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Chiefs, Baxter set to part ways?

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Kaizer Chiefs are set to put an end to all the rumour and speculation currently surrounding the popular Soweto club.

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Kaizer Chiefs are set to put an end to all the rumour and speculation currently surrounding the popular Soweto club. The Premier Soccer League (PSL) champions will hold a press conference tomorrow, at which it will reveal the future of coach Stuart Baxter and top player Itumeleng Khune.

As things stand, it looks as if, in all likelihood, both will depart Chiefs.

After Baxter’s fantastic three-season achievement at the Joburg club, winning two PSL titles and two Cup trophies – the Nedbank Cup and MTN8 – he is in great demand. The 61-year-old Brit is weighing up numerous offers from overseas, the latest being Turkish side Genclerbirligi, and he is also the SA Football Association’s top candidate for the post of technical director of football.

With Baxter set to leave, Steve Komphela is the favourite for the vacant Amakhosi coaching job. Currently at the helm of Maritzburg United, Komphela, a former Chiefs defender, and an ex-Bafana coach, is said to be the man highest on Chiefs’ want-list.

And that puts in danger the future of current assistant-coach Doctor Khumalo. Having spent quite some time as an assistant, Khumalo probably now feels he is ready to make the step up as a head coach. And, if he doesn’t get the Chiefs job, he’s likely to move on too.

The champion Gauteng club is also not prepared to concede to Khune’s financial demands. The goalkeeper’s contract ends on June 30, but Chiefs insist they cannot afford the numbers the player has put on the table for a renewal. As such, Mamelodi Sundowns, with the buying power of mining magnate Patrice Motsepe behind them, are the only club who can afford Khune – and that is likely to be his destination next season.

Chiefs believe that, in goalkeepers Brilliant Khuzwayo and Reyaad Pieterse, they have two young custodians good enough for the rigours of the PSL.

There is also some doubt as to whether Amakhosi can retain their two central defenders, Tefu Mashamaite and Erick Mathoho.

Mashamaite is the current PSL Player of the Season and his contract comes to an end this month. He is currently in negotiation with the club.

Mathoho has overseas offers to consider and he, too, could soon be on his way.

While Chiefs will clarify everything tomorrow, one thing is clear: The PSL champions will have to rebuild everything for next season. And that’s good news for the rest of the league… at least it gives them a better chance of trying to win the PSL title.

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Sherwood issues ultimatum to Benteke

Tim Sherwood has told Christian Benteke that he must sign a new contract this summer, with a number of Premier League clubs interested in the Belgian.

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The Aston Villa manager, Tim Sherwood, has told Christian Benteke that he must sign a new contract this summer, with a number of Premier League clubs, including Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, interested in the Belgian.

Benteke, 24, has two years left on his current deal, which includes a £32.5m buyout clause, and Sherwood is firm that if any club wanted to sign him this summer they would have to meet that asking price. Well beaten in Saturday's FA Cup final, Villa want to end the uncertainty over the striker's future as a number of players are poised to leave.

On Benteke, Sherwood said: “I think it is right to talk to him about the speculation and we need to put it to bed. He needs to sign a new contract. We need to offer him a new contract, which the club are prepared to do, and he needs to sign it. When he does, we know he's not going anywhere. We know he's happy. It's out there - I put it out there - that he's got a buyout clause. If no one meets that, he won't be going anywhere.”

Sherwood said that he has already told a number of players that they will not figure prominently in his plans next season and will be allowed to leave if the club can find better options. He confirmed that he had asked Ron Vlaar to stay and hoped the club could sign on-loan Manchester United midfielder Tom Cleverley permanently.

“I have told Tom I want him to stay. We will have a chat with his representatives and see if we can get a deal done. I would have thought Tom would have had a few options. He's enjoyed his time here. I think he has flourished and it is up to him.”

After what was expected to be Randy Lerner's last visit to England to support the club he bought in 2006, Sherwood said that he still had scope to make signings. “We can spend if I can justify it to the owners. I need to get to work. You can't wait around or you miss your targets.” – The Independent

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Blatter’s daughter blames ‘dark forces’

Sepp Blatter’s daughter issued a staunch defence of her father, claiming he was the victim of a conspiracy to unseat him.

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Within hours of his tempestuous appointment to serve a fifth term as Fifa president, Sepp Blatter was to be found on a sofa with a World Cup trophy in the background posing for photographs with his family.

