Morata wants to strike blow for Juve, Real

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Juventus forward Alvaro Morata seemed genuinely apologetic after he netted the goal that knocked his former club Real Madrid out in the Champions League semi-finals.

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Berlin - Juventus forward Alvaro Morata seemed genuinely apologetic after he netted the goal that knocked his former club Real Madrid out in the Champions League semi-finals and he wants to try to make amends.

The 22-year-old Spain international scored in both legs of Juve's 3-2 aggregate success over the holders and is hoping to lead his side to victory against Real's bitter rivals Barcelona in Saturday's Champions League final.

Morata joined Juve for a fee of 20 million euros ($22.53 million) in the close season after finding himself surplus to requirements at Real and has played an important role in the Italian club's charge towards a possible treble of titles.

He netted eight goals in Serie A as Juve wrapped up a fourth consecutive title, two in their successful Coppa Italia campaign and has four so far in Europe's elite club competition, including his crucial strike at the Bernabeu last month.

The goal levelled the semi-final, second leg at 1-1 and ended the holders' dream of an 11th European crown following their 10th in 2013-14, when Morata was a second-half substitute in the final against Atletico Madrid in Lisbon.

On Saturday at Berlin's Olympic Stadium, he will bid to become only the fourth player to appear in Champions League final victories in successive seasons for different clubs, joining Marcel Desailly, Paulo Sousa and Samuel Eto'o.

“I will try to win, also because of what that would mean for Real fans,” Morata, who joined Real's youth ranks in 2008, told reporters on Monday.

“Obviously scoring against Barcelona would not be as painful as it was scoring against Madrid but I need to actually score before thinking about celebrations,” he added.

“I'm not going to say it's an extra motivation for me because you don't need extra motivation when you play a Champions League final, but facing Barca will always be special.”

As well as becoming a key figure at Juve, Morata has started to make an impact for Spain following a highly successful run in La Roja's youth sides.

He starred in Spain's European Championship winning Under-19 and Under-21 teams, winning the Golden Boot award for the top scorer at each tournament.

He was hailed as “the future of La Roja” in March after he fired the European champions to a 1-0 win against Ukraine in Euro 2016 qualifying in Seville.

Morata made his league debut for Real in December 2010 under Jose Mourinho and went on to win one La Liga title, two King's Cups and a Spanish Super Cup as well as the Champions League.

His performances since joining Juve have impressed no less a figure than captain and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, although the World Cup winner with Italy in 2006 did hint that Morata still has a lot to learn.

“Morata has been the biggest surprise,” Buffon said on UEFA.com on Wednesday.

“Now that I know him, I can say that if he matures in the right way and if he wants to put his professionalism to the benefit of the team and the profession, he can be the star of the next few years.” – Reuters



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Montagliani denies paying bribes

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The head of Canada’s soccer association says he did not bribe Fifa to win the rights to host the women's World Cup.

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Vancouver - The head of Canada's soccer association on Thursday said he did not bribe Fifa to win the rights to host the women's World Cup and said that a senior executive of the sport's governing body who has been charged with corruption had done a lot of good for the game.

Canadian Soccer Association President Victor Montagliani noted that Jeffrey Webb, the arrested head of the North American, Central American and Caribbean confederation CONCACAF, had led an anti-racism campaign and started the process of changing governance at CONCACAF.

“It would be very hard to say you wouldn't respect somebody of that nature,” Montagliani told reporters at a press conference to open the month-long Fifa Women's World Cup in Canada, which is also a member of CONCACAF.

“Having said that, if the allegations (from) last week are true, then obviously that would change a lot of people's opinion. I hope it's not because obviously we know there's no room in the game for those kinds of things.”

Webb was one of seven powerful figures arrested in Zurich on May 27 two days before Fifa’s annual congress, stunning world soccer. Sepp Blatter, the president of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (Fifa), has not charged and he was elected to a fifth four-year term but then unexpectedly resigned on Tuesday.

The charges by US prosecutors include allegations that millions of dollars were paid in bribes in Fifa's selection process to host men's World Cups and other major tournaments.

Asked whether he had paid a bribe to Fifa so Canada could host the women's tournament, Montagliani replied: “Absolutely not.” He said the Canadian bid was the last viable one standing at the time of the selection.

The tournament starts in Edmonton on Saturday with the hosts playing China.

A Fifa spokeswoman would not say if Blatter planned to attend the women's tournament final on July 5 in Vancouver. She said the match was weeks away and that any travel plans would be confirmed at a later date.

Montagliani, who last year described Webb as an inspiration to him, said that until the arrest it would have been difficult to believe the charges.

“With all due respect, you and your colleagues were saying the exact same thing,” Montagliani said. “So you need to maybe look in the mirror a bit and maybe not put people on the pedestal so that you can whack the hell out of them after.”

Reuters



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‘Fifa paid Irish FA to stop legal action’

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Fifa allegedly paid €5m to the Irish FA to avoid the threat of a legal case over a World Cup playoff defeat in 2009.

