CORRUPTION: $10 million Payment To FIFA Was Not A Bribe - South Africa

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's president Sepp Blatter too could be quizzed "in the future if needed", according to Swiss prosecutors.

SAD! Another South African Footballer Richard Henyekane Dies In Drastic Car Accident

South African footballer Richard Henyekane has died at the age of 31 following a car accident.
South African footballer Richard Henyekane died early on Tuesday morning following a car crash, his club Free State Stars have confirmed.

The 31-year-old, who made nine appearances for his national team, was travelling with four passengers when he was involved in the incident and subsequently passed away in the early hours of the morning.

AFCON 2015: South Africa In Must Win Encounter Against Ghana

South Africa need a win against Ghana to have any chance of keeping their African Cup of Nations dreams alive. The 1996 champions must overcome Avram Grant’s men to have any chance of staying in the competition, but even then they require a favour from Senegal, who would need to beat Algeria in the other Group C match to ensure South Africa’s progression.

Captain Dean Furman is keen to rally the troops ahead of South Africa’s final pool match.
“We take a lot of confidence from the way we have played in these two matches, even if we have not got the results we hoped for,” the midfielder said.

EQUATORIAL GUINEA 2015: This Is The Time For South Africa To Be The Best - Ephraim Shakes Mashaba

Bafana Bafana completed their preparations on Sunday with a clean bill of health as they gear up for their opening match in Equatorial Guinea. Head coach Ephraim Shakes Mashaba has selected his starting 11 to face Algeria in South Africa’s opening fixture of the Caf Orange Africa Cup of Nations Equatorial Guinea 2015 tournament.

Bafana Bafana and the Desert Foxes go head to head on Monday night at the Stade de Mongomo starting at 9pm South African time. Mashaba’s boys have enjoyed a run of 10 matches without defeat since he took over in the middle of last year.

AFCON 2015: NIGERIA vs SOUTH AFRICA PREVIEW

Nigeria will likely need to extend their 10-year unbeaten run over South Africa if they are to reach the Africa Cup of Nations finals. For Nigeria, anything but victory at the newly built Akwa Ibom International Stadium on Wednesday could be fatal for their chances of making the tournament in Equatorial Guinea.

They currently sit in second place in Group A, level on seven points with Claude Le Roy's Congo, who face bottom-of-the-group Sudan in their final qualifier.

Nigerians Should Pray For Us To Beat South Africa - Stephen Keshi

Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi has cast his eye on victory over South Africa after describing the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Congo as a very difficult match.

Keshi said that there were no longer small teams on the continent as the Super Eagles won 2-0 in Pointe Noire to keep alive hopes of reaching next year’s tournament. The defending African champions were in danger of missing out on Equatorial Guinea 2015 but were aided by goals from Ikechukwu Uche and Aaron Samuel.

CONGO vs SOUTH AFRICA PREVIEW

Bafana Bafana coach Shakes Mashaba will be away in his third match in charge during this qualifying campaign when they visit the Claude Le Roy-led Congo at the Stade Municipal de Pointe-Noire.

The Red Devils lead Group A with six points from two wins including the 3-2 victory over Nigeria at Calabar. This was followed by a comfortable 2-0 home win against Sudan. On the other hand, South Africa lie second in the standings having won their first game 3-0 away to Sudan and holding Nigeria to a 0-0 draw in Pretoria.

AFCON QUALIFIER PREVIEW: Sudan vs South Africa

Sudan and South Africa square off in their historical Africa Cup of Nations qualifying Group A opener knowing three points are crucial. This opening qualifier for the 2015 AFCON will be the first senior-level match between two of the founding nations of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in Khartoum.
With continental powerhouses Nigeria in the same group, neither team can afford to drop points if they hope to qualify for the tournament in Morocco. Sudan coach Mohamed Abdallah is looking forward to the historical match after naming an experienced squad to take on Bafana Bafana.

"I wish this match would become an occasion for a historic game because of its exclusive nature as it takes place between two countries that are the founding fathers of CAF, and also the fact that it’s the opening match of the group phase," Abdallah said.

NFF Set To Offer Keshi N7m/Month Contract

Now that the NFF board are scared about Keshi's departure to South Africa they are thinking of an improved deal of about seven million Naira a month (over $43,000) according to AfricanFootball.com. The question on my mind is this, who will pay better, NFF or SAFA. One thing am sure of is that SAFA will pay better allowances with better playing environment considering their World Cup pitches and of cause electricity which is what every Nigerian wants. Money might determine Keshi's next move but who will pay Keshi better NFF or SAFA???

This plan comes amid confusion whether or not Keshi has quit his post. According to the website, the NFF also have a plan B to hire a foreign coach to be assisted by a local man and this would be if Keshi turned down the new contract tabled by his employers.

AFCON 1994 Winners Team ( Nigeria ) vs AFCON 1996 Winners Team ( South Africa ) To Play In Kano On March 30

South African soccer fans look back with pride on the golden day in 1996 when President Nelson Mandela handed the African Cup of Nations (Afcon) to Bafana Bafana captain Neil Tovey.

South Africa had just beaten Tunisia 2-0 in the Afcon final at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg.

However, the defending champions, Nigeria, who boycotted the tournament in South Africa, have long maintained that they would have emerged victorious if they had taken part.