Orlando Pirates: Official statement from chairman Dr Irvin Khoza on reaching the African Champions League final

In the chair: Dr Irvin Khoza

Dr Irvin Khoza has just released the statement below after his Orlando Pirates returned home from Tunisia today, having qualified for the final of the African Champions League for the first time since they became the first South African side to win the tournament in 1995.

It's fascinating and brilliantly written. Too often we have wondered about his role in the crusade which has ranged from the Comores and Zambia, via a torrid to trip to the DRC and group games in the Congo and Egypt, twice.

I guess now we know. He DOES retain a healthy interest in his Sea Robbers. He has input. And he tells it well. How about this: "To the team I say, be conscious for consciousness is as important as competence."

And as his side reached the final on the back of two defeats and three successive draws, the Doctor accepts:  "Our journey to the final can hardly be referred to as a juggernaut."

Khoza also reveals he has ‘imvuselelo’, chats with the lads, where he tells them to work on body language and focus on history.

As his Buccaneers prepare for their home and away final against seven-time champions Al Ahly on November 2 (Orlando) and 9 (Egypt), he ends with: "The success of Orlando Pirates is not for the Buccaneers alone. It is for our nation and region."

Here's the statement in full:

There has been a conversation within Orlando Pirates Football Club that I believe it is now the right time to share with the nation.

I have visited with the team from time to time to do ‘imvuselelo’ – to continue a conversation to make sure that all our energies and efforts work in concert towards a common goal. After qualifying for the semi-final, I wrote a letter to the technical team and each of our players. I deemed it important that they knew, from me, that their success was witnessed. It can be soul destroying to have unwitnessed achievements.

In this letter I tell every member of the team that we are on a path of history. I recall that they survived what commentators termed the ‘group of death’ – that many could not see us through the two Egyptian giants. I commended the players for being conscious on the ball, off the ball and when the ball was in transit. I commented specifically about their body language. I shared with them my observation that their body language meant business and that they played for each other.

I reminded the team that we had unfinished business in Tunisia – that in Tunis, in 2006, against CS Sfaxien that we lost in the semi-final. We had planned to play our Saturday match against Esperance in red. Unfortunately we were forced to use a combination of the black top with red pants and socks to avoid any clash of colours. It was after-all in Tunisia that we launched our red jersey in 2006.

I believe that it is time for me to let in the nation on the conversation. The outpouring of support and emotions by our nation cannot go unacknowledged. I am a proud South African who shares a country with compassionate fellow citizens. I am heartened by the media’s coverage in the SADC region where our brethren down South of Africa see Orlando Pirates’ step by step achievements, as their own.

Our journey to the final can hardly be referred to as a juggernaut. The devotion and sacrifice demanded to achieve a juggernaut was, however, consistently displayed by the Orlando Pirates team en-route to this all important final. Our team had to encounter a path with TP Mazembe, Zamalek, Al Ahly and Esperance who together have won the CAF Championship eighteen times.

The first leg of the final at Orlando Stadium on the 2nd of November will be the 15th game played by Orlando Pirates since the beginning of the competition. The team played a further nine games in the PSL, this notwithstanding the four ABSA Premiership games that had to be postponed.

A route to the final that included AC Leopards, the 2012 CAF Confederations Cup Champions; Zamalek , five-time CAF Champions League Champions; Al Ahly, the defending seven-time CAF Champions League Champions; and Esperance, two-time CAF Champions League winners is no mean achievement. This achievement talks to more. It talks to the competitive league that the PSL is.

Most of the teams that have dominated the CAF Champions League play in leagues that are two-horse races dominated by two teams always in contention for the top spot.

The PSL is highly competitive and hence not predictable. It is also punishing in its schedule that includes the ABSA Premiership and three cup competitions. I have to commend the Orlando Pirates players for not complaining, at any stage during this grueling contest. It is worth noting that when Zambia won the AFCON, most of its players were playing in the PSL.

The success of Orlando Pirates is not for the Buccaneers alone. It is for our nation and region. I pray that Orlando Pirates success in the Championship spur Bafana-Bafana to another AFCON win reminiscent of the 1996 success after Orlando Pirates triumphed in 1995.

To the team I say, be conscious for consciousness is as important as competence. This final will require that you are as aware as you are able; mindful as you are experienced, sensible as you are skilled, awake as you are fit. One attribute without the other will result in lapses that you now know you cannot afford at this level of the competition.

I would like to thank our South African Ambassador in Tunis. Thank you for creating a home away from home for our team.

Thank you to the media here at home and in the region. Your interest, confidence and support grew with the progress the team made in the Championship.

DR IRVIN KHOZA

CHAIRMAN

Dr Khoza's admission - that Orlando Pirates have not gone through the African Champions League like a juggernaut - is borne out by their road to the final (below, taken from the OrlandopiratesFC.com website).

Pirates horde: OR Tambo today (with thanks to OPFC)

Incredibly, including the stormy passage past DRC's TP Mazembe, the Buccaneers have played 10, won three, drawn four and lost three in the Champions League - and their last FIVE, reads NO wins, two defeats and three draws.

But that won't bother Dr Khoza or Roger de Star as he is now known. With their national league suspended Al Ahly are an aging side with star players aiming to retire after the final. Pirates beat them 3-0 at Al Gouna before the nail-biting 0-0 draw to finish the Group A.

Pirates returned amid tumultuous scenes at OR Tambo yesterday with Roger breaking his silence after the tense semi-final draw in Esperance: "We've got a Telkom Cup match with Golden Arrows on Wednesday night so we're going straight in to camp, we'll just carry on doing our thing.

