The passion for rugby is alive and well, from Cape Town to Cairo. The game is being developed too in countries such as Uganda, the Ivory Coast, Ghana and Madagascar. But what else needs to be done?



Rugby Africa president Herbert Mensah is leading what he terms a “change in mindset” that he hopes will boost the development mandate of the organization and grow the game on the continent outside of powerhouse South Africa.



The Springboks are a global brand and household name for fans around the world, but while Namibia have been regular qualifiers for the Rugby World Cup and Kenya have a competitive team on the Sevens circuit, the rest of the continent lags well behind.



It will be no surprise that this largely comes down to funding, but Mensah is emphatic that the passion for the game is alive and well from Cape Town to Cairo.



Rugby Africa is an administrative body under World Rugby that is tasked with growing the game on the continent but does so on a shoestring budget.



“A country like England, for example, receives over 150 million pounds a year to develop the game and to prepare their national teams to be able to compete at the highest levels,” Mensah told FORBES AFRICA. “Africa, minus South Africa, receives two-point-something million dollars a year.



“And you have got to run multiple competitions. You have got to develop the game. That is the reason why Rugby Africa hasn&#8217;t got age grade competitions.



“We are trying to develop greater partnerships and associations with governments, persuading them that even though rugby is not a political tool (on the continent) as football is, the values of rugby mean building a better society.



“Rugby provides something that other sports do not. Some countries, like Morocco, have responded well. I stand to be corrected, but over 1% of GDP in Morocco is being allocated for sports, including at grassroots level. Uganda, Ivory Coast, Ghana have invested massively in the development of the game.”



Mensah points to Madagascar as an example of the popularity of rugby in so-called non-traditional playing nations.



“You can go and watch a domestic match in Madagascar and have 30,000 people in the stadium. What would happen if you are now able to invest a little bit more in Madagascar and in its rugby infrastructure?



“There are countries in Africa that play a test match once every two years. You can begin to immediately see that disparity, but there is great enthusiasm.”



Mensah, who has been in his role for the last two years, says the status quo cannot remain, and it starts with his own organization.



“We need to be creative. Think out of the box. We need to get governments more involved. We need to work with the Olympic solidarity fund to make more money available.



“We are not a third world country out there saying, ‘give me, give me, you owe me’. Because the commercial reality is, unless you have a contract, nobody owes you anything.



“So, get out there and show that you&#8217;ve got something to give. Sometimes you need to plant the seed, the right seed, in order to sow and reap the right crop, and that&#8217;s what we&#8217;re trying to do.”

Uganda vs Burkina Faso; image supplied

What Needs To Be Done To Invest In Rugby Across Africa

South African golfer Casandra Alexander has the ambition to be the best in the world in the coming years and given her form over the last few seasons, you would be foolish to rule it out.



Alexander, 25, won the 2025 Investec Order of Merit after sizzling on the home circuit, and also tied for seventh at the prestigious 2024 Women’s Open in the United Kingdom.



The improvement in her game since 2023 has been stark and there is no doubt she is on a rapid upward trajectory. Crucially, she has the ambition to not just settle for home success, but take her talent global.



“I&#8217;m not number one in the world now, but if I keep doing what I&#8217;m doing and working hard, it could potentially be a possibility in the future,” Alexander told FORBES AFRICA.



She started playing around the age of 10 when a family friend took her to a local golf club and the youngster was hooked.



“I played a lot of sports growing up from about the age of eight and I loved all of them. Anything with a ball I was pretty interested in,” she says.



“Golf was just another sport at that stage, but it kind of stuck because I was pretty good at it from the start.



“When I got to high school, in my final years I only played hockey and golf. In the end I was better at hockey, so I decided to go to golf because I wanted to push myself and be better. I am a little bit stubborn like that.”



She turned professional in 2019 but her early career was stalled by the Covid-19 pandemic. But once up and running on the Ladies European Tour, she began to get rewarded.



Alexander likens life on the tour to gambling, where there is no guarantee you will come close to recouping the money you have to spend to play.



“You have to take risks in order to get what you want. And I did that,” she says. “When my caddie (Charles Moemedi) and I came to Europe, I said to him, ‘I have enough money to pay for four tournaments, and if we don&#8217;t make any money, you and I are both without a job’.