The importance of the close-knit Team Blatter to bolstering the 79-year-old's 17-year reign at the Zurich headquarters of football's world governing body was underlined yesterday when his daughter issued a staunch defence of her father, claiming he was the victim of a conspiracy to unseat him.

Corinne Blatter, his only child, insisted that it was not in her father's character to accept or offer bribes and suggested that the storm over alleged corruption would blow over in “two or three weeks”.

Mr Blatter has not been directly implicated in the corruption scandal but is facing demands to stand down after the unveiling by the FBI of allegations of industrial-scale bribery in the organisation during his tenure. Mrs Blatter, 54, who runs an English school in Mr Blatter's hometown of Visp, softened her father's insistence this weekend that his troubles were down to grudges borne by the American authorities and the English press.

Asked about who she thought was behind the crisis at Fifa, she told the BBC: “I wouldn't say from the Americans and the British, but certainly people working behind the scenes… I don't know if you want to call them dark forces but I mean they really tried hard.” The mother-of-one said he had been “deeply affected” by the criticism of recent days.

Mr Blatter claimed yesterday that Uefa president Michel Platini had sought to persuade him to resign on Thursday, suggesting they discuss matters over a whisky. Mr Platini, who called for Mr Blatter to be voted out of office, is claimed to have told the Fifa president: “You can have a giant party and you can keep your office here at Fifa.”

In a separate interview with Swiss newspaper Blick, Mrs Blatter said: “If he is attacked personally, then that hurts him very much. The angry words of Mr Platini have particularly hit him.”

It was reported in South Africa yesterday that the country had paid $10m (£6.5m) to the football body led by Jack Warner, a key figure in the corruption allegations, though he denies any wrongdoing. Mr Blatter denied this weekend that he had any links with a $10m payment apparently authorised in Zurich. – The Independent

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Wilshere’s abusive ant-Spurs chant

Jack Wilshere celebrated Arsenal’s FA Cup triumph with another string of expletives aimed at Tottenham after an all-night party.

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Jack Wilshere celebrated Arsenal’s FA Cup triumph with another string of expletives aimed at Tottenham after an all-night party with his team-mates.

Wilshere sang anti-Spurs songs from the balcony last season following the open-top bus parade in north London to markArsenal’s 3-2 victory over Hull City in the FA Cup final. And, despite a warning from the club about his behaviour, the midfielder heaped more embarrassment on Arsenal as he celebrated their historic 12th FA Cup, sealed by a 4-0 win over Aston Villa .

Young children, along with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, were present at the celebrations as Wilshere chanted: ‘What do we think of Tottenham?’ before adding: ‘And what do we think of s***?’

Wilshere then continued with another anti-Tottenham song riddled with expletives before the microphone was snatched from him.The midfielder was pictured leaving a nightclub in the early hours before going on to Arsenal’s victory parade in the streets of Islington.

An Arsenal spokesman said: ‘Like any broadcast, we apologised when there was swearing.’

The 23-year-old, a second-half substitute in the final against Villa, insists his team can go on to win the Barclays Premier League title next season.

He said: ‘It’s different to last year when we had the pressure of no trophy for 10 years and it was almost as if we had to win it.

‘Of course we had to win the Cup as well but we could enjoy it more this time and take in the atmosphere and that’s what we did.

‘It was a comfortable victory and that was because we’d won the trophy last year.

‘There wasn’t so much pressure and we knew if we matched their intensity we’d have the quality to win the game. We did that. The big one for us is the Premier League. We’ve progressed this year, we’ve finished third and got automatic Champions League qualification.‘Next year we feel we can really push Chelsea, (Manchester) City and United for the title.

‘The competition is ferocious and it’s going to be the same next season — it’s part of football. I remember coming away from games like United away thinking “We dominated that game” but we never really got anything for it. So I think this year was a big thing.

‘We’ve got players who can hurt teams with (Alexis) Sanchez and (Mesut) Ozil, world-class players we’ve added in the last two seasons.‘Ozil has had a great season, he’s settled, and Sanchez’s first season was unheard of. So we’re looking forward to next season.’ – Daily Mail

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SA’s 2010 huge ticket sales shock

The controversy swirling around SA’s 2010 World Cup has deepened further with fresh allegations levelled at Fifa.