"Esperance was tough, the crowd were intimidating and there were lasers everywhere. Testing conditions. But we were outstanding, my players were fantastic.

“It’s been a wonderful turn-out at the airport today. I want to thank the fans, the minister & the MEC, and all the media gathered today."

Journey to Final

Preliminary Round

Orlando Pirates 5-0 Djabal

Djabal 0-4 Orlando Pirates

(Aggregate: 9-0 to Pirates)

1/16th Round

Zanaco 0-1 Orlando Pirates

Orlando Pirates 2-1 Zanaco

(Aggregate: 3-1 to Pirates)

1/8th Round

Orlando Pirates 3-1 TP Mazembe

TP Mazembe 1-0 Orlando Pirates

(Aggregate: 3-2 to Pirates)

Group Stages

Gameweek 1 : Orlando Pirates 0-0 AC Leopards

Gameweek 2: Al Ahly 0-3 Orlando Pirates

Gameweek 3: Orlando Pirates 4-1 Zamalek

Gameweek 4: Zamalek 2-1 Orlando Pirates

Gameweek 5: AC Leopards 1-0 Orlando Pirates

Gameweek 6: Orlando Pirates 0-0 Al Ahly

Semi-Finals

Orlando Pirates 0-0 Esperance TP

Esperance TP 1-1 Orlando Pirates

(Aggregate: 1-1 Pirates win on away goals rule)

BOLLOCKZ! my show on www.ballz.co.za, airs every Thursday from 9am. See the Ballz channel on www.YouTube.com for our growing collection of interviews with the big names in South African football.

You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news… and read my “Neal and Pray” column every Tuesday inwww.thenewage.co.za.

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EXCLUSIVE: SAFA President Danny Jordaan laments "people who play politics with South African football"

DYNAMIC DUO: Nelson Mandela and Danny Jordaan
celebrate South Africa being awarded the 2010 World Cup

NEWLY ELECTED SAFA president Danny Jordaan reacted with disbelief today when he was asked to respond to rumours suggesting kit sponsors Puma had “just” terminated their contract with Bafana Bafana.

Jordaan, elected to the top job on September 28 after a long-running battle with ineligible rival Irvin Khoza, Jordaan snorted: “This is so strange! How can you kill a person twice?

“Puma announced they were withdrawing their sponsorship on January 4 this year when Kirsten Nematandani was president. We have known about this for months. The Sunday Times wrote all about it eight months ago.

“But now, today, they say Puma have withdrawn. I have the letter from January showing Puma had already pulled out.”

Jordaan, who saw off Khoza’s proxy Mandla "Shoes" Mazibuko to win the presidency last month, always knew the knives would be out for him once he became the most powerful man in South African football.

Now 62, Jordaan has spent his life fighting against sporting injustice – he turned his back on his own cricket and football career and was banned for his part in the Apartheid sports boycott in the days when Khoza was not involved in sport (see these links http://www.iol.co.za/sport/a-tale-of-drugs-money-and-cars-1.90760#.UmACvdJHIXEand http://mg.co.za/article/2001-08-31-ghosts-come-back-to-haunt-the-iron-dukeamong many others) - and Jordaan remains confident he can lead South African football to a brave new era.

Only one winner: Khoza and Jordaan

Now a key part of CAF while helping Morocco and Brazil to prepare for upcoming AFCON 2015 and World Cup 2014 tournaments, Jordaan laughed: “Somebody is playing politics with South African football again. That’s what they do. But it doesn’t bother me, we have plans in place.

“Everyone’s saying sponsors are deserting SAFA now I’m president, but I can tell you the ABSA decision was taken BEFORE I took over.

“I have their letter, dated September 26. But people have their own agendas. They are putting politics ahead of football.

“As Gordon Igesund told you this morning Neal, we are ready with our Master Plan to change the face of our football. Our technical committee has come up with the names and our Under 17 and Under 20 teams will get new coaches and we will see a revival.

“We have the R500m FIFA Legacy Fund available to help with development, and we are dealing with that every day.

“These are the real stories. Not some eight-month old tale about a sponsor withdrawing. Please tell your friends: you can’t go to a funeral twice!”

BOLLOCKZ! my show on www.ballz.co.za, airs every Thursday from 9am. See the Ballz channel on www.YouTube.com for our growing collection of interviews with the big names in South African football.

You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news… and read my “Neal and Pray” column every Tuesday inwww.thenewage.co.za.

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THE SAFA PRESIDENCY: With Danny and Irvin going head-to-head, is Kirsten the only peaceful option?

The big three: Khoza, Jordaan and Nematandani

KIRSTEN NEMATANDANI is not your typical national football president. Through the alleged match-fixing, the alleged near-bankruptcy, the alleged bribery of regional representatives, the alleged fleet of Mercedes, the 55-year-old has kept his head above water as the leader of the South African Football Association.

Appointed as a "compromise candidate" when Irvin Khoza and Danny Jordaan went head to head at the end of 2009, Kirsten has not had it easy.

With the 2010 World Cup in South Africa looming, Khoza was ruled out of the top job because of his club affiliation. Jordaan was asked not to stand as he was running the World Cup local organising committee. The meeting which elevated Nematandani to the SAFA presidency involved judges, arguments and slanging matches.

