Terrence Mashego’s inspirational rise to the top
The Cape Town City leftback dropped out of university to further his professional football career. It didn’t work out. Then he picked himself up, earned his first Bafana cap and is studying again.
Sport
Boxing is more than just a job for Sipho Ndongeni
He is a police officer in one of South Africa’s most violent neighbourhoods, fighting crime on the streets and in the ring as a boxing club owner and referee.
Phathokuhle Zondi’s many sporting hats
The sports doc approaches her role of caring for athletes with passion and enjoys what she says is a privileged journey despite the race and gender challenges she has been forced to overcome.
Don’t touch me on my stadium. You hear me?
Loud voices insist that politics has no place in sport and athletes should stay out of it. But there seems to be plenty of space for them to support causes other than the fight against racism.
Respect everybody, fear no one — Stefano Cusin
The Italian football nomad brings coaching experience on three continents to South Sudan as he aims to build a competitive national side in a country that is still finding its feet in the international game.
Fighting homophobia in Hungary through football
The sporting world is waking up to how the country’s authoritarian leader, who supposedly loves the beautiful game, is using it to hide his utter contempt for people from the LGBTQIA+ community.
Elite athletes struggle with mental health
Sport has brought hope and joy to many during the pandemic. But as athletes entertain us, their own challenges of neverending bio bubbles and performing as if nothing is wrong are being overlooked.
The story of rugby is about to change
The United Rugby Championship and partner Roc Nation Sports promise to give players a voice, grow the fanbase and generally bring rugby into the 21st century of sports entertainment.
Rassie Erasmus walks a fine rugby line
South Africa’s director of rugby has always tested the boundaries and it’s doubtful he will change his ways, despite World Rugby’s charges of misconduct.
Football keeps floundering in East Africa
The region produces star athletes in other sporting codes, but footballers are hurt by weak management, poor infrastructure and little incentive to stay.
Against the ropes, Sisonke Boxing Club fights on
Despite little recognition of its value to the young fighters who use it to stay off the mean streets outside, this small academy is punching way above its weight.
Happy Jele has given ‘The Ghost’ much to smile about
The Orlando Pirates captain may have reached one of the most significant milestones any player could hope for, but as a self-confessed achiever he has more dreams he wants to realise.
Long Read | The slow decline of West Indies cricket
Reigning supreme in the 1970s through to 1995 with Test play that kept the world spellbound, the island nations’ cricketers are now unlikely to reach those heights again.
Teaching life lessons through sport in Masiphumelele
A sports training programme is teaching young boys and girls to respect each other, whether it’s on the field or court, at home or in the violent streets of their impoverished township.
Fiddling with football while Djiboutians suffer
The regime in the small country stands accused of using the sport to curry favour with its young population instead of investing meaningfully in uplifting the nation.
Spaghetti, Spider-Man and teenage sensations
The finals of the US Open were one day but worlds apart, pitting youthful exuberance and hope against anguish and dead fish. But perhaps this says more about politics than tennis.
Raducanu, Fernandez and the record books
The teenage tennis players who stunned the world at the US Open smashed record after record in their spectacular run to the final match of the women’s Grand Slam.
Mohammed Siraj silences the critics and trolls
India’s feisty pace bowler has made rapid progress since starting to make his mark in 2016, but it’s been a hard journey and he is still learning to let his performance on the pitch speak for itself.
Royal AM saga is a right royal mess
Critics of the Premier Soccer League say it is allowing money to break all the rules, playing favourites and silencing those who dare to question it.
Sport’s fairness vs inclusivity debate rages on
New Zealand weightlifter Laurel Hubbard put the spotlight firmly on the issue when she became the first openly transgender athlete to compete in the Olympics.
Dale Steyn made me fall in love with fast bowling
Seeing the legendary cricketer in action as a young child provided the necessary fire in the writer’s belly to pursue a career as a pace bowler, even as he was being advised against it.