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Dublin - World soccer's governing body Fifa paid five million euros  to the Irish FA (FAI) to avoid the threat of a legal case over a World Cup playoff defeat in 2009, FAI chief executive John Delaney said on Thursday.

Ireland were knocked out by France in a two-legged playoff to qualify for the 2010 South Africa tournament, with the decisive goal in the second leg coming after a blatant handball by French striker Thierry Henry.

Speaking to Irish state broadcaster RTE on Thursday, Delaney said: “It was a payment to the association... not to proceed with a legal case.”

Reuters



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Battle to replace Blatter begins

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The dethroning of Sepp Blatter has caused the biggest shift in the politics of Fifa for a generation.

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The Champions League final between Barcelona and Juventus in Berlin this Saturday could prove to be one of the most captivating in the competition's recent history if the recent form of the incomparable Lionel Messi is anything to go by. But behind the scenes the great European football machine will be going into overdrive.

The dethroning of Sepp Blatter as Fifa president has caused the biggest shift in the politics of football's world governing body for a generation.

The Swiss was first elected in 1998 as the anointed successor of his predecessor Joao Havelange. But now the battle to unseat him has been won, the race to win the peace is in full flow.

The big hitters at Uefa have cancelled a formal meeting in the German capital after Blatter's resignation. They had planned to discuss a number of options including the proposal by Allan Hansen, the Danish Uefa executive committee member, to boycott the 2018 World Cup finals.

Now the challenge is to find a unifying candidate who can achieve the popularity with Asian and African nations that Blatter had - without the compromises he made to get it.

The Dutch Uefa executive committee member Michael van Praag was the strongest figure who stepped aside in the Uefa consensus to back Prince Ali bin al-Hussein against Blatter at the election last week.

Van Praag did so reluctantly, telling a meeting at Uefa that he believed he had the best candidacy but understood that the Jordanian had a better chance of picking up votes in Asia. In the end, Blatter garnered just as much support from that continent as his opponent.

Van Praag, 67, a former chairman of the leading Dutch club Ajax and chairman of his country's football association has strong support in Europe but, as with all Uefa candidates, his challenge will be to pick up voters farther afield.

He has said he would serve only a single term, which would be until 2019 when the next scheduled elections will be held. By that time, many believe that Michel Platini, the current Uefa president, would be in a position to take over.

The key doubt over Platini standing now is his support of Qatar in the 2022 World Cup finals vote. His vote for the Gulf state has been rooted in controversy with allegations that he was told to back them by the then French president Nicolas Sarkozy. Platini has always denied this. But with Qatar's hosting of the 2022 tournament in the balance, and the award the focus of an investigation by the Swiss and US authorities, it would be difficult for Platini to stand at the extraordinary congress held by Fifa to replace Blatter, which will take place sometime between December and March.

Supporters of Prince Ali have examined the Fifa statutes to explore whether Blatter's resignation means that their candidate should be given the role by default. That approach, taken by his Jordanian advisors, rather than those hired in Britain, is not thought to be realistic. Nevertheless, Prince Ali is a viable candidate for the post-Blatter elections for the same reasons Uefa united behind him as the best candidate last time.

In the post-Blatter landscape, the English Football Association vice-chairman David Gill will have a role to play. He resigned from the Fifa executive committee last week in protest at Blatter's refusal to step down and his affiliation with Manchester United, and their global appeal, has meant that he has always been sought out by delegates from Africa and Asia. But there is no prospect of him running for the presidency before 2019.

An interesting outside runner is the vice-president of the Japan Football Association, Kozo Tashima. The 57-year-old is a Fifa executive committee member and has impressed the English FA with his willingness to oppose Blatter. He called yesterday for the outgoing Fifa president to step down now, rather than wait until the extraordinary congress. Tashima is regarded as a highly credible figure who would appeal across a broader range of the Fifa nations than another white European male. He is a former Japan international footballer.

The future outlined by Domenico Scala, the independent chairman of Fifa's audit and compliance committee, included term limits for the president, publication of salaries and centralised integrity checks.

Whoever succeeds Blatter will have to jump though many more hoops than his predecessor, but the biggest challenge will be gaining a majority from 209 different football nations.

The Independent



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Motsepe wants 2010 WC corruption probe

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The 2010 corruption allegations must be fully probed, and action taken if wrongdoing is found, Patrice Motsepe said.

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Cape Town - Corruption allegations in relation to the World Cup vote must be fully investigated, and action taken if any wrongdoing is found, mining magnate and football club owner Patrice Motsepe told ANA on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town on Thursday.

Motsepe, who owns Mamelodi Sundowns football club, is one of the co-chairs of the WEF. He would not be drawn to comment further on claims that South Africa paid a $10 million bribe to secure votes for the 2010 Fifa World Cup, citing a lack of facts due to travelling commitments.

It emerged earlier this week that the local organising committee authorised Fifa to make a payment of $10 million to fund a Diapora Legacy Fund. The South African government maintains that no bribe was paid.