From that day until this, Nematandani has been the scapegoat for many of South African football's shortcomings. He was the man suspended when FIFA's pre-World Cup match-fixing report dropped, he had to accept his resinstatement in the SAFA House car park, he was the man accused of cocking-up when sponsors left, when money ran short.

But under his reign South Africa has successfully hosted a World Cup AND an African Cup of Nations. Under his reign, Irvin "Four Jobs" Khoza's thirst for power has been frightening to watch while Jordaan probes carefully from his position as a SAFA vice-president with strong links at FIFA and CAF and that R500m FIFA Legacy fund cash burning a hole in his pocket.

Danny has told me he will "definitely" stand for SAFA President on September 28. Khoza is leaving it to his allies to change the constitution to allow his candidacy which will see the head of the PSL, NSL and Orlando Pirates grab another hugely powerful position.

Tonight, from a source I can't reveal, I'm told Kaizer Motaung will take over from Khoza as PSL chairman if the Iron Duke gets the SAFA job. But with the added information: "Kaizer will just be a "ghost" chairman, Khoza will really run the PSL and SAFA."

And between these two men stands Nematandani. Kirsten was born in Makhado near Louis Trichardt in 1958. He speaks five languages and has a footballing background, coaching Chibuku Young Stars in 1986-88 before moving in to administration.

Neither Khoza nor Jordaan can boast that. Administration rather than football was their goal. I have in my possession documents suggesting all kinds of things surrounding the dispute between the two heavyweights. Publicly, Khoza and Jordaan proclaim to be best mates, both support Orlando Pirates, both politically connected to the very top in this football-loving nation.

And then there's Kirsten. Nice bloke, articulate, desperately trying to keep the ship sailing comfortably amid the machinations with the still unannounced Presidential inquiry into match-fixing lurking in the background.

Checking the facts: lunch with Danny Jordaan

I spoke to Kirsten off the record tonight. I've spoken to Jordaan in depth about the state of affairs at SAFA.

What I can say is Kirsten remains keen to be the filling in the sandwich, the arbitrator between club owning millionaire Khoza and long-time ANC sports politician Jordaan.

Nematandani told me tonight: "It's not been easy Neal, but somebody needs to get these two factions to work together. We don't want one becoming President and the other left out. That has been my job for nearly four years. I've tried to do that to the best of my ability."

It's an unenviable task. Khoza has created a PSL which is largely successful but often chaotic. His ownership of one of South Africa's largest club's calls his position in to question constantly. Jordaan will put country ahead of club at last, and he will focus on development rather than short-term goals.

But Nematandani claims he can keep the pair from going to war, his presidential mandate from the start. Perhaps this strange compromise is the way forward, the only peaceful solution.

With the English Premier League season kicking off tomorrow, preview of my beloved Arsenal's chances HERE: http://www.thepundits.co.za/1314-season-preview-arsenal/

BOLLOCKZ! my show on www.ballz.co.za, airs every Thursday from 10am-noon.

You can also follow me on www.twitter.com/nealcol for all the latest sports news… and read my “Neal & Pray” column every Tuesday inwww.thenewage.co.za. 

BOLLOCKZ! is backed by www.topodds.com - have a look at their site for my latest sports betting advice!

Mickey Modisane on Orlando Pirates going "back to black"... and on to the CAF Champions League Group stages

Orlando Pirates PRO Mickey Modisane is never less than a ball of energy on air. With his club about to resume CAF Champions League action AND unveil their new “back to black” shirts he was nearly unplayable!

Modisane revealed the ENTIRE Buccaneers squad will be at Loftus to watch the Bulls play rugby on Saturday and appealed to the entire football-speaking nation: “Let us get together behind South Africa’s flag carriers.”

Speaking on the third episode of my new football show BOLLOCKZ! on Ballz radio, Micky said: “We kick off the Champions League group stages against AC Leopards from the Congo at Orlando on July 20 and the players will be in our new shirts, that is what’s going to be happening. And by then we want our fans to have our new jerseys in the stadium.

“We want to get people who are prominent. The likes of yourself on the social networks can help us. We want you to wear this shirt so people can talk about “back to black”. We want the fans to buy the shirts – and to attend the game in Soweto.

“We are going back to the original colours of Orlando Pirates football club. And I can tell you this new shirt is out of this world. “On the 16th of July I have a date with you, Neal. To give you our new shirt. I look forward to that!

BOLLOCKS: me with my new producer Comfort Kheswa
and analyst Zane Moosa at the Ballz studios

“We will be playing a game in Lesotho on July 14 in honour of the King’s Birthday. By the time we play Leopards at 8pm on the 20th – tickets are already on CompuTicket – we will be ready. WE WANT ANOTHER STAR! 

“Some players have left us, but we have put all that behind us. We are ready. The coach is ready.

“When we played against TP Mazembe, South Africans came out but not in the numbers we expected. We saw how they came out in the DR Congo. We need to give AC Leopards the feeling they are on Orlando turf.

“South Africans must rally behind our sportsmen. Not necessarily Pirates fans. We are flying the flag. In the spirit of our nation. All this is happening in the Mandela month.

“My birthday is on July 21 too so Neal, remember to send me a well wish!

“We want to spread the love of the Madiba feeling at that time. You know what, the entire Orlando Pirates squad will be going to Loftus, watching a Bulls rugby match against the Sharks.

“We align ourselves with the best brands in South African sport. We say to white fans: Rally behind us. We’ll be there for the Bulls on Saturday… watch us, listen to us.

“Tickets for the AC Leopards game? Hospitality sells at R1,000 but we have the R40 general tickets to from Computicket and Shoprite.”