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Johannesburg - The controversy swirling around South Africa’s 2010 World Cup has deepened further with fresh claims that Fifa allegedly identified serious issues with South Africa’s bid two weeks before choosing it as the host nation – but did nothing about it.

This was because football’s world governing body was more concerned with putting on a good “TV show” when it named South Africa as the winning bidder, according to a new report, which also says the tournament has left the country with “an oversupply of underutilised stadiums”.

The report says South Africans are still shouldering the financial burden of the tournament years down the line.

The research, published by a British academic days before nine Fifa officials were charged with decades of corruption, appears to undermine the idea that the organisation has been a positive force in Africa – a factor that played a key part in Sepp Blatter’s re-election as president, on Friday.

The disclosure comes as South Africa is still reeling from a $10 million scandal that has all but tarnished the country’s acclaimed status as a credible 2010 World Cup bid winner.

Danny Jordaan, who spearheaded South Africa’s 2010 bid, refused to comment on the report on Sunday. He referred enquiries to Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula, who also declined to comment.

“I am not going to comment on Fifa,” Mbalula said on Sunday.

The latest twist came as pressure mounted on Fifa president Sepp Blatter to quit over the corruption scandal. Britain has called on Europe to consider boycotting future World Cups, if Blatter doesn’t quit.

John Whittingdale, the British government minister with overall responsibility for sport, renewed calls for Blatter to step aside on Sunday, saying all options should be considered when it came to pressurising him to resign, including boycotting the World Cup.

Blatter has, meanwhile, downplayed the impact of the scandal on one of the world’s most powerful sports bodies.

The report found that only 15 days before the tournament was awarded to South Africa in 2004, Fifa officials noted that the estimated budgets put forward by the bid committee were wildly optimistic.

South Africa claimed that the cost per seat of each new stadium would work out at $636 (R7 727 at today’s exchange rates) – whereas rival bidders Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Tunisia priced theirs at between $1 818 and $2 691.

Fifa also appeared to realise that South Africa would not raise as much money through the sale of tickets as it estimated.

“In the inspection group’s opinion, the total amount of ticket sales revenue ($467 459 448) will be very difficult to reach,” they said. Ticket sales reached only $300m.

The paper, published in the journal Project Management, was produced by Dr Eamonn Molloy, who has spent 10 years studying the impact of “mega projects” on countries that hold sports tournaments.

“There was a bit of a Field of Dreams belief which is that if you build stadiums people will come and use them – but history shows us that virtually never happens,” Molloy said.

“Fifa was quite happy to proceed knowing that (South Africa’s) bid book proposals were way too optimistic.”

According to its accounts, Fifa made $2.35bn from the tournament, mainly from selling television rights, while South Africa spent $4.9bn – two-thirds of which was spent on building the stadiums.

Molloy added that even if the immense corruption allegations levelled at Fifa were put to one side, the organisation’s business model appeared to be “profoundly flawed” and did not work in the interests of developing countries. “It invests a little bit and extracts 10 times as much – I don’t think that’s a good deal,” he said.

“Fifa’s strategy is clearly profit-maximising and exploitative.

“Any claims that it has a net benefit in any of the countries where it hosts the World Cup – there’s no evidence to suggest that. There’s strong evidence to suggest it ends up costing those countries significant amounts of money.”

In South Africa, many of the stadiums left behind were “overdesigned” and contained expensive equipment which had to be maintained at taxpayers’ expense, even though some of it was never used.

Meanwhile, Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula again distanced the government from the reported $10m bribe paid to secure the 2010 World Cup bid. He said whatever money that might have changed hands between South African and Fifa officials – whether in the form of a bribe or not – was not public money.

“We remain concerned at the ongoing media speculation which only plays into the hands of those whose objective it is to tarnish the good name and integrity of our country. We reject these falsehoods with the contempt they deserve,” Mbalula said on Sunday.

But he contradicted Jordaan, who admitted to the $10m, which he said was paid to the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football in 2008, as South Africa’s contribution towards their football development fund.

Independent on Sunday and The Star

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Mbalula’s statement on Fifa saga

Fikile Mbalula’s remarks on allegations that South Africa paid a bribe to secure World Cup hosting rights.