Asked directly whether he knew of any corruption in relation to the vote, Motsepe said “I do not know.” In an interview with a TV station, Motsepe said the South African government had always operated on principles of clean governance and anti-corruption and these would have applied to the World Cup vote.

“The claims will have to be fully investigated so we can know the truth, and action should be taken if anything is found,” Motsepe said.

He conceded that should the claims be found to be true, it risks tarnishing the legacy of the former President Nelson Mandela, who was regarded as instrumental in helping South Africa secure the event. “It will not just be for Mandela, but for all of us as ordinary citizens,” he said.

ANA



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Bafana drop further down rankings

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Bafana Bafana have dropped 10 places to 69th in the latest Fifa world rankings.

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Johannesburg - Bafana Bafana have dropped 10 places to 69th in the latest Fifa world rankings released on Thursday.

The Shakes Mashaba-led side have also plummeted to 18th in the Caf rankings.

Bafana failed to win a match as hosts in the recent Cosafa Cup, as their steady decline continued.

The rankings came out as Bafana prepare to take on Gambia next Saturday in their African Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifying match at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.

Three days later, Bafana move to Cape Town as they host Angola in an international friendly.

The national team will then have a break of three months before playing their next match against Mauritania away in another Afcon qualifier.

CAF top 10 Rankings:

1. Algeria

2. Ivory Coast

3. Tunisia

4. Ghana

5. Senegal

6. Cape Verde Islands

7. Nigeria

8. Guinea

9. Congo

10. Cameroon

18. South Africa

ANA



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It’s good to be back says Sono

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It is a great feeling to be back in the Premiership according to Jomo Cosmos coach Jomo Sono.

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Johannesburg - It is a great feeling to be back in the Premiership according to Jomo Cosmos coach Jomo Sono.

Sono’s side beat Moroka Swallows 1-0 in their final promotion/relegation playoff match in Dobsonville on Wednesday to finish top of the playoffs table, and secured safe passage to top flight football next season.

“It’s good to be back,” said Sono.

“It’s been a long time coming. Our target was three years and this is now the third year and we’re back.

“So I am excited and now I just want to go home and relax.”

Cosmos finished the playoffs on seven points - the same as second-placed Black Leopards - but Jomo Sono’s team claimed top spot courtesy of a superior goal difference.

Cosmos were relegated in the 2011/2012 season.

While Swallows’ fate had already been decided before the final game of the playoffs, Sono said he felt sympathy for the poor run the Birds had endured.

“I want to be honest, I’ve got two feelings,” said Sono.

“The first is of being happy for my team, but the second is about Moroka Swallows Football Club.

“When I was expelled from football in 1996, these are the fans who supported me, that I must come back into football.

“So I have divided feelings today, to see a great team like Swallows going to the First Division.

“It’s not easy at all, but I hope they come back quickly because we need teams like Swallows and AmaZulu in our league. because those are founding members and I hope they come back quickly.”

ANA



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Fifa’s World Cup of bribery

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Fifa whistleblower Chuck Blazer has admitted taking bribes to vote for both the 1998 and 2010 World Cups.

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Fifa whistleblower Chuck Blazer has admitted taking bribes to vote for both the 1998 and 2010 World Cups.

The American also pleaded guilty to tax evasion and accepting bribes and kickbacks connected to five Gold Cups — the North and Central American confederation’s flagship tournament.

This damning admission of criminal activity on Fifa’s executive was contained in Blazer’s plea-bargain testimony given to the FBI in November 2013 but made public for the first time last night.

It came just 24 hours after the resignation of Fifa president Sepp Blatter amid criminal investigations in America and Switzerland. The 2018 World Cup in Russia has also come under threat as the FBI are now investigating how the country was awarded the tournament, along with Qatar in 2022.

Part of Blazer’s evidence is redacted, suggesting further evidence involving the Fifa hierarchy is being kept back.

The 70-year-old, now seriously ill in a New York hospital with cancer and pneumonia, admits: ‘During my association with Fifa and CONCACAF, among other things I and others agreed that I or a co-conspirator would commit at least two acts of racketeering activity.

‘I agreed with others in or around 1992 to facilitate the acceptance of a bribe in conjunction with the selection of the host nation for the 1998 World Cup. I and others on the Fifa executive committee agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the selection of South Africa as the host nation for the 2010 World Cup.

‘I and others, while acting in our official capacities, agreed to participate in a scheme to defraud Fifa and CONCACAF of the right to honest services by taking undisclosed bribes.’

Blazer’s testimony shows that Fifa’s fraudsters tainted World Cups long before the 2018 and 2022 editions, which are currently being probed.

While the Qatar decision has been the subject of huge controversy since the ballot in 2010, Russia, who will have world football gathering in St Petersburg for the qualifying draw on July 25, has largely escaped suspicion. But an FBI official has told Reuters that the World Cup bids would be part of the probe that is now going beyond the alleged $100million (£65m) worth of fraudulent activity by Fifa officials.

Russia 2018 World Cup chief Alex Sorokin said last week: ‘We did everything the process wanted us to do. We are not concerned with any investigation.’ And a statement from their organising committee said yesterday: ‘The 2018 World Cup will be held for the first time in the territory of the world’s largest country. We will continue to work closely with Fifa towards this goal on a daily basis.’