Link for tickets to Orlando Pirates AC Leopards at the Orlando Stadium on July 20 is here: http://online.computicket.com/web/event/orlando_pirates_vs_ac_leopards/745176032/Show:Additional%20Info 

BOLLOCKZ! is my new show on www.ballz.co.za. Tune in by live stream or app, from anywhere in the world, 10am-noon every Thursday.

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FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN THE NEW "BACK TO BLACK" ORLANDO PIRATE JERSEY CLICK HERE! http://www.neal-collins.blogspot.com/2013/07/british-transfer-expert-known-only-as.html

South Africa's greatest footballer Benni McCarthy retires at 35: the full statement here, updating as we go

Winner: Benni McCarthy won the Champions League with Porto

BENNI McCARTHY, South Africa’s greatest modern footballer, has retired. The 35-year-old released this statement through his agency last night. Orlando Pirates chairman Irvin Khoza says he knows nothing about the news so this story may yet have some legs.

We can debate the controversies and the torrid final season all we want, but the fact is, the man from humble roots in Hanover Park, Cape Town, went on to play in Holland, Portugal (where he won the Champions League with Jose Mourinho), Spain and England (where he was Blackburn Rovers' top scorer, second only to Chelsea's Didier Drogba). He won the League Championships with Ajax, Porto and Pirates, the only South African to win titles in three countries. His $8m move to Spain's Celta Vigo in 1999 remains the nation's highest fee.

Final fling: Benni at Pirates

His return to South Africa late in his career was widely lampooned after he was fined for weight gain during a disastrous spell at West Ham, but his goals propelled the Buccaneers to a second-successive treble.

He was there when it mattered, using those years of experience to pop home the vital goals and he took the Soweto derby by storm with a brace. On the last day of the 2011-2012 season, it was Benni who scored the two goals which put paid to Golden Arrows and clinched the title for caretaker coach Augusto Palacios.

I wrote this after the derby for The New Age, accepting McCarthy still offered great value for a reputed R6m annual wage which made him the highest-paid player in the country: http://www.thenewage.co.za/mobi/Detail.aspx?NewsID=2142&Mid=186&CatID=. Benni's absence this season - due to injury and age - was the principle reason behind the double-winning success of arch-rivals Kaizer Chiefs. A couple of incidents of goal-poaching from Big Benni might well have made 2012-2013 a very different story.

And now he's gone. There is disbelief from Pirates fans today, and Dr Khoza himself seems mystified amid reports of McCarthy being prepared to play for another season following a tweet from his agent Rob Moore saying just that on May 28.

On the http://www.carlingblacklabel.co.za/bethecoach/players/2 website, where fans vote to decide which player should represent their team in the pre-season friendly between Orlando Pirates and Soweto rivals Kaizer Chiefs, Benni has a team leading 224,999 votes from a hopeful Ghost. But popular demand will count for nothing if King Benni has abdicated.

Here are the words from McCarthy himself at the end of a career which sees him hang up his boots as South Africa’s only Champions League winner and Bafana’s top goal scorer:

“I have been so blessed to have enjoyed a remarkable career that took me from the township fields of Nyanga Stadium, to winner’s medals in the Uefa Champions League and World Club Cup - the highest levels that a player can achieve in club football.

“I retire having represented my country at senior level 80 times and scored a record 31 goals. Two Soccer World Cup finals, in France and Korea/Japan, an Olympic Games and a u-20 World Cup Finals will be memories that live in my heart forever.

“And to have come home to South Africa for a final chapter, and to have won the treble with Orlando Pirates, was the type of finale that only dreams are made of.

“It has been a 17-year professional career that surpassed even my own expectations and I’ve been privileged to have played under many great Coaches, including the very best, Jose Mourinho.

“Football has been good to me – it has provided special moments and in the process, has enabled me to have been in a position to have improved the lives of my family members. For that, I am most grateful.

“I’d like to thank so many people for making so many aspects of this journey possible. My family has always been a tremendous support, especially my mom, Dora, and my late father, Dudley. I trust that I have made them proud in some small way.

“Sponsors, like Nike, who have been there for me for the past 15 years and I appreciate that. And finally, my mentor and business manager, Rob Moore, who has walked along this road with me since I joined him in 1995 as a 17-year-old.

“Football is my life. I have played the game and I love the game…….it’s in my blood. For the next chapter, I’d like to concentrate on getting my Coaching Badges and at the same time, be part of a club where I can get practical experience. I’d also like to do some television work because I enjoy that aspect of the game as well.”

I'll be updating this story through the day - and you can follow the live situation on my twitter timeline at www.twitter.com/nealcol.

The final solution for SAFA: get rid of the fixers and put Danny Jordaan in charge

Last night on eNCAnews I outlined my "final solution" for the troubled South African Football Association.

In the wake of the official KPMG report which shows SAFA made a loss of R54.5m last year, it's clear something has to be done.

Just three years after hosting a successful World Cup and months after a record-breaking African Cup of Nations, SAFA now has R2.9m in the bank but faces a salary bill of R17.1m.

Somehow, SAFA spent R27.5m last year and with major sponsors ABSA and Castle cutting their investment and reports of Bafana kit sponsors Nike also heading for the hills, the nation's football body is clearly on the brink of disaster.

With Gordon Igesund's Bafana Bafana turning around their qualifying campaign before the World Cup in Brazil next year, we could even face a situation where the national team can't be paid - I know payments were late after the friendly against Malawi before (and during) AFCON.

