Messi says not certain to play ‘much longer’ after father’s death

Argentina superstar and inspiration behind his country’s 2022 World Cup victory Lionel Messi said Wednesday he has “serious doubts” about continuing to play football for “much longer” after the death of his father Jorge Messi.

“I don’t know what I’ll do without you, I don’t know how to go on. I just played football, and now I have serious doubts about continuing to do so for much longer,” Messi, 39, wrote in a message on social media after his father, who was also his agent, died last week aged 68.

In the message, Messi, whose contract with Major League Soccer outfit Inter Miami runs till the end of the 2028 season, reflected on the final months of his father’s life, which coincided with the 2026 World Cup. mchezo.life

“I kept telling you we would reach the final so you could make the trip,” said Messi, who returned to the United States on Tuesday night following his father’s funeral on Sunday.

“We made it to the final, but you couldn’t be there. I wanted to win it to bring it to you and show you a new one. I couldn’t, my legs just gave out.

“This time I tried to push past my physical limits, but I couldn’t. I never felt right,” Messi said in his first comments after the 1-0 loss to Spain in the final in New Jersey.

Messi highlighted his father’s pivotal role in his life and career: “You were a father, a friend, and an agent. You were always exactly who you needed to be in every moment, and you never put a foot wrong.”

Jorge Messi’s unusual absence from the World Cup in June had already attracted attention.

Messi’s family asked the media for “humanity” during the tournament amid persistent rumours over Jorge’s health.

After bursting into tears after scoring against Algeria in a group match, Messi had admitted to dealing with “a situation outside of sports”.

On Sunday, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner bid farewell to his father during a private ceremony with close family and a few Argentina teammates in the town of Perez, adjacent to Rosario.

The cause of death was not disclosed, but local media reported that Jorge Messi had been suffering from cancer.

The Stormers XXIII have honed in on the weak points in their game following a heartbreaking Currie Cup loss to the Cheetahs in Athlone.

The hosts conceded an 80th-minute try and were denied a third home win of the campaign when Springbok scrumhalf Faf de Klerk snuck over in the corner.

Captain Jean-Luc du Plessis says they’ll look to sharpen up for Saturday’s clash against the Pumas at the Mbombela Stadium and that those soft moments have been placed under the microscope.

TEAM: Stormers bolster pack for Pumas battle

“It’s definitely been a talking point – both after the game and in our team review this week,” said Du Plessis.

“There have definitely been patches in games where there have been soft moments, whether it’s decision-making, execution or discipline where we just allow the opposition to get back into the game. It’s an area we’ve been looking at and I’m sure we’ll sharpen up come this weekend.”

The Stormers have also been working on building cohesion in a squad that has been affected by the demands of the domestic schedule and player movements.

Du Plessis, who found himself in the wars against the Cheetahs, believes getting more minutes together is crucial as the team looks to build rhythm.

“At this point in time, I’m still a little bit sore, to be honest, but I’ll be good to go by Friday,” he said.

“For me personally, it’s good to spend time on the park, spend time with the team and just get minutes under the belt. But for the team, I think it’s also important for us to play as many minutes together as we can to stay sharp.”

MORE: Stormers to make late call on Magic Miller

Coach Tom Dawson-Squibb acknowledged that building cohesion has been challenging given the circumstances surrounding the squad.

“The system makes it difficult. We started against Griquas and Boland who play together all the time – we didn’t have that,” he said.

“Then you have the Greatest Rivalry, you’ve got guys coming back from rest periods at different times and the Junior Boks. So the system makes it difficult and what we’re trying to do is create as much cohesion as possible that’s within our control.”

Photo: Shaun Roy/Gallo Images

The post JL: Stormers must cut out soft moments appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.

The air in Johannesburg carried its own charge on the evening of Saturday, 8 August 2026, and inside the Wanderers Club in Illovo, Johannesburg, the energy was pure fire.

We came together to celebrate a massive milestone: the 21st edition of the gsport Awards, marking 20 beautiful years since the gsport platform first began its mission to make women’s sport visible.

Because gsport handed out its very first award at the launch of the initiative in 2006, this night brought a flawless, emotional symmetry to a remarkable two-decade journey.

If you were not in the room, close your eyes. This is what it felt like to experience the magic.