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Cape Town - In the wake of the latest media revelations, South Africa’s Minister of Sport and Recreation Fikile Mbalula on Sunday issued a statement on the allegations that the government of South Africa paid a bribe to secure the rights to host the 2010 Fifa Football World Cup following remarks attributed to Safa President Dr Danny Jordaan.

“We remain concerned at the ongoing media speculation which only plays into the hands of those whose objective is to tarnish the good name and integrity of our country. We reject these falsehoods with the contempt they deserve. As a government and people of South Africa we are enjoined to combat such propaganda against our country.

“Accordingly, we appeal to all our people, media included, to desist from speculating on names of individuals who may or not be implicated in the allegations. Equally, we call on all those involved in the bidding and hosting of the 2010 Fifa World Cup to avoid expressing comments that can only play into the hands of those who seek to perpetuate negative stereotypes against South Africa in particular and Africa in general.

“Whatever the motive of those involved, nothing can detract from the fact that the hosting by South Africa of the 2010 Fifa World Cup, the first on the African continent, remains one of the most beautiful spectacle and successful tournament the world has ever witnessed in Fifa’s history.

“We frown upon any insinuations made in the indictment by the US authorities that suggest that the government of South Africa or any of its citizens have been involved in any wrongdoing without substantiating the allegations, let alone naming the alleged co-conspirators. We refuse to allow the reputation of our republic to be tarnished unduly without affording the republic and its citizens an opportunity to respond to any allegations made. We view this as an attack on our sovereignty.

“We wish to reiterate our earlier communicated position that the government of the Republic of South Africa and the Local Organising Committee have not expended any public funds in the amount of $10 million towards bribery of anyone to secure the rights to host the 2010 Fifa World Cup. Any inferences drawn from the statements attributed to Dr Danny Jordaan which seeks to insinuate that our position is contradictory is therefore not only misleading but mischievous at best. We reaffirm our position that no public funds have been utilised to pay any bribe or to commit any unlawful acts.”

ANA

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Fifa probe: Blatter may be quizzed

Fifa boss Sepp Blatter may be questioned as the corruption investigation continues.

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Zurich - South Africa denied that a $10-million payment it made in 2008 was in any way a bribe to Fifa for the 2010 World Cup, in the latest twist to the massive corruption scandal engulfing world football's governing body.

Two separate investigations are being carried out by American and Swiss authorities for alleged rampant and long-running corruption within Fifa, with several top officials arrested and accused by US investigators of taking tens of millions of dollars in bribes.

Several top football officials have been questioned by Swiss investigators, and Fifa President Sepp Blatter too could be quizzed “in the future if needed”, according to Swiss prosecutors.

The biggest-ever scandal to rock world football erupted on Wednesday when seven Fifa officials were arrested in their Zurich hotel as part of the US probe.

They and seven others were charged for racketeering, wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies that ran from 1991 to the present day, and accused of taking or conspiring to solicit $150-million in bribes.

An example cited in US papers was the 2004 selection process for the 2010 World Cup, with investigators claiming that South African officials paid $10-million to former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner - one of the 14 indicted - in order to secure the bid.

South African Football Association President Danny Jordaan confirmed on Sunday that the organising committee made a payment of $10-million in 2008, but insisted this was not a bribe.

“I haven't paid a bribe or taken a bribe from anybody in my life. We don't know who is mentioned there (in the indictment),” Jordaan told the Sunday Independent.

“How could we have paid a bribe for votes four years after we had won the bid?” Jordaan said, adding that the payment was South Africa's contribution towards the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football's (CONCACAF) football development fund.

Warner, who was then also president of CONCACAF, has blasted the US, saying charges against him and other Fifa officials “stems from a lost (American) bid to host the 2022 World Cup”.

The 72-year-old surrendered to police in Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday, but has maintained his innocence all week. He was released after paying $400 000 in bail.

Swiss authorities were meanwhile running a parallel probe into allegations of bribery in the process over the controversial awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups to Russia and Qatar.

A Swiss justice spokesman said top football officials were interviewed as “people who could provide information”, without giving further details.

He added that Blatter “will not be questioned at this stage”.

“If necessary, he will be in the future.”

Seven senior Fifa officials are believed to be among those heard by investigators - Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Issa Hayatou (Cameroon), Angel Miguel Villar Llona (Spain), Michel D'Hooge (Belgium), Senes Erzik (Turkey), Marios Lefkaritis (Cyprus), Hany Abo Rida (Egypt) and Vitaly Mutko (Russia).