Ironically, it is the second big scandal surrounding SAFA - the FIFA report outlining match-fixing in four pre-World Cup friendlies in 2010 - which could just be the answer.

With power-hungry SASCOC and over-enthusiastic Sports Minister Filile Mbalula seeking to put their own people in charge, we have to hope that the judicial inquiry in to "match manipulation" will indeed bring down the men responsible for selling out to the infamous Wilson Raj Perumal.

Then, come the SAFA elections in September, we should be able to assume the corrupt element in SAFA has been largely dealt with. These are the guys who spent the R112m World Cup surplus on a fleet of Mercedes Benzes. The ones trying to bribe the 52 SAFA regions for votes.  The guys who stop at nothing to keep control of our game and its finances.

One man, in my opinion, stands head-and-shoulders clear of this mess. Currently a vice-president at SAFA, Danny Jordaan has long been the ANC's go-to man in sporting affairs. He was once called to the government in exile in Lusaka and asked how football was shaping up before democracy.

Long before current SAFA President Kirsten Nematandani or PSL chairman Irvin Khoza came to footballing prominence, Jordaan was involved in the sports boycott under Apartheid, he was harassed by the old security police, chased from Port Elizabeth to Kimberley and, once the elections came in 1994, he led the Cape Town Olympic bid and eased the sporting return "to normality".

He gave up his seat in parliament to sort out sporting South Africa. He also organised - with huge success - Africa's first World Cup in 2010.

Jordaan - with six other trustees including FIFA General Secretary Jerome Valcke - is the man currently ensuring the REAL Fifa World Cup legacy fund's half-a-billion rands (as documented by me on eNCAnews last night) - is used ONLY for development, not to fill the coffers of the corrupt.

If Jordaan takes over SAFA as President in September, having been ruthlessly by-passed in 2009 for the position, there is hope for South African football.

But if the judicial inquiry fails and the current jostling for SAFA President continues, I fear the worst.

African Champions League: Why the trip to TP Mazembe requires careful consideration for Orlando Pirates

Flying high: Daine Klate on a high in the first leg against TP Mazembe

ON the beaming face of it, Roger de Sa’s comments after Orlando Pirates’ stirring 3-1 win over TP Mazembe in the CAF Champions League sound just like any other coach after an exceptional first leg performance.

The much-maligned De Sa said: “It could have been five to be honest. But with all our injuries, that was an outstanding performance from everybody.

“I’m a bit worried that we let in a home goal, because in these games it’s so important not to concede. That away goal will give them a little bit to work on.”

The Mocambique-born De Sa, who won international caps at basketball and football for South Africa, added: “This second leg is going to be very tough, because not every team goes there and get everything, but at least we have got something to take with us.

“I am very happy with the way we carried ourselves and the way we played, but we have a lot to do because it will be very difficult when we go to the Congo.”

You can say that again. De Sa, struck in the face by vuvuzela-wielding fans when his double-treble winners all but faded out of the PSL title race with six successive draws, can take a bit of stick. But Lubumbashi makes Orlando look like Houghton.

Ironically, the side tagged “Drawlando Pirates” domestically need just that on May 5. Even a single-goal defeat would be enough to see them through to the last eight, where the group format kicks in.

But as we watch this week’s European Champions League semi-finals, the words “it will be very difficult in the Congo” should not be confused with “it will be very difficult at the Nou Camp”.

I’ve offered to go with the Buccaneers to the away leg. The tycoon who owns TS Mazembe makes Irvin Khoza look small-time in Congolese football. My aim is to ensure fair-play, guard against dodgy refereeing, threatening soldiers and a repeat of the post-match incident at Orlando, where the referee was punched in the face and the perpetrator escaped in the private jet.

I’ll use my contacts at eNCAnews, eTV, The New Age and on twitter and facebook to tell South Africans if the Pirates are robbed. At least, that’s the plan.

Moise Katumbi will not let South Africa’s Sea Robbers escape without a fight. The return leg at Stade TP Mazembe in Kamalondo near Lubumbashi offers seats to just 18,000 spectators. I hope to be one of them. I expect unfair play on May 5, starting from 3.30pm local time.

Here’s why. Katumbi, 48, has led the side for 13 years, guiding them to consecutive Champions League titles in 2009/2010, duplicating their 1967/68 achievement, when Moise was a mere tot.

South Africa has troops in the DRC, just like they did in the Central African Republic. They are helping to support a controversial regime in a war-torn country which is among the poorest on the planet but awash with mineral wealth. Quite what the locals will make of this, I hope to find out.

What I do know is that Katanga is Copper Belt. And when the Congo government banned copper exports this month, he stood against it in what is described by analysts as “a clear power play”.  Many think Katumbi will go all the way to a presidential coup. Awkward given South Africa’s role in keeping the current regime in charge.

Here’s the background: In 1964, Moise Soriano, the son of a Sephardic Jew from Greece, came to the land of his mother’s birth. Then-president Mobutu Sese Seko was, at the time, trying to wipe-out all traces of the nation’s French/Belgian colonial past.

Legend suggests Katumbi, voted governor of the copper and cobalt-rich province of Katanga in 2007, made his first business deal aged 13, when he sold a basket of fish for R40.

By 1997, he had made enough money to buy TP Mazembe. By 2010 his spending on the team had risen to 

around R100m A YEAR.

He says: "Bit by bit, we are making our march towards the land of the greats. Our income is meagre, but for the image of the club, for the image of the country and to give an opportunity for our youth, we fight on.”

