Jorge , le père de Lionel Messi, est décédé à 68 ans

Jorge Messi, père et ancien agent de Lionel Messi, est décédé ce samedi à l’âge de 68 ans à Rosario, en Argentine, après avoir lutté pendant plusieurs années contre des problèmes de santé.

La nouvelle a été confirmée par plusieurs sources argentines ainsi que par la Conmebol et les Newell’s Old Boys. Jorge Messi occupait une place importante dans la carrière de son fils et l’avait notamment accompagné lors de ses débuts au FC Barcelone, avant de continuer à gérer ses intérêts professionnels.

Cette disparition intervient après plusieurs mois marqués par l’inquiétude autour de son état de santé. Lionel Messi perd ainsi l’un des principaux acteurs de son parcours, qui l’a accompagné depuis ses premiers pas jusqu’au plus haut niveau. umafrika.club

The post Jorge , le père de Lionel Messi, est décédé à 68 ans appeared first on AfricaFootUnited.

Pitso Mosimane is set to make a sensational return to Bafana Bafana after the SAFA National Executive Committee (NEC) approved his appointment as the new head coach.

The South African Football Association (SAFA) held an Extraordinary NEC Meeting at SAFA House on Saturday, where members backed Mosimane to take over from Hugo Broos.

Broos stepped down from his position earlier this week after guiding Bafana Bafana through an historic period, including their return to the FIFA World Cup.

Pitso Mosimane to take over Bafana once again

While Mosimane’s appointment has been approved, SAFA says there are still a few matters to be finalised before the former Mamelodi Sundowns coach is officially unveiled.

“The NEC has approved the appointment of coach Pitso to Bafana Bafana, but we still need to tie up some loose ends. We will make a formal announcement of the coach next week,” SAFA president Dr Danny Jordaan said following Saturday’s meeting.

Mosimane’s return would mark a new chapter for the 61-year-old, who previously led Bafana Bafana between 2010 and 2012.

The former Sundowns mentor has also enjoyed considerable success at club level, most notably guiding the Tshwane giants to domestic dominance and continental glory before taking charge of Egyptian giants Al Ahly.

Bafana Bafana, meanwhile, are coming off an historic FIFA World Cup campaign.

The national team qualified for the tournament for the first time in 24 years and went on to reach the knockout stages for the first time in their history.

Their memorable campaign included a 1-0 victory over South Korea in Monterrey, Mexico, with Thapelo Maseko scoring the only goal of the match.

Attention now turns to the next chapter under Mosimane, with SAFA expected to formally confirm his appointment as Bafana head coach next week.

The NEC meeting also covered preparations for SAFA’s Elective Congress, which is scheduled to take place on 12 September 2026.

Nominations for the various positions to be contested at the congress were handed over to the Governance Committee this week.

Are you a fan of Jingles?

The Pumas boosted their Currie Cup playoff hopes with a narrow bonus-point win against the Vodacom Bulls XV at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Coach Jimmy Stonehouse’s team raced into a 19-point lead only to fall behind early in the second half before regaining their composure to triumph 33-31 in a game that produced five yellow cards and a red.

The Pumas moved up to third on the log, while the winless Bulls remain at the bottom.

The visitors started the match strongly, with wave after wave of attack resulting in a try for winger Alfondso Isaacs.

The Bulls then suffered a big blow when flank Abongile Nonkontwana saw yellow for a shoulder tackle – later upgraded to red – and Pumas captain Willie Engelbrecht and lock JJ Scheepers barged over while he was off to make it 19-0 after 21 minutes.

The 14-man Bulls got on the board when Isaacs tackled a probable Bulls’ try-scorer without the ball and were awarded a penalty try, with the Pumas winger sin-binned.

But the hosts then went down to 12 when hooker Siphosethu Mnebelele and replacement loose forward Cephas van Biljon were yellow-carded for cynical breakdown infringements.