Laura Wolvaardt Crowned Athlete of the Year at the 21st gsport Awards

The buzz started the day before, on Friday, 7 August, when Banyana Banyana legend Portia Modise was inducted into the gsport Hall of Fame. It was an intimate affair attended by fellow Hall of Famers, including Penny Heyns, Hazel Gumede, Vicky Masuku, Jane Bramley, Odessa Swarts, Motlatsi Keikabile and Dudu Msane. You could already feel the energy lifting as finalists began to sense what was coming.

At midday on Saturday, 8 August, the hallways of the Protea Hotel by Marriott Johannesburg Wanderers were alive with motion. Glamour squads of makeup artists, led by the incredible Adelle Jung, worked with precision. VIP guests and finalists shared nervous laughter, final outfit adjustments and a growing sense of anticipation.

By 5pm, the light outside was perfect, arriving shortly before sunset as the red carpet came alive. Some walked the red carpet for the first time. Others had been here before, more than once, but everyone wondered the same thing: would tonight be their night?

Attendees absolutely nailed the assignment. The fashion made a statement of power and grace, ushered in by a gorgeous, trend-setting soft-palette look from Lynn at Just Tonight Josephine.

The media zone was beautifully chaotic and charged with energy. Top digital creators, including the gsport Digital Squad, captured video for social media, while the gsport Awards Presenter Squad, working with SABC Sport, conducted high-energy interviews.

Before stepping inside, guests paused at the stunning Inverroche bar to take in the occasion and make new friends. Celebrating three years of continuous partnership with gsport, Inverroche offered a moment of luxury before the main event.

Meanwhile, live radio broadcasters from Radio 2000, led by the award-winning Rachel Makhura, anchored right in the lounge to capture the raw, unfiltered emotions of arriving stars.

Stepping into the newly refurbished Grand Foyer at the Wanderers Club, the atmosphere shifted into full celebration. A massive, beautiful grazing table offered an exquisite feast.

The Telkom DJ Box handled the ambient soundtrack perfectly. Back by popular demand, last year’s resident DJ turned the foyer into a party before the party started. Nearby, the Telkom photo booth stayed packed all night, fuelling pre-awards celebrations.

At 7:30pm, everyone flooded into the main ballroom. The room grew still, then burst into life as the broadcast lights came on. We were live across the nation on SABC 2, SABC Sport and SuperSport. Led by the incomparable Vusiwe Ngcobo, a gsport Award winner herself, she handled the show with grace, power and precision.

The crowd was so electric, so fiercely supportive of one another, that we did not need traditional on-stage entertainment. The presentation of the awards was the entertainment. Every envelope opened brought collective gasps, cheers and roars of approval. Seeing a wave of first-time winners stand on that podium, tears in their eyes, reminded everyone in the room exactly why we do this.

When the live broadcast ended, the energy did not fade. It grew.

Guests spilled back out into the night to revel in a resounding success. Paul Mukwevho captured iconic, high-fashion portraits against a custom infinity backdrop. Media interviews continued into the late hours, and the DJ dropped incredible tunes that kept the dance floor moving.

It was a grand, unforgettable affair. A big thank you must go to the Protea Hotel Wanderers, the Wanderers Club and our incredible family of partners who believe in the power of women’s sport: the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture, Brand South Africa, SABC Sport, SABC 2, Radio 2000, SAfm, Telkom, Nielsen Sports South Africa, Endeavor AV, Worldwide Sports, G100 and Gauteng Province.

Finally, thank you to every person who has walked this 20-year path with us. Here’s to the next era of making women’s sport visible.

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Main Photo Caption: Glamour, gratitude and 20 years of making women’s sport visible came together as finalists, winners and guests marked the 21st edition of the gsport Awards, held at the Wanderers Club in Illovo, Johannesburg, on Saturday, 8 August 2026. All Photo: Paul Mukwevho / (c) gsport 2026

Photo 2 Caption: Red carpet arrivals set the tone for an evening honouring South African sportswomen in front of a live national television and radio audience.

Photo 3 Caption: Hall of Fame inductee Portia Modise joined two decades of gsport honourees at a celebration that ran deep into the winter Johannesburg night.

Photo 4 Caption: Music from the Telkom DJ Box lifted the newly refurbished Grand Foyer long before the ballroom doors opened, with the Telkom photo booth alongside it.

Photo 5 Caption: Long after the live broadcast ended, high-fashion portraits, late media interviews and a full dance floor carried proceedings into the early hours.