The timescale makes it unlikely that Russia will lose the tournament. And England, who bid for the 2018 showcase and could put on such an event at short notice, are giving no indication of wanting to do so.

FA chairman Greg Dyke has already ruled out any England bid were there to be a revote of the Qatar tournament. The 2022 World Cup hosts had taken offence at Dyke suggesting they wouldn’t be sleeping well in the wake of Blatter’s resignation. Qatar FA president Sheik Hamad told Dyke he should let the legal process take its course and concentrate on delivering his promise to build an England team capable of winning the World Cup by then.

Dyke responded: ‘It’s pathetic. They would say that, wouldn’t they. A year ago when The Sunday Times published that massive dossier about Qatar and the Qatar World Cup, the response from Blatter was that the British media was being racist because a lot of it involved corruption in Africa. I take offence at that.

‘There is an email out there from Fifa secretary general Jerome Valcke saying the Qataris “bought the World Cup”. They denied it, but it is out there. Now that the Swiss authorities are investigating the process, we must wait and see what happens.

‘If in the end they say it was a fair process then, yes, it should go ahead. But if they say, as I suspect, that an awful lot of money was thrown at this and some of it went to people it shouldn’t have gone to, then I think there should be a re-bid.’

But Qatar’s foreign minister Khaled Al Attiyah countered: ‘No way can Qatar be stripped. We are confident of the procedures and presented the best file. It is because of prejudice and racism that we have this campaign against Qatar.’

Meanwhile, South Africa’s sports minister Fikile Mbalula reacted angrily to allegations that his government had paid a $10m (£6.5m) bribe via FIFA to arch Fifa crook Jack Warner for his 2010 vote.

Mbalula said: ‘Criminals can explain a bribe very well, I don’t know how bribes work. The money was to support African diaspora in the Caribbean. It was an above-board payment. We don’t know what compromised individuals say when they are compromised.’

Fifa secretary general Valcke, to whom the South African FA wrote regarding the payment, said: ‘I’m beyond reproach and I certainly don’t feel guilty. I don’t even have to justify that I’m innocent.’

Interpol, who are helping the US agencies, yesterday put six men linked to Fifa on their most wanted list, issuing international alerts for two former Fifa officials and four executives on charges including racketeering and corruption.

The ‘Red Notices’ were issued for former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner and Nicolas Leoz. Others listed are Argentinians Alejandro Burzaco and brothers Hugo and Mariano Jinkis, who together are accused of paying more than £65m in bribes for media and commercial rights to soccer tournaments, as well as Jose Margulies, a Brazilian broadcast executive.– Daily Mail



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Salary cap for PSL stars?

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Football writer Rodney Reiners wonders: Isn’t it time for the Premier Soccer League to introduce a salary cap?

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In the aftermath of the situation at Kaizer Chiefs, an oft-asked question has again re-surfaced: Isn’t it time for the Premier Soccer League (PSL) to introduce a salary cap?

With the financial demands of players reaching ridiculous levels, the boss of PSL champions Chiefs, Kaizer Motaung, has had enough. At a press conference earlier this week, at which Chiefs released a number of top footballers, Motaung said: “We cannot be held to ransom by anyone. The game and the club are bigger than anyone. One or two players don’t make a team, it takes a lot of players to make a team. And, if it becomes an issue of only money and nothing else, then this (Chiefs) is the wrong place to be.”

Unlike the rest of the football world, salaries in the PSL are always shrouded in secrecy. Based on reports and off-the-record discussions, it can safely be assumed that the top bracket is in the region of between R300 000 to R450 000 per month, while the bottom end of the scale floats around R15 000 to R30 000 per month. That gap – in fact, make that a chasm – alone is enough to make you scream from the rooftops that enough is enough.

And yet the top men are now demanding between R500 000 and R800 000 per month. Already earning far too much, they want even more... The players, though, are probably not to blame – the skewed madness of the domestic football market has created this monster.

Comparisons with Europe don’t hold water. Those are first world countries, they play to a global television audience, week in and week out they perform in front of packed stands, and, most importantly, the quality of the game is streets ahead of the local product.

There are some fabulously talented local players and some of the games are attractive and entertaining. But, let’s be honest, crowds are dwindling… the overall quality of the sport is not of the best… in most cases, teams struggle to hold on to possession for prolonged periods of time, often conceding possession rather easily and tamely. In some places, the pitches are sub-standard… the standard of officiating needs assistance… and critically, and this is the rub, should players be earning obscene amounts of money in a developing country such as ours where there are people who don’t know where their next meal is coming from?

Yet there are footballers earning massive salaries when, often, they are not even worth it. There are still PSL players struggling with rudimentary technical skills and a basic awareness of the tactical needs of the sport.

Even the PSl’s chairman, and Orlando Pirates owner, Irvin Khoza has weighed in. In an interview with a weekend newspaper, Khoza is quoted as referring to the current financial situation in the league as an “artificial economy”.