To the Bulls’ credit, they repelled the Pumas’ relentless attack and then scored a try through lock Johnathan Eloff with the clock in the red to reduce the deficit to five at the break.

REPORT: Griquas leapfrog Lions to top log

With both teams restored to 15, the Bulls hit the front early in the second half when Mnebelele went over under the posts for a converted try.

But another yellow soon followed, this time flashed at Pumas flank Ntsika Fisanti for a shoulder tackle. That didn’t prevent the visitors from striking back, though, replacement hooker Jan-Henning Campher rumbling over from a lineout maul.

Bulls replacement prop Sandi Msengana levelled the scores at 26-26, only for lock Sintu Manjezi to be sin-binned for collapsing a maul and Campher to score his second.

The Bulls hit straight back through fullback Hakeem Kunene, but the try was scored in the corner and Johannes’ conversion went wide.

LAMBIE: 2010 Currie Cup final better than wedding day

In round five of the Currie Cup, the Pumas host the Stormers XXIII while the Bulls welcome the Cheetahs to Loftus.

BULLS XV – Try: Penalty try, Johnathan Eloff, Siphosethu Mnebelele, Sandi Msengana, Hakeem Kunene. Conversions: Keagan Johannes (2).
PUMAS – Tries: Alfondso Isaacs, Willie Engelbrecht, JJ Scheepers, Jan-Henning Campher (2). Conversions: Nevaldo Fleurs (4).

Photos: Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images

The post Pumas survive Bulls comeback appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.

Australia, Bangladesh and England offer South African cricket a rare chance to restore the longest format to the centre of summer, writes Lukhanyo Gqokoma.

South African cricket is heading towards the kind of home summer that once felt normal but now looks like a luxury.

Australia will return for their first Test tour of the country since the 2018 ball-tampering scandal. Bangladesh follow for two Tests before England arrive for three, led once again by Joe Root. From October to January, the Proteas will play eight Tests at home.

It may be the best summer of cricket South Africa has staged in years. The quality of the opposition matters, but so does the fact that Test cricket will once again occupy a meaningful part of the calendar.

Franchise cricket has done enormous good for the game. It has created wealth, provided players with careers beyond international cricket and brought a younger audience into the sport. T20 has also produced its own tactical depth and some outstanding matches.

READ: Singh seals opening CPL win against Hendricks’ Kingsmen

Franchise cricket arrived and the old borders fell away. Graeme Smith wore the same colours as Shane Warne, while Ricky Ponting walked to the crease beside Sachin Tendulkar. Rivals who had defined a generation became allies, and cricket seemed to redraw its own map.

Those combinations now happen so often that much of the shine has worn off. A player finishes one competition, changes shirts and appears in another league days later. At its worst, the cycle begins to feel like an algorithm: bowl, hit, celebrate, move on.

The cricket can still be absorbing, and the pressure on the players remains real. Yet a franchise result rarely carries the national consequence or shared memory of an international match.

Franchise cricket is still important. The game may simply have overcorrected.

T20 cricket grew in part because the longer formats needed new energy and new money. Cricket found both, but its administrators have since pushed so far towards the shorter game that Test cricket now has to fight for space in its own sport.

The formats can speak to different audiences. T20 and Test cricket can feel as distinct as rugby sevens and the 15-a-side game. Both require elite skill, but their rhythms, tactics and physical demands create two different experiences.

T20 delivers speed and impact within a few hours. Test cricket builds tension from session to session, giving a contest time to turn and demanding constant adjustment from the players.

Both belong. They simply offer different rewards.

The players continue to tell us which version carries the most weight. Lhuan-dre Pretorius has already found success in T20 leagues, yet has described Test cricket as his ultimate ambition. Dewald Brevis, a player introduced to much of the world through his power hitting, has also called the format the pinnacle.

That should matter. The generation supposedly raised for franchise cricket still wants the Test cap, the long spell and the hundred that takes an entire day to build.