The "TP" in Mazembe's name stands for "Tout Puissant", which is French for "all powerful". Ridiculous spending has made that dream come true.

The club formerly known as Engelbert are nicknamed Les Corbeaux (The Ravens) despite having a crocodile with a ball in its mouth on the team badge.  In 2010, the club made FIFA Club World Cup history by becoming the first club team from Africa to reach the final after beating CONMEBOL's Internacional of Brazil 2–0 in the semi-final.

TP Mazembe defeated ES Tunis 6-1 on aggregate to win their fourth CAF Champions League crown in 2010, they boast a turn-over of R150 million with rivals CS Don Bosco – beaten by South Africa’s SuperSport United in the CAF Confederation Cup this season – now a mere feeder club to the “all powerful” Mazembe.

Some wicked history: the club was founded in 1939 by Benedictine monks of the order of Sanctimonious Saint that directed the Holy Institute Boniface of Élisabethville, now known as Lubumbashi.

To diversify the student activities for those that did not consecrate themselves to the priesthood, the missionaries decided to set up a football team, named Saint Georges FC.

In 1944 the team took the name of FC Engelbert after its sponsor, a tyre brand. "Tout Puissant" was added after an undefeated first league title in 1966.

After the independence of Congo on June 30, 1960, Engelbert won the treble of League, Katanga Cup and Congo Cup. In 1967 and 1968, they won the African Cup of Champions and were finalists a record FOUR successive times in 1967, 1968, 1969 and 1970.

But it was only when the aforementioned fast-rising businessman Moïse Katumbi Chapwe took over that they were able to repeat that feat in 2009 and 2010 after reaching the 2008 final.

Worryingly, Morocco’s Wydad Casablanca and Egypt’s seven-time winners Al-Ahly have won the last two African Champions League trophies.

Moise is impatient. Eager to win again after a two-year hiatus. Ten new players, none of them from the Congo, have been purchased. Money is no object. Orlando Pirates need to be aware of that. This is win at all costs.

Nobody can be trusted. Where will they stay? Will the noisy Mazembe fans know? Will the Buccaneers sleep the night before the game? Who will referee? Will somebody throw a punch? Will the army be around? Will the locals be pro-government or anti-South African?

Those are the questions De Sa and Khoza must deal with. Roger wants me to be there. He is aware of the potential pitfalls. He says: "I do not think that many people understand the magnitude of our victory over Mazembe.

"TP Mazembe are one of the biggest clubs in Africa. It won’t be easy in the Congo.”

You can say that again.

While Bafana sleep, SAFA burns: the eery backdrop to the 2013 African Cup of Nations

Togo or not Togo? This is the 2010 side put
together by Wilson Raj Perumal which contained
NO Togo internationals against Bahrain

STRANGE days indeed for South African football. Bafana Bafana will be sleeping peacefully in Cape Town tonight while SAFA burns.

When Gordon Igesund’s “dream team” take on a sub-standard Norway on Tuesday in the Mother City, the action at SAFA’s glitzy headquarters next to Soccer City is likely to be far from friendly.

Look, it’s great to see Cape Town actually getting a Bafana game. They didn’t bother to bid as a host city for the 2013 African Cup of Nations, so they get this friendly, with former Wimbledon boss Egil Olsen bringing six debutants on tour to play the hosts followed by AFCON champions Zambia in Ndola on January 12.

It won’t be much of a test. In Norway, “home-based” generally means “didn’t quite make it”. There are many other nations where the same is true.

Gordon Igesund, apparently oblivious to the pressure created by a unique failure to emerge from the group stages at the 2010 World Cup, assures us: “It won’t be a train-smash if we draw or lose, it will not be the end of the world. To me, the only result that really matters is the one on the 19th against Cape Verde at Soccer City.”

And the same can be said of the friendly against Algeria on January 12 in Johannesburg, the final run-out before the big kick-off.

Truth is, these pre-tournament friendlies are meaningless of course. Unless, like South Africa’s games before the World Cup two years ago, they turn out to be fixed by a dodgy agency called Football 4U.

Wilson Raj Perumal’s company, the people behind Zimbabwe’s Asiagate scandal, were called in to organise those friendlies when SAFA suddenly realised they didn’t have anything planned at the back end of 2009. Perumal even offered to pay SAFA R1m for each friendly successfully hosted. Amazing.

Initially, I thought it was an innocent mistake from a desperate SAFA. Now I know differently. The guilty party knew EXACTLY how Zimbabwe got themselves in a fix in 2009 with the shock waves still reverberating around that scandal.

Perumal is a 47-year-old Singaporean with a long history of match-fixing. It was he who put out 11 amateurs masquerading as Togo’s national side against Bahrain in September 2010. And of course, he was behind Zimbabwe throwing matches against Thailand, Malaysia and Syria in 2009.  He says he does it to help African footballers “living in squalor”, paying them paltry amounts to fix matches while he makes huge profits on the Far East betting markets.

Perumal was first jailed for match-fixing in 1995 when he paid a football captain in Singapore $3,000 to throw a game. In 2000 he was convicted of assault for attacking Ivica Raguz, a player in Singapore’s Woodlands Wellington team. Apparently he was trying to weaken the team.

Perumal is still wanted in Singapore after being sentenced to five years for running over a police officer outside Changi airport in May 2009. He skipped bail and fled to England, where he lived under an assumed named before he left for Finland, where he was arrested in 2011 for attempting to fix local league matches. In the midst of all this, he managed to find time to sort SAFA out too.