“The reality is that we don’t have many club owners who have deep pockets,” said Khoza. “Unfortunately, the way the market has turned out is an artificial economy, which is not sustainable. Not many clubs can afford such high salaries. I can’t afford it myself. Some players earn more than me. If other clubs can do that, good luck, we can’t compete. We can’t blame them.”

And, yet, when it comes to the SA national football squad – Bafana Bafana – everybody is quick to hurl insults and point accusing fingers when the team fails.

The main reason behind Bafana’s inability to progress is linked to the exorbitant salaries good players are able to command in the PSL. It develops into a case of the “big fish in small pond” mentality. The nation’s best footballers get sucked into a comfort zone and are happy to stay and play in the PSL. As such, their game never develops, they never get better. They stay at exactly the same level they are, never really testing or challenging themselves.

Why are the national teams of Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Cameroon so much better than Bafana? Simple, because all their top footballers play in Europe. The PSL, as an organisation, may be miles ahead of the local leagues in the above-mentioned countries in terms of administration and salaries – but, in international football, on the field of play, that means squat.

In an interview the now-retired Lance Davids, the former Bafana midfielder who left Mitchell’s Plain at the age of 15 to pursue a career in Europe, explained the root of the South African football problem: “It’s so important for South Africans to go to Europe and better their game. Too often, players are too happy to just stay in the PSL. The money is good, their families are here, the weather is good, but their game doesn’t improve, they can’t get to a higher level and they don’t gain the experience that will make them so much better.

“Look at the example of Andile Jali, now playing in Belgium. His game has come on tremendously, he is said to be one of the best players in the Belgian league. Watch him when he comes to play for Bafana now, he never loses possession…”

The counter argument to all of this, of course, is that with so much sponsorship money pouring into the PSL, a salary cap opens up the possibility of players being exploited by unscrupulous club owners (which is not unusual in this country). But that’s a debate on its own…

Crucially, though, a review of salaries in the PSL forces players to actually go out on to the field to prove their worth, There are far too many mediocre footballers demanding amounts that are not commensurate with their ability.

And, more importantly, a salary cap means that South Africa’s very best will have to go to Europe to earn what they deserve. This improves their game – and that can only be advantageous for Bafana. - Cape Argus



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No Hawks WC bribe probe

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The Hawks are not investigating local officials' involvement in the Fifa World Cup bribe fiasco,according to their spokesperson.

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Johannesburg – The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) said that it has not opened a formal investigation regarding the allegations that South Africa paid a $10 million bribe to host the 2010 World Cup.

“The speculations that have been doing the rounds claiming that Hawks are investigating Safa President Dr Danny Jordaan and other Safa officials are simply malicious, baseless and unfounded,” Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said.

“We receive information from members of the public and institutions regarding matters of fraud, corruption and other high profile cases almost on a daily basis and we open inquiry files on such information, so there is nothing special about us looking into the matter as presented to us by the FF Plus.”

Mulaudzi said that no case was opened against anybody in relation to the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) “scandal” and no formal investigation has been instituted.

“However, we can confirm that we have received documents from Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus), a political party in South Africa concerning the FIFA issues, and we have opened an inquiry file so that we investigate contents of the documents,” he said.

“We have not received any correspondence from the FBI or United States authorities, who are at the centre of the FIFA controversy investigations and as the directorate we have no jurisdiction to be investigating the matter.”

On Wednesday, FFPlus parliamentary spokesman on Sport Advocate Anton Alberts said in a statement that the party received confirmation that the Hawks would be investigating the involvement of South Africans in the FIFA fraud.

Alberts said the FF Plus, who had reported the case requested that the comments made by Nelson Mandela Bay Metro mayor and SA Football Association (Safa) president Danny Jordaan, that an amount of $10 million had been paid to Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (Concacaf) for ‘soccer development’, should in be investigated.

He said that the Hawks confirmed that the investigation will be done in conjunction with the American authorities and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) which had already launched an investigation.

“South Africa’s Minister of Sport, Fikile Mbalula, should take note of the Hawks investigation, as well as the fact that South African politicians who could be involved in the fraud, will now form part of the official investigation,” Alberts said in a statement, on Wednesday.

“His attempts to create the impression that nothing untoward had been done by South Africans, is therefore inappropriate and is getting ahead of the investigation. He can rest assured that the high level investigation is now in place to reveal the truth.”

On Thursday, the Democratic Alliance challenged Mbalula to release the records of decisions by government related to the $10 million transfer Safa directed FIFA to pay to the Concacaf.

DA sport and recreation spokesman Solly Malatsi said the recently released transcript of a 2013 sentencing deal revealed that Fifa’s former official in the Concacaf region, Chuck Blazer, admitted to accepting bribes.

The transcript read: “Beginning in or around 2004 and continuing through 2011, I and others on the FIFA executive committee agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with the selection of South Africa as the host nation for the 2010 World Cup.”

Commenting on the transcript, Malatsi said: “This revelation makes the call for all documents and information surrounding the transfer of the $10 million to Concacaf even more urgent to get to the bottom of these allegations.”