Two other current members of the Executive Committee who voted in 2010 for Qatar and Russia live in Switzerland - Blatter and Uefa President Michel Platini.

Swiss investigators were believed to be prioritising those living abroad as they were in town for a Fifa meeting on Saturday.

Blatter, who was re-elected to a fifth term as Fifa president on Friday despite the scandal, has accused US investigators of using the arrests as an attempt “interfere with the congress” that returned him to power.

The 79-year-old Swiss has argued that while many hold him “ultimately responsible for (the) actions and reputation of the global football community”, he “cannot monitor everyone all of the time”.

In an interview published on Sunday by Swiss tabloid SonntagsBlick, Blatter said he “has been treated with zero respect” in the last few days.

He also said he was “very disappointed” by Platini, who has openly asked him to step down from the top job.

Platini has said Uefa will review relations with Fifa on June 6, while English Football Association chief Greg Dyke indicated England could be ready to back a European boycott of the World Cup.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier insisted Fifa must make a new start following Blatter's re-election and said football's governing body was out of touch with the sport it serves.

“I have serious doubts that Fifa will be able to handle this massive task without making a serious new start,” he told German daily Die Welt on Sunday.

“The gap between the machinations of their officials and the many players, coaches, parents, referees and fans around the world, who with a lot of passion, ensure every week that football lives, could not be greater.”

In underlining the far-reaching nature of the scandal, British bank Barclays announced it had launched an internal review into whether its accounts were used for corrupt payments by Fifa officials, a banking source told AFP.

Another British bank, Standard Chartered, said on Friday that it was looking into two payments cleared by the bank that were mentioned in the indictment.

A third named bank, HSBC, has so far declined to comment.

AFP

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Birds’ wings clipped

Moroka Swallows have been relegated from top-tier SA soccer for the first time in their 68-year history.

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Johannesburg - Famed Soweto club Moroka Swallows were relegated on Sunday from top-flight South African football for the first time in their 68-year history.

The once-powerful Birds dropped out of contention for top place in a promotion mini-league after losing 1-0 at Black Leopards.

A Roggert Nyundu goal after 32 minutes at a packed stadium in Thohoyandou condemned Swallows to lower-league football.

Swallows finished second last in the 2015 Premiership, forcing them into a double-round mini-league with Jomo Cosmos and Leopards, who came second and third in the second division.

Cosmos, owned and coached by 1980s South African football legend Jomo Sono, will gain promotion on goal difference if they win at Swallows on Wednesday.

Any other result would bring Leopards back to the top tier.

The South African Premiership offers unrivalled African domestic club football riches with multi-million-rand prizes up for grabs in the league and three cup competitions.

AFP

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International breaks boon for Terry

Chelsea’s John Terry believes quitting international football helped him keep his fitness for the English season.

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Sydney – Chelsea captain John Terry thinks quitting international football three years ago helped keep his fitness at a level where he was able to play every minute of the London club’s triumphant English league season.

Only four players, three of them goalkeepers, had previously featured in every game of a Premier League title-winning campaign before Terry turned out in Chelsea’s 38th and final match of the season against Sunderland last weekend.

“I was delighted to play every minute,” the 34-year-old told reporters in Sydney on Sunday.

“At my age you get written off as well, so it was nice on a personal note to play all the games.

“I don’t know what it’s down to. The manager and the staff deserve credit for the way we train.

“(Not playing) internationals as well, I feel I’ve benefited from those couple of days off.

“So the manager and the staff deserve a lot of credit and me as well, obviously, for staying fit and keeping my form and staying in the side.”

Terry quit international football in 2012 after the Football Association banned him for four matches when he was accused of making a racist remark to Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand. He was cleared of the allegation in a London court.

His reference to people writing him off could have been directed at former Chelsea boss Rafa Benitez.

The Spaniard said Terry would not be able to continue playing twice a week after dropping his captain for an FA Cup semi-final in 2013.

Terry is clearly delighted to have been reunited since with Portuguese Jose Mourinho, under whose guidance he has won three of the four Premier League winners’ medals he owns.

The central defender, who played his first match for Chelsea in 1998, said he does not see the end of the road for their successful manager-captain partnership just yet.