Telephone records seized from Perumal’s hotel room in Finland show a global network of contacts including FIVE national football federations stored on his mobile, along with numbers for several current and former international players and referees.

Perumal served one year of a two year sentence in Finland and was released last year, his current whereabouts is thought to be Hungary where he is on remand… for match-fixing.

It would be best if South Africa simply came out and said all they know about their dealings with Perumal rather than attempting to brush everything under the carpet. Especially now, before a major tournament.

The identity of the man who first called Perumal – and allegedly took R1m from him for each of the friendlies – needs to be made public to clear up this mess.

Instead, President Kirsten Nematandani, suspended when FIFA’s report on those games dropped a fortnight ago, reinstated himself in the car-park outside the Association’s offices on Friday. Yes, in the car park, because his office was taken.

Curiously, the man who filled Kirsten’s dancing shoes, Chief Mwelo Nonkonyana, is none too happy about the man in suspenders returning with fellow exiles Dennis Mumble, Lindile “Ace” Kika and Adeel Carelse even before the enquiry promised by Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula.

In fact, that inquiry may now never be held. Mbalula says “hosting AFCON is of chief importance” maintaining that the match-fixing report will now be referred to “appropriate committees”.

That’s dangerous stuff. If FIFA sense a government minister interfering with football affairs, they have been known to take punitive action.

The Sunday Sun quotes a source saying: “Kirsten feels his name has been dragged through the mud, now we have to do damage control” while suggesting (strongly) an on-going war between Nematandani and Nonkonyana beneath a split picture of the pair and the headline GLOVES OFF AT SAFA.

Kirsten himself says: “AFCON is around the corner. This is where we need to channel our energy now. This has been a challenging time, a test of strength.”

My own source suggests “everyone knew SAFA’s consultant was fixing games before the World Cup.”

And the obvious conclusion is that Nematandani was reinstated on orders “from the very top” to keep him from revealing all about those unbeatable friendlies against Thailand, Bulgaria, Colombia and Guatemala. You’ll see what I thought of the 5-0 win against Guatemala at Polokewane on the night here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjzwzNhaeTM&list=UUkGxwYf7NwY7vYMdeTBg41w&index=26.

So SAFA, while keeping team hotel robberies secret and upsetting the SABC over their deal to cover tonight’s game on SuperSport, is humming with intrigue and back-stabbing over the real personality behind the match-fixing scandal.

  

They say the truth will out. Perhaps. If FIFA are serious about stopping match-fixing after Australian Chris Eaton’s resignation as their match-fixing hunter. But this one goes right to the top, close to the president himself. So it’s unlikely.

We could also mention the curious case of Thuso Phala and Siyanda Xulu, who had “everything taken” by robbers while in camp with Bafana at the Elangeni Hotel in Durban last month. That nasty little tale has been kept top secret by SAFA too.

It’s  also worth mentioning a report in Sunday’s City Press, claiming SAFA are bleeding cash, with R10m lost in the first four months of the current financial year and R56m gone last year. SAFA are mumbling about it being "just a cash flow problem", but again, we’ll see.

Despite this bleak backdrop, Gordon’s Boys must play on. Beating Norway’s local lads and Algeria’s AFCON failures shouldn’t be too tough. Then they take on cheeky Cape Verde, near-neighbours Angola and mighty Morocco in a bid to reach the knock-out stages on home soil as they did so emphatically – but against all expectations – in 1996.

I believe that, despite all the SAFA suffering, Bafana WILL get to the quarter-finals… and they do so with one glimmer of good news. Sipho Sithole, the musical AFCON publicist, tells me 350 000 tickets have been sold so far, despite confirming that the government’s funding for marketing only arrived on December 21.

Sithole laughs: “Four days before Christmas. And they expect us to have all the billboards and flags in place. It’s going to be difficult. But ticket sales are going as well as we could have hoped.”

If you are still hanging around the local Super Spar and struggling to get your tickets, twitter Sipho on @nativerhythms or call the hotline on 087 980 3000. It’s not too late.

QUESTIONS FOR SAFA:

Do you accept you broke FIFA Statute 13.1 (g), which prohibits the control of its affairs by an outside party?

Why was the appointment of Football 4U International never brought to the attention of the SAFA NEC?

Who decided to suspend Kirsten Nematandani when the report landed? And given that he is your president, who has the power to make such a quick decision when he was NOT one of the six named by FIFA for "further investigation"?

A shorter version of this story will appeal as my Neal and Pray column in www.thenewage.co.zaon Tuesday.

By popular demand: the PSL Q2 table. And yes, Pirates are top, Arrows are bottom.

This is how the PSL Q2 table looks four games in, halfway to the second R2.5m bonus of the season:

1 Orlando Pirates    4..4..0..0..10..1..12
2 Mburg United       4..3..1..0..6..2..10 
3 Kaizer Chiefs        4..3..0..1..8..5..9 
4 Plat Stars                4..3..0..1..6..3..9
5 FS Stars                  4..2..1..1..3..2..7 
6 Bloem Celtic          4..2..0..2..3..3..6
7 Leopards                 4..2..0..2..3..6..6 
8 Chippa Utd            4..1..2..1..7..6..5 
9 Sundowns              4..1..2..1..4..5..5
10 Ajax CT                 4..1..1..2..4..5..4
11 Amazulu                4..1..1..2..2..3..4
12 Wits                        4..1..1..2..3..5..4
13 SuperSport U       4..0..3..1..5..6..3 
14 AmaTuks               4..0..2..2..2..4..2 
15 Swallows                4..0..1..3..4..9..1 
16 Arrows                    4..0..1..3..2..7..1 

Pirates and punishment: Why clubs MUST take responsibility for their unruly fans

Fan trouble: at the Orlando Stadium in August

THERE was a football story which very nearly slipped under the radar this week, a tale far more worrying than Bafana's 1-0 defeat against AFCON champions Zambia or Banyana's final 4-0 CAF defeat against those dodgy gals from Equatorial Guinea.