“What government in their right mind hands over $10 million without documentation? To not have regular reporting on how the funds were spent is nothing short of reckless.”

Malatsi said that both government and Safa were directly implicated in the decision to transfer the money.

“If this transaction is above board, as the minister insists, it is then incumbent on Safa and the Government to seek all records of how the money was spent,” he said.

On Wednesday, Mbalula said there was no contradiction between the statements of Safa and the SA government, and that government was pursuing the matter through diplomatic channels with United States authorities.

The letter which confirmed the transfer of the amount was signed by former Safa president Molefi Oliphant dated March 2008, however, Mbalula said the letter did not prove anything.

Mbalula said the money was earmarked for Concacaf as part of a joint decision between government and the footballing body. He explained that the money in question had never been used to bribe anyone to secure the right to host the World Cup.

On Sunday, Jordaan said the 10 million US dollars was paid to the Concacaf in 2008 as South Africa’s contribution towards their football development fund. – ANA



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Liverpool agree deal for Milner

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Liverpool announced that they have agreed to sign England midfielder James Milner from Premier League rivals Manchester City.

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Liverpool announced that they have agreed to sign England midfielder James Milner from Premier League rivals Manchester City on a free transfer, subject to a medical examination.

The 29-year-old, capped 53 times by his country, will join Liverpool on July 1 after his City contract expires. Liverpool have not disclosed the length of his contract.

“Liverpool Football Club are delighted to announce they have agreed a deal to sign Manchester City's James Milner, subject to a medical,” Liverpool announced on their website.

A graduate from Leeds United's youth academy, Milner played for Leeds, Newcastle United and Aston Villa before joining City in 2010 in a deal reported to be worth £26 million ($40 million, 35.3 million euros).

The versatile, hard-working player, who can operate right across midfield, has won two Premier League titles with City, in 2011-12 and 2013-14, as well as the 2010-11 FA Cup and the 2013-14 League Cup.

Milner, who will officially join on the day long-serving captain Steven Gerrard leaves for the Los Angeles Galaxy, is Liverpool's first signing of the close season.

Manager Brendan Rodgers is attempting to rejuvenate a squad that finished sixth in the Premier League this season, eight points off the Champions League places, having narrowly only missed out on the title in 2014.- AFP



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Emotional return for Benitez

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Rafael Benitez has returned to his hometown after being unveiled as Real Madrid’s new coach.

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It is not very often that Florentino Perez goes back to get a manager who has already turned him down but he was prepared to make an exception in the case of Rafael Benitez. Perez, the Real Madrid president, moved heaven and earth to make the Bernabeu Stadium irresistibly appealing to him in 2009, paying particular attention to creating a package which might also entice Mrs Montse Benitez back to the Spanish capital.

Benitez's Liverpool had just beaten Real 4-0 at the time. The emotional pull of his spiritual English home proved too much though and he signed up for more of the madhouse that Anfield degenerated into under the ownership of Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

Real's steadfast interest in Benitez, which Perez's director general Jose Angel Sanchez has been instrumental in maintaining, should have made the homecoming one to bask in yesterday. Yet it was an uncharacteristically emotional Benitez who walked back into the club he left 20 years ago to accept the coach's job. He was lost for words and tears were in his eyes at the end of the short response he gave to Perez's formal welcome. “It's emotional to come home,” he admitted. “This is always the hardest part when you don't know what to say...”

There must have been many times since he left Liverpool in 2010 - including the two years out of work - when he doubted such a moment would arrive. Though Benitez would never put it in such a way, the last few years at Napoli have looked from afar like rehabilitation through exile.

Privately, he wonders what upsets lie ahead next in a management career which have brought very many. He came to know this club like the back of his hand in the 1970s and early 1990s - as an established member of the B team and then as a coach for two years - and learned how political it can be at the Bernabeu. There were immediate diplomatic incidents to skirt yesterday, with Benitez steadfastly not answering English press conference questions in English, knowing that would upset the home contingent.

So it was in Spanish that he said he considers this job incalculably tougher than the one he took on at Liverpool in 2004. “At Liverpool I had three years to get the team competing and we won the Champions League in the first year,” he said. “But here we have to be at a very high level right from the start and try to be always at the top. From the first moment you have to compete. The expectations are different from when we were at Liverpool.”

It certainly feels like he has something even bigger to prove than he did when arriving on Merseyside from Valencia. His accomplishments at Anfield have looked increasingly impressive as barren years have rolled by for Liverpool. Yet that faintly anti-intellectual, mildly xenophobic discussion of him persists in England. That famously futile attempt to destroy Sir Alex Ferguson's gamesmanship with the facts sheet he pulled out of a jacket pocket in 2009 is somehow still considered more relevant to the assessment of him than his record in European competition: seven European semi-finals in 12 years with four clubs. And he did not have a club for two of those years.