“I’m hoping that’s going to continue for a few more years at least,” he said. “I’m hoping to finish my career at Chelsea. I’m hoping I can do that under the manager and still be playing.”

Chelsea play Sydney FC in a post-season friendly on Tuesday. – Reuters

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FA Cup wins ‘must fuel Gunners’

Arsenal must not rest on their laurels after their FA Cup win, but aim for PL glory as well, says Theo Walcott.

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London – Arsenal must not rest on their laurels after successive FA Cup victories and instead use one of the side’s “best squads” to inspire them to Premier League glory next season, according to forward Theo Walcott.

The England international scored the opening goal in Arsenal’s 4-0 thrashing of Aston Villa at Wembley on Saturday as the Gunners retained the trophy they won against Hull City the previous season.

In the Premier League, however, Arsenal, who have not won the title since 2004, were never a factor in the title race and finished 12 points behind champions Chelsea in third place.

The Gunners were languishing in sixth place at the turn of the year but finished the season in blistering form and registered impressive away wins against Manchester City and Manchester United in the league and cup respectively.

Those victories fueled talk that the Gunners had finally added substance to their style and Walcott said the north London side would set their ambitions high next season.

“The Premier League has to be the next target for us,” the 26-year-old, who scored a hat-trick in their final league match against West Bromwich Albion last week, told the BBC.

“That’s two FA Cup wins now but this is one of the best squads we have had at Arsenal so we should be achieving more. We need to start well in the Premier League next year.

“This team is blessed and there’s got to be many more next year.”

Walcott’s campaign has been disrupted by injury but he has finished the season strongly and he is just one of a plethora of attacking options available to manager Arsene Wenger.

Frenchman Wenger also boasts sparkling attacking players such as Alexis Sanchez, who scored a sublime second at Wembley, Mesut Ozil, Aaron Ramsey and Santi Cazorla.

Combined with an improved steeliness in midfield in the shape of Francis Coquelin and a defence which was only bettered by champions Chelsea and Southampton, talk has increased that the jigsaw maybe slowly falling into place at the Emirates Stadium.

“If we keep this squad, with one or two more players, we will have a good chance to challenge for the title,” French forward Olivier Giroud, who scored Arsenal’s fourth goal on Saturday, told the BBC.

“The Premier League title is the target. Hopefully we will be there.” – Reuters

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Real boss leaks Benitez signing

Real boss Eduardo Fernandez de Blas has let slip that Rafa Benitez is to become the club’s coach.

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Barcelona – Real Madrid vice-president Eduardo Fernandez de Blas has accidentally let slip at the meeting of a fans group that Rafa Benitez will be the new club coach.

Benitez will leave Napoli at the end of the season and has been hotly tipped to take over from Carlo Ancelotti at the Bernabeu but so far there has been no confirmation.

“Ancelotti is an absolute phenomenon and we give him all out appreciation,” Fernandez de Blas told the Madrid members group.

“Until three days ago he was the best trainer in the world as two years ago it was Jose Mourinho and from this week onwards it will be Rafa Benitez.”

Italian Ancelotti was dismissed a year after he ended 12 years of Champions League failure and led Real to a record-extending 10th European crown, as well as a King’s Cup triumph.

Former-Liverpool and Chelsea boss Benitez, who once had a stint as a Real youth team coach, is expected by local media to be named as the new man at the helm of Real next Wednesday. – Reuters

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Trip to Oz no jaunt: Mourinho

Pandering to fans Down Under, Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho insists his team’s Oz visit is no jaunt.

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Sydney – Even with his third Premier League title in the bag and the season over barring Tuesday’s exhibition match against Sydney FC, Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho’s appetite for success remains undimmed.

The Portuguese was on vintage form when the English champions arrived in Australia on Sunday for a match expected to attract a crowd in excess of 83 000 to Sydney’s Olympic stadium.

His players were mobbed at the airport on arrival from Bangkok by a crowd Belgian international Eden Hazard described as “very crazy”.

And it is that passion, Mourinho said, which made it crucial the trip Down Under was not treated as a jaunt.

“We feel always responsibilities,” he told reporters.

“We were in Bangkok, we went to the stadium and there were 45 000 fans with a blue shirt. You cannot lose, you cannot go for fun, you have to go for a result.

“We are still celebrating, yes, we are already thinking about next season, yes, but Tuesday is our last game of the season as a club so we want to try give a good show.”