Very quietly, a day after announcing their “learning centre” to help the local community, Orlando Pirates took their case over fan behaviour to arbitration, claiming the Buccaneers CANNOT be blamed for the behaviour of their Ghostly fans.

It might not sound important. Especially when you consider the club run by the PSL chairman - Irvin Khoza was re-elected unopposed last week - announced on the same day they were closing their youth academy due to concerns over age cheating.

All in all, with two fans arrested for stoning the Zambia team bus outside Soccer City, it hasn't been a great week for South African football. SAFA CEO Robin Petersen remains on the brink of being re-deployed and livewire Malmo striker Tokelo Rantie could be OUT of AFCON after going off injured against the Zambians.

But it's the reluctance of the Iron Duke to accept his club's liability for the behaviour of their fans which is of serious concern, with the African Cup of Nations kicking off here on January 19 when Bafana play the Cape Verde Islands.

The thing is, Pirates tend to see themselves as above the law these days. The case in point - trouble during last season's Telkom KO final against Wits - is not the only problem. I was at the Orlando Stadium when serious trouble halted their MTN quarter-final against SuperSport United.

I stood among the Ghost while referee Robert Smith was forced to suspend the game briefly when fireworks were throw - and then scurried to safety when the whistle went and fans invaded the pitch, furious about Smith’s decision to red card Benni McCarthy.

I said at the time action should be taken, REAL fines handed out and the threat of playing behind closed doors should have been wheeled out. Instead, the PSL disciplinary committee chose to charge Kaizer Chiefs for far less serious misdemeanours at Loftus against Sundowns a month before along with Pirates.

And then, on the day Gordon Igesund led Bafana for the first time on home soil against Mozambique, both cases were adjourned.  No action was taken. Then we had pictures of Johan Neeskens being pelted by Msandawana fans at Moroka Swallows, images that were flashed around the world.

If ever there was a time to clamp down hard on fan misbehaviour it is now. Instead, the chairman of the PSL (who also runs the NSL and is a vice president of SAFA, though he has decided NOT to run for Olympic chairman) apparently chooses to dispute his club’s liability.

Think carefully about this. I am not waging war against Orlando Pirates or the Iron Duke. Nobody would be that stupid in the current climate. What I am saying is that, instead of clamping down on the kind of embarrassing incident which happened after the Zambia game this week, we are disputing who is responsible.

Pirates have good reason to take such action. Their fans have several outstanding cases against them. First the Telkom Final, for which they received a R250,000 suspended fine which they failed to overturn on appeal.

Then, according to the excellent Mark Gleeson, my old pal writing for the Sowetan, we have:

15 February: Pirates charged after supporters threw objects at the Black Leopards goalkeeper twice in the second half of their match.

19 May: Pirates fans invaded the pitch at the Moses Mabhida Stadium after their title-clinching win over Lamontville Golden Arrows. The charge took two months to materialise. Case put on hold.

25 August:Pirates were charged after supporters threw an assortment of objects onto the pitch during the MTN8 semifinal second leg when SuperSport United won 3-0 at the Orlando Stadium. As I mentioned above, an Nyala armoured car was called in to action to protect the referee and several fans in SuperSport and Kaizer Chiefs shirts – as well as a press photographer - were injured after a pitch invasion.

Gleeson says that, over the past two years, Pirates have paid R250,000 in fines and after losing their appeal over the Telkom final, they owed another R100,000.

With the three further charges above still outstanding months after the problems occurred, Pirates could now face a bill of R1million for incidents since December last year. In most FIFA nations, the threat of playing behind closed doors would now have emerged.

For the double-treble champions to “boast” such a track record but remain unpunished seems almost unbelievable.

Then, on Wednesday, we had Pirates going to arbitration to change the globally accepted understanding that clubs SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE for their fans.

If Pirates win their case, they will be able to shrug off the charges listed above, claiming they have nothing to do with their own fans’ behaviour.

The same will apply to Sundowns and Chiefs. But at the same time, how will future outbreaks of fan violence be dealt with? Who gets punished? Will security companies and the police be forced to attend in larger numbers – and could THEY then face fines for failing to control crowds?

Stadium security and conditions in Europe – particularly in Britain – were upped after a long history of hooliganism which kept women and children from watching football 20 years ago. But only because harsh measures were taken against the clubs involved – ALL English clubs were banned from Europe for five years after the Heysel disaster, several were forced to play in front of empty stadiums.

If Pirates – backed by their owner and PSL chairman Dr Khoza – succeed in escaping responsibility for their fans, who will keep the peace?

Of course the individuals who misbehave must be caught and punished, but it the club isn’t fined or forced to play behind closed doors, how will South African football EVER be able to ensure the security of vulnerable fans?

So far, we have had no public statement from Dr Khoza on the way his club is trying to escape responsibility for the fans who wear their replica shirts and buy their tickets.

But I’d suggest he think very carefully about who he supports here – his own PSL disciplinary committee, or the club he runs.