot achieve through Fifa’s established democratic processes.”
Tumi Ramokgopa Claims Hurdles Silver at World U20 Championships
Tumi Ramokgopa claimed a silver medal in the women’s 100m hurdles and then won her 400m hurdles semifinal to set up a second medal opportunity, on Day 4 of the World Athletics U20 Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon in the United States on Saturday, 8 August 2026.
Ramokgopa continued the form she has carried all season, taking second place in the 100m hurdles final in 12.96, just 0.03 outside her own South African under-20 record of 12.93. The race was tightly contested and the top three athletes all dipped under 13 seconds.
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The United States’ Madeline Cooper won gold in 12.91 and Jamaica’s Tiana Marshall claimed bronze in 12.97.
Ramokgopa returned to the track later in the session and won her 400m hurdles semifinal in 56.80, booking her place in Sunday’s final and setting her sights on another podium place.
Her compatriot, Megan Nieman, finished fourth in her 400m hurdles semifinal in 57.56, missing out on a place in the final by less than 0.01 in a photo finish.
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Rumé Burger closed out the South African women’s programme on the day, taking eighth place in the 200m final in 23.39.
South Africa’s women return to Hayward Field on Sunday, with Ramokgopa contesting the 400m hurdles final and Marine Grobler and Stephane Hook competing in the javelin throw final, as the biennial junior showpiece comes to a close.
Original Copy: Athletics SA, with editing by gsport
Main Photo Caption: Tumi Ramokgopa claimed silver in the women’s 100m hurdles final and won her 400m hurdles semifinal on Day 4 of the World Athletics U20 Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday, 8 August 2026. File Photo: Cecilia van Bers
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Premier League 2026/27 Season Preview: Everything SA Fans Need to Know
Premier League 2026/27 season preview. The world’s most-watched league is back, and South Africa’s army of Premier League fans is ready for another season of drama. The 2026/27 campaign gets its traditional curtain-raiser in the Community Shield before the league kicks off — so here’s your guide to the title race, the top-four scrap, the new boys and the storylines that’ll dominate the SA sports-bar chat.
READ ALSO: PSL Matchweek 2 Preview
The Title Race
The Premier League’s heavyweights are loaded again at the top. Manchester City and Arsenal have set the standard in recent seasons, with Liverpool never far away, and the arms race at the summit shows no sign of cooling. Expect the usual suspects to slug it out for the crown, with squad depth, a kind run with injuries and a fast start all likely to prove decisive over a punishing 38-game season.
The Race for the Top Four
Below the title contenders, the fight for Champions League places is as fierce as ever. The likes of the chasing established clubs and ambitious challengers will scrap for every point, and with the financial and prestige rewards of European football on the line, the top-four battle often runs right to the final day.
The Promoted Clubs
Three newly-promoted sides step up to the big time, dreaming of a fairytale while bracing for a survival scrap. Recent seasons have shown just how hard staying up can be — but every year someone defies the odds.
The Community Shield Curtain-Raiser
Before the league begins, the traditional season-opener pits two of English football’s biggest names against each other. This year’s Community Shield is down as Manchester City face off against Arsenal on the 16th of August for the first silverware of the campaign.
The South African Angle
Few countries follow the Premier League as passionately as South Africa. From early-afternoon SAST kick-offs perfect for weekend viewing to the fierce loyalties split across the big clubs, the EPL is woven into SA sporting life — and this season promises another nine months of must-watch football.
Our View
Expect the title to once again be a two- or three-horse race, but the beauty of the Premier League is its unpredictability further down — surprise packages, managerial dramas and last-day twists are all but guaranteed. Buckle up.
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