That did not mean Chelsea would abandon the miserly defence on which the London club’s fourth title in a decade was built.

“It’s important to park the bus all the time in football because if you don’t concede goals you have more chances to win,” he said.

“But I can give a tip to (Sydney FC) coach (Graham) Arnold, my three attacking players will be Loic Remy, Diego Costa and Hazard. So even if we do park the bus, be careful.”

Already looking forward to next season, Mourinho said he would be without Brazilians Willian and Filipe Luis as well as Colombian midfielder Juan Cuadrado for the start of the campaign as they would need rest after the Copa America.

Winning the Champions League title, a feat Mourinho has yet to achieve with Chelsea, will clearly be high on the agenda.

“It’s always difficult to win the Champions League, which is why all the big guys don’t do it seven, eight times in their careers,” he said.

“This season we were better than last season and next season we hope to be better than this season. Hopefully we get our chance.

“Enjoying football is winning,” he added. “That’s what I want to do for the rest of my career. This season was a great example, it was a third Premier League for me… but a first for many of our young players.

“To see their pride and to see the fans going back to victories is the reason I am in the game.” – Reuters

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Skipper Harry Nyirenda believes homeground advantage will work in the Leopard’s favour on Sunday.

Leopards in hunt to claw Birds

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Johannesburg – Black Leopards skipper Harry Nyirenda is confident his team will collect maximum points when they host Moroka Swallows in their final National First Division promotion/relegation fixture at Thohoyandou Stadium today.

The Malawian international insists that home-ground advantage will come into play as they are a pretty difficult side to beat in Limpopo.

“The players know we have to give 110 percent when we play at home,” said Nyirenda.

“We make things difficult for our opponents, and with our supporters behind us, it is a morale-booster.”

Having lost 2-0 to Swallows at the Dobsonville Stadium a week ago, Nyirenda says they are prepared this time around and will not let their chances of promotion to the Premier Soccer League (PSL) slip away.

“It was difficult when we played them in Soweto, but we have learnt from that loss.

“This is our chance to go to the top (of the three-team mini league).

“We want to compete in the top league. We have the players who can do the job and today we simply have to go all-out for victory.”

Swallows, on the other hand, need maximum points if they want to stay in the hunt to retain their PSL status.

A loss for Craig Rosslee’s side would mean the Dube Birds would compete in South Africa’s second-tier league next season.

Last Sunday’s 4-1 hammering by Jomo Cosmos has placed the Soweto team under pressure to win all their remaining games.

Leopards are placed second in the mini-league play-off table, having played three games and collected four points.

Cosmos are at the top of the standings with the same number of points, but with a better goal difference.

Swallows occupy the last spot, having collected three points, but they have two more games to play.

As matters stand, Leopards and Cosmos appear to have a better chance of finishing at the top should they win their remaining games. It could all boil down to the number of goals scored to determine who will play in the elite league.

Going into this clash, Nyirenda and company will have to play it tight at the back, with the skipper hoping his team turn possession into enough goals to take them to the top of the table. – The Sunday Independent

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Danny: Yes, we paid R120m

But soccer boss denies that it was a bribe to secure the 2010 Fifa World Cup

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Johannesburg - Newly-elected Nelson Mandela Bay executive mayor and South African Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan has confirmed that the 2010 Local Organising Committee (LOC) paid $10 million (now about R120m) after South Africa won the bid to host the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

But he has insisted this was not a bribe.

This is the first time that South Africa has confirmed to paying money to a football association then led by former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner, the man at the centre of the bribery claims that have rocked the soccer governing body.

Warner is one of the officials arrested and indicted this week by the FBI in connection with alleged corruption and bribery at Fifa.

The admission follows a week of denials from local football authorities and the government, that South Africa had paid a $10m bribe to secure the hosting of the 2010 World Cup.

Jordaan, who was the 2010 LOC chief executive, said that the $10m was paid to the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) in 2008 as South Africa’s contribution towards their football development fund.

Warner was at the time president of Concacaf. This week several high ranking officials were arrested in Zurich. Warner was arrested in Trinidad.

South Africa is alleged to have promised to pay Warner $10m for his support for the 2010 bid. After South Africa won the vote‚ football officials allegedly said it was not possible to pay him out of South African government funds.