South Africa’s own history explains why. Supporters remember Graeme Smith walking out to bat in Sydney with a broken hand. They remember Makhaya Ntini taking 10 wickets at Lord’s, Hashim Amla making 311 at The Oval and Faf du Plessis surviving for nearly eight hours on Test debut in Adelaide.

They remember AB de Villiers shelving almost every attacking instinct to save a Test, and Jacques Kallis producing defining moments over nearly two decades. More recently, they watched Aiden Markram’s century at Lord’s carry South Africa towards the World Test Championship title.

ALSO: Rickelton fireworks eliminate Ferreira’s Phoenix

Allan Donald’s furious battle with Michael Atherton at Trent Bridge remains part of the same history. That period gave South African supporters countless other moments that still carry meaning years later.

Now ask yourself how many franchise matches you remember in the same detail. A few stand out, but the list is much shorter. That difference has little to do with the quality of the cricket and everything to do with its context.

No two current Proteas players represent the cost of a shrinking calendar better than Keshav Maharaj and Kagiso Rabada. Maharaj is South Africa’s most successful Test spinner and one of the country’s finest, yet he reached his mid-thirties with only around 60 Tests behind him.

Rabada has spent much of his career among the world’s leading fast bowlers. He reached 300 Test wickets in fewer deliveries than any bowler before him, yet the calendar has provided too few appearances during his prime.

Their records deserve celebration, but they should also make us wonder what might have been possible with fuller series and a more substantial schedule. South Africa have produced two world-class bowlers during an era that has given them too few stages.

Financial realities matter. Test matches cost more to stage, demand more time and often bring smaller returns than a packed T20 competition. Nostalgia alone will never settle those accounts.

But cricket becomes diminished when administrators judge every format by its quickest source of income. If Test cricket disappears, the sport will lose the form that provides its deepest examination of skill, courage and endurance. Cricket may survive, but it will become smaller.

The 2026-27 summer should therefore be more than a rare feast. Australia, Bangladesh and England will give South Africans the chance to reconnect with the rhythm of a full Test season.

It should also remind the people running the game that Test cricket remains wanted and relevant. It is the ambition of the players, the source of the sport’s strongest memories and the format that makes an international summer feel significant.

Photo: Paul Harding/Gallo Images

The post The Test season South African cricket has waited for appeared first on SA Cricket Mag.

Mamelodi Sundowns have confirmed the signing of Cassius Mailula, with the forward returning to the club after three years away.

The 25-year-old has rejoined the Brazilians after spending the past three years with MLS side Toronto FC.

For weeks, there had been speculation that Mailula could return to Masandawana. With the departure of Peter Shalulile, his return allows the talented striker to finish what he started with the Tshwane giants.

“A familiar face returns to where it all began. Cassius Mailula is back in yellow, ready for a new chapter with The Brazilians. Masandawana, welcome him back in the comments,” Mamelodi Sundowns said on social media.

The Brazilians have been relatively quiet during this transfer window. Following the untimely passing of midfielder Jayden Adams, their pre-season was delayed, meaning they were unable to begin their Betway Premiership campaign last weekend.

Mailula’s arrival gives Sundowns another attacking option and adds more firepower to their frontline. He will compete alongside the likes of Tashreeq Matthews, Iqraam Rayners and Brayan León.

Mamelodi Sundowns re-signs Mailula

Before leaving Sundowns for Toronto FC in July 2023, Mailula enjoyed a breakthrough 2022/23 campaign, scoring 16 goals in 32 appearances across all competitions.

However, he made only a handful of appearances for Toronto before being loaned to Wydad Casablanca, where he played under former Sundowns coach Rulani Mokwena.

His spell in Morocco proved successful, with the forward scoring important goals for the North African giants.

Mailula later had another loan spell in Belgium before eventually returning to Mamelodi Sundowns following the end of his time with Toronto FC.

The Bafana Bafana forward now has an opportunity to revive his career at the club where he first made his name and once again establish himself as one of the country’s most exciting attacking talents.

Will Mailula shine or flop?