The post Feeling the Unstoppable Energy of the gsport Awards appeared first on gsport4girls.

The Springboks will look to battle-hardened and seasoned flanker Deon Fourie as a crutch for the injury-prone Siya Kolisi in the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Tests, writes DEVIN HERMANUS.

Kolisi’s latest hamstring injury is a concern for his participation in the series. However, within the Springbok camp, they seem comfortable that he will play, and Rassie Erasmus felt the openside flanker’s 24-minute shift in Argentina last Saturday showed a lot.

Given that Kolisi’s minutes are becoming fewer, and his role that of a high-impact player from the opening whistle, his position in the matchday 23 and wider squad requires adequate back-up and support.

Fourie, who has linked up with the squad for the series, is further along in his career at 39 years old. His 13-Test Bok career was seemingly over given the injury setbacks he’s had, and yet the utility forward’s come into the Bok mix.

His call-up looks like an answer to Kolisi’s injury, a back-up or support player to prop up Siya — someone who has been in the wars with the All Blacks. Fourie is that man, his last match in the green and gold was the 2023 World Cup final.

Some might ask: what does Rassie hope to achieve from Fourie, barely held together by duct tape and plasters given his injury history?

Maybe the Boks don’t need more than 20 or 30 minutes from a player of Kolisi or Fourie’s calibre. They just need that impact, that experience, and Rassie is willing to accommodate that.

There is Paul de Villiers, who has impressed in his debut season with the Springboks. Perhaps the 23-year-old should be the man to succeed Siya or back him up, given that he started all three of his Tests this year so far in the No 6 jersey.

But we are seeing that Rassie is looking for a player who has been at the coalface, and despite De Villiers proving himself in the Test arena, this is the kind of battle that Erasmus wants to entrust to the old guard: someone who will lay his body on the line and leave it all out there, bloodied, broken and carried off the field.

The legendary Ma’a Nonu has shown what an impact a powerhouse veteran can have within a limited time. Shortly after coming on at Kings Park on Tuesday night for his Sharks debut, the 44-year-old centre ran straight at All Blacks flyhalf Ruben Love.

Nonu’s take on his 20-minute cameo? “They needed someone on the bench, so I thought it would be rude to say no.”

The film franchise, The Expendables, follows the story of ageing mercenaries wrestling with their place in the world and competing with younger men, while trying to survive in the face of some of the toughest challenges, and being a dispensable option for those looking to get the job done.

Brannas can be Rassie’s ‘Mr Expendable’.

ALSO: Big Vic backs Brannas to nuke All Blacks

Photo: @Springboks/X

The post Brannas is Rassie’s ‘Mr Expendable’ appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.

Argentina superstar and inspiration behind his country’s 2022 World Cup victory Lionel Messi said Wednesday he has “serious doubts” about continuing to play football for “much longer” after the death of his father Jorge Messi.

“I don’t know what I’ll do without you, I don’t know how to go on. I just played football, and now I have serious doubts about continuing to do so for much longer,” Messi, 39, wrote in a message on social media after his father, who was also his agent, died last week aged 68.

In the message, Messi, whose contract with Major League Soccer outfit Inter Miami runs till the end of the 2028 season, reflected on the final months of his father’s life, which coincided with the 2026 World Cup.

“I kept telling you we would reach the final so you could make the trip,” said Messi, who returned to the United States on Tuesday night following his father’s funeral on Sunday.

“We made it to the final, but you couldn’t be there. I wanted to win it to bring it to you and show you a new one. I couldn’t, my legs just gave out.

“This time I tried to push past my physical limits, but I couldn’t. I never felt right,” Messi said in his first comments after the 1–0 loss to Spain in the final in New Jersey.

Messi highlighted his father’s pivotal role in his life and career: “You were a father, a friend, and an agent. You were always exactly who you needed to be in every moment, and you never put a foot wrong.”

Jorge Messi’s unusual absence from the World Cup in June had already attracted attention.

Messi’s family asked the media for “humanity” during the tournament amid persistent rumours over Jorge’s health.

After bursting into tears after scoring against Algeria in a group match, Messi had admitted to dealing with “a situation outside of sports”.

On Sunday, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner bid farewell to his father during a private ceremony with close family and a few Argentina teammates in the town of Perez, adjacent to Rosario.

The cause of death was not disclosed, but local media reported that Jorge Messi had been suffering from cancer.