Instead‚ the money was deducted directly from a payment Fifa made to South Africa to help finance the hosting of the tournament, thereby concealing the alleged bribe.

It is alleged that Warner, in return, paid two other Fifa executives.

Of the $100m (about R1.2 billion) which Fifa had to pay Safa for hosting the 2010 World Cup, The Sunday Independent has reliably been informed that Safa only received $80m.

Fifa had deducted $20m ($10m for the building of Safa House and the other $10m was for the “Concacaf development fund”).

Jordaan said the money was directly paid over to them by Fifa.

The Sunday Independent has discovered that no other football association under Fifa received a similar cash injection during 2008.

And the reason why the Concacaf was chosen above any other members, including those from Africa, was that “it regarded itself as part of the African diaspora”, according to a Safa official.

A damning indictment by US authorities alleged bundles of cash stuffed in a briefcase were handed over at a Paris hotel as a bribe by a “high-ranking South African bid committee official”. It is not clear if this $10m is the same amount that the FBI is investigating.

The name of the South African official has not been revealed.

Jordaan said the 2010 Bid Committee concluded its business with the awarding of the World Cup on May 15, 2004. “I haven’t paid a bribe or taken a bribe from anybody in my life. We don’t know who is mentioned there (in the indictment).

“And I don’t want to assume that I am mentioned.

“They can ask all the executives of Fifa that I have engaged with,” said Jordaan, adding: “During my tenure as CEO at the 2010 World Cup Organising Committee, I was bound by regulations set out in the Schedule of Delegated Authority (Soda).

“Under that authority, I could authorise payments of a maximum of R1 million.”

Jordaan said South Africa won the 2010 World Soccer Cup bid on May 15, 2004 and the $10m was only paid by Fifa to Concacaf in 2008.

“How could we have paid a bribe for votes four years after we had won the bid?”

Asked if he was aware that $10m was paid over by Fifa to Concacaf on behalf of South Africa in 2008, Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula on Saturday said: “I am not going to respond to that.

“If you want my response, you better go to the statement I issued earlier in the week or go back to Jordaan, who will then give you all the details you want.”

It was later established that Mbalula had contacted Safa for more information regarding the payment, with the intention of issuing a statement.

No such statement had been issued

at the time of going to press.

Fifa president Sepp Blatter, who has not been indicted, has long been dogged by allegations that he uses “football development” funds as a slush fund, distributing money to soccer officials in each of Fifa’s 209 member nations in exchange for their votes during presidential elections.

Despite the allegations, he has strongly denied that he was involved in any wrongdoing, saying it was not possible to watch everybody all of the time.

The Sunday Independent

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Rio calls it a day

Former England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand announced his retirement from football.

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London - Former England and Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand announced his retirement from football on Saturday after being released by Queens Park Rangers.

The 36-year-old centre back earned 81 caps and won six Premier League titles, the Champions League, two League Cups and the Club World Cup during a 12-year spell with Manchester United where he made more than 400 appearances.

Ferdinand, whose wife Rebecca died from cancer this month, made 12 appearances for QPR last season after joining on a free transfer from United but was released following the west London club's relegation from the Premier League.

“After 18 years as a professional footballer, I now feel it's the right time for me to retire from the game that I love,” Ferdinand told BT Sport.

“I'd also like to thank and pay tribute to my wife Rebecca and my family, including my mother and father, for their sacrifices, their encouragement and their advice throughout my career.”

Ferdinand started out with West Ham United and also played for Leeds United before joining Manchester United for 29.1 million pounds ($44.49 million) in 2002 to become the most expensive player in English football at the time.

Ferdinand said he would look back on his England career “with immense pride” and he paid tribute to former Manachester United boss Alex Ferguson who will “always be the greatest manager in British football history.”

“As a 12-year-old boy, kicking around a football on the Friary Estate in Peckham, I never dreamt that I would play for my boyhood club West Ham, captain Leeds United, win the Champions League with Manchester United, or rejoin my first manager Harry Redknapp at Queens Park Rangers,” he said.

“Winning trophies at Manchester United allowed me to achieve everything that I desired in football. From a young child to today, that was all I cared about.

“None of that would have been possible, without the genius of one man, Sir Alex Ferguson.

“Finally, I'd like to thank all the fans from all the clubs - for without them professional football would not exist. I will miss each and every one of you on my Saturday afternoons.” – Reuters

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