It does not help that his predecessor at the Bernabeu, Carlo Ancelotti, who delivered the famous decima European Cup and four trophies in a single year, is by some measure the most successful coach in the club's history. There have also been a few suggestions that Benitez is a more defensive manager than him - a supposition flatly dismissed a few weeks ago by his former Liverpool player Jamie Carragher, who is not generally inclined to confect any football talk.

Amid the uncertainties in some quarters, Real have been dressing up the Benitez appointment as a homecoming of the hombre de la casa - “the man of the house” - for days. The spontaneity of his emotion was no bad thing.

The choreography is nothing compared with the management task he faces. Benitez, who has fought tooth and nail to better so many of his squads over the years, now has more playing riches than he could possibly ask for. But since so many of them pick themselves - Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos - the task looks like a collection of man-management challenges as much as the game-management tests which he has always so excels at.

There are some suggestions that Ronaldo does not want to play centre-forward, yet the balance of the squad - lacking in that position - might well require that he does so. There is the problem of Bale and how the new coach will, as he has been asked, get more out of him. A role behind the centre-forward may be a consideration.

Benitez is familiar with the Welshman, who Liverpool scouted when he was at Southampton but could not persuade the South coast club to part with in the early days (a cash and exchange deal involving the midfielder Darren Potter, now at Milton Keynes Dons, was actually one of the early offers before in 2007 Tottenham moved in). Benitez feels he can help Bale improve. An emphasis on strengthening work is always a part of what he brings.

The headline stories are actually less complicated. The feeling is that goalkeeper David De Gea can be enticed from Manchester United whenever Real chose to step up their efforts, though the reluctance of Iker Casillas to leave and make way is shaping up to be a problem. Real want him out of the picture before turning to De Gea.

Benitez admires Liverpool's Raheem Sterling and, as he said yesterday, knows the player “very well” having brought him to Liverpool. Some private ruminations about whether it is too early for a 20-year-old to step into a cauldron such as the Bernabeu would be unlikely to deter Benitez. It has been put to him that the re-sale value of Sterling in England would remain very high, should a move to Spain not work, so a bid to buy him would not represent a major risk. Perez calls shots like that.

The size of the task Benitez faces in keeping his new job for the length of his three-year contract were laid bare in yesterday's AS newspaper, whose cover story depicted him as El Decimo de Florentino - Perez's 10th manager. He made a joke of this and reflected on it being the way of “modern football.” But what seemed to be behind the smile was a resolve to demonstrate that he is a manager in the elite class who, with the greatest respect, is operating in a different realm to West Ham, who recently tried to hire him, and Napoli.

When Argentina trained at Manchester City's Etihad Campus ahead of their friendly game against Portugal last autumn, Benitez - back home on Merseyside - was invited over by Javier Mascherano, his former Liverpool midfielder, who told his compatriots Sergio Aguero and Pablo Zabaleta in no uncertain terms: “You need this man as your manager. He'll make you win things.”

Benitez knows City's kingmaker Txiki Begiristain but the club decided their future lay elsewhere. The challenge ahead is monumental for Benitez but here comes his chance to demonstrate that he belongs among football's very best.

Benitez in numbers:

1994

Benitez was Real assistant to Vicente del Bosque 21 years ago

2 Spanish titles (and one Uefa Cup) won with Valencia during 2001-04

2004

He was named Uefa Manager of the Year in 2003-04 and 2004-05 – The Independent



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Bumper revenue for Premier League clubs

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Booming broadcasting income means that the Premier League is getting richer, with combined revenues soaring 29 per cent.

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Booming broadcasting income means that the Premier League is getting richer, with combined revenues soaring 29 per cent to £3.3bn in the latest Deloitte survey of the top flight.

Massive hikes at clubs such as Everton, Aston Villa and Chelsea resulted in the revenue figure for 2013-14 being significantly higher than the €2.3bn (£1.7bn) made in the German Bundesliga. The Premier League clubs also showed a record operating profit of £614m and pre-tax profit of £187m.

Deloitte said the surge was fuelled by the impact of the first year of a new broadcasting rights cycle. “The Premier League clubs now generate so much revenue that all 20 clubs are in the top 40 revenue earners in the world,” said Alan Switzer, director in Deloitte's sports business group.

The current cycle of Premier League broadcast deals makes over £5.5bn in domestic and overseas rights fees, delivering a key competitive advantage for the English top flight compared to other European leagues. This is strengthened by live rights deals, which will increase further from 2016-17.

Dan Jones, partner in the sports business group at Deloitte, said: “The impact of the Premier League's broadcast deal is clear to see. Broadcast income increased by £569m in 2013-14, accounting for 78 per cent of the overall growth in revenue in the Premier League.”

He added: “In 2013-14 even the Premier League club receiving the least from domestic league broadcast distributions earned more from this source than all but five other European clubs.”

Consultancy firm Deloitte's 24th annual review of football finance calculated the figures by also looking at two other turnover streams: match-day income, such as tickets and merchandise, and commercial, including kit deals.

Top-performing clubs include Tottenham Hotspur, who netted the highest-ever pre-tax profit in the division, £80m, helped in part by the world-record £85m transfer of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid in August 2013. The north London club also scored a 22 per cent revenue hike to £180.5m. The six clubs from the capital filled their stadia to at least 93 per cent of capacity.

Manchester United secured the highest revenue figure in the table, reaching £433.2m. They were followed by Manchester City with £348.3m, and Chelsea with £324.4m.

The average club revenue was £163m - just £7m less than the combined revenues of the 22 First Division clubs in 1991-92, the final season before the introduction of the Premier League.

Meanwhile, in the Championship, overall revenue rose 12 per cent to £491m but clubs paid more in wages, £518m.

Total transfer expenditure for the 92 English league clubs during the period topped £1bn for the first time.

PREMIER PLUS2013-14 REVENUE LIST2013-14 revenue

Man United £433.2m

Man City £348.3m

Chelsea £324.4m

Arsenal £300.5m

Liverpool £255.8m

Tottenham £180.5m

Newcastle £129.7m

Everton £120.5m

West Ham £116.5m

Aston Villa £111.2m

Southampton £106.1m

Sunderland £104.4m

Swansea £98.7m

Stoke £98.3m

Norwich £94.4m

Fulham £92.1m

Crystal Palace £90.4m

West Brom £86.8m

Hull £84.5m

Cardiff £83.1m

Source: Deloitte – The Independent



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Cosmos back in the PSL

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Jomo Cosmos secured promotion to the Premiership after defeating Moroka Swallows in their promotion-relegation play-off clash.

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Johannesburg – A single goal from Wiseman Maluleke handed Jomo Cosmos a 1-0 win over Moroka Swallows in a PSL Promotional Play-off match at Dobsonville Stadium on Wednesday night which sees them into the top flight next season.

The win sees Cosmos top the play-off league table with seven points, the same as Black Leopards, but with a superior goal difference while Swallows finished bottom on three points.

The first opportunity on goal came about because of a mistake by the Swallows goalkeeper which saw a poor clearance in the second minute fall to Nkanyiso Madonsela, but the Cosmos man saw his attempt from distance saved by a scrambling Obren Cuckovic.

Ten minutes later Cosmos suffered a bit of a set-back when Thato Sithole had to leave the field with a shoulder injury and was replaced by Maluleke.

In the 16th minute Swallows had their first attempt on goal when Rudi Isaacs met a right wing cross, but saw his header sail inches wide of the post.

Just before the half hour mark Cosmos came close to opening the scoring when Charlton Mashumba met a left wing cross with an acrobatic volley, but saw his 14-yard attempt shave the wrong side of the upright.

In the 33rd minute Maluleke tried his luck from the edge of the box, but saw his low stinging shot go narrowly wide.

Three minutes before the break Swallows suffered a big blow when Lerato Changabu was harshly shown a straight red card for what the referee deemed a studs-up challenge on Ndabenhle Mthembu.

The half ended 0-0.

The start of the second half saw Cosmos continued to dictate matters and they came close to breaking the deadlock four minutes after the restart when a 24-yard free-kick from Mashumba was superbly save by the keeper.

Swallows, despite seeing very little of the ball, did have an attempt on goal on the hour mark when Lantshene Phalane fired a 20-yard free-kick inches over the crossbar.

Cosmos, nonetheless, persisted and were rewarded with a goal in the 76th minute when Pentjie Zulu played Maluleke into space 14-yards out and he finished with aplomb, 1-0.

Cosmos shut-up shop at the back thereafter and held on for the slender win which sees them into the Absa Premiership next season. - ANA



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Warner vows to tell all

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Former vice president Jack Warner has vowed to tell investigators all he knows about corruption within Fifa.

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Port of Spain, Trinidad -Jack Warner, a former Fifa vice president implicated in the corruption scandal roiling world football, said he can prove a link between football's global governing body and his country's 2010 elections.

Warner, facing possible extradition to the United States after he was indicted by American authorities on corruption charges, has emerged as a key figure in the drama that culminated in Fifa president Sepp Blatter's stunning resignation on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Warner used a pre-recorded paid political broadcast televised on TV6 in Trinidad and Tobago to say he has compiled a file of documents that shows "a link between Fifa , its funding and me, the link between Fifa its funding and the United National Congress (UNC) and the People's Partnership government in (Trinidad and Tobago's) general election 2010."

The TV6 website reported that in the five-minute broadcast, Warner said the file "also deals with my knowledge of international transactions at Fifa , including its president Mr Sepp Blatter and, lastly, other matters involving (Trinidad and Tobago's) current prime minister."

In the January 2010 UNC internal election, Warner endorsed Kamla Persad-Bissessar as UNC leader. She went on to be elected the country's first woman prime minister, but Warner later broke with her government and party.

Warner, free on bond after his arrest last week, is one of 14 current or former Fifa officials and sports marketing executives accused by US prosecutors of taking part in a sweeping kickbacks scheme going back 20 years and totalling $150 million in bribes given or received.

In his television address he said he feared for his life, and indicated he will fight extradition.

"I have no intention of allowing them to deprive me of my freedom," he said. – AFP and Reuters



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