“And luckily, in those four weeks, we did extremely well. It was a big investment and a big risk on my end. People think getting your tour card is the tough part, but when you have the card, you also need the money to start.



“To play on the tour costs me R1.5-million ($82,000) a year, which means I need to make more than that just to break even. Never mind household running expenses and just living in general. That&#8217;s just the golf costs.



“So it’s risky. I say golf is like gambling. You can literally put all this money in and make zero. Or you can put all this money in and make a lot. And it is addictive, just like gambling is.”



Golf may be seen as a solo sport, but Alexander believes she would not be where she is today without the team behind her.



“I call Charles my second husband, we spend so much time together. He is family. He has carried for me from the start, all the way to Europe, to the Majors and the US Open.



“My mental coach is Mark Fairbank. We also work very closely together. He has worked with me since I went to Q School (qualifying school), and we&#8217;ve done great work. He&#8217;s probably one of the last guys I&#8217;d fire if I ever had to fire my team!



“My golf coach is Grant Veenstra, probably the best in the country, if not top 10 in the world. I&#8217;ve been working with him for the last two years. He&#8217;s a great guy and has changed my whole game around.



“Then obviously my biggest supporter is my husband (professional body builder Adrian Alexander). He doesn&#8217;t have a title, like a trainer or anything, but he&#8217;s probably the rock that keeps everything going.”

Casandra Alexander; photo supplied

‘Golf Is Like Gambling’: South African Golfer On Taking Risks And Aiming For Global Success

There are four clubs from Africa among the 32 teams that have qualified for the FIFA Club World Cup, which will kick off on June 15.



World football’s governing body FIFA are hoping the new-look Club World Cup, which will be hosted in the United States next month, will mark a new era for the game and develop a four-yearly competition that has as much relevance and reverence as the World Cup for national teams.



Africa will play a part in the new vision: there are four clubs from the continent among the 32 teams that have qualified for the tournament, which will kick off on June 15.



It includes Mamelodi Sundowns, who are through to this season’s African Champions League final later in May and will be hoping to make some impact on the new-look Club World Cup.



It is a momentous opportunity for a South African side, rubbing shoulders with the most successful club sides from across the globe over the last years.



Egypt’s Al Ahly, Wydad Casablanca from Morocco and Esperance of Tunisia are the other three African clubs who have qualified on the basis of their performances in the last four years of the African Champions League competition.



In their group, Sundowns have been drawn against Borussia Dortmund, who were runners-up in the UEFA Champions League last season; Rio de Janeiro giants Fluminense and Ulsan from South Korea.



It will be something of an upset if the Pretoria club progress past the first stage but even if they return home without a win, the tournament promises to be a massive learning curve and its financial spin off means Sundowns are set to continue their long-standing hegemony on the local scene.



They will reportedly receive a minimum of $9-million for participating in the tournament, with more money on offer for any victories they might achieve; $2 million is paid for winning group stage games, $7.5 million for playing in the round of 16 and $40 million to the team that wins the final at MetLife Stadium near New York on July 13.



FIFA aims to share $250 million among clubs worldwide who did not qualify for the tournament. But it is not yet clear how many clubs will be paid, or how much they will get.



The $1 billion Club World Cup prize pot is more than double the $440 million that FIFA shared among the 32 federations whose teams played at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, further proof of their desire to make this new project work.



It is massive money for Sundowns to continue to buy the best players and extend their record-breaking run of championship success in South Africa’s Premier Soccer League.

Al Ahly v Mamelodi Sundowns – CAF Champions League

Money And Momentous Opportunity For Africa In New-Look Football Tourney

Zimbabwe is now set for one of its biggest cricket seasons in over two decades. 



There was a time not so long ago when cricket in Zimbabwe was deep in the doldrums, with the national team battling for fixtures against quality opponents and financial issues curtailing the progress of the game in the country.



But the last while has seen a gradual turnaround in fortunes and Zimbabwe is now set for one of its biggest seasons in over two decades, with South Africa and New Zealand both coming to play multi-format matches in the country.



South Africa have not toured Zimbabwe since 2014, while New Zealand were last there in 2016, so the return of two of the biggest names in global cricket will certainly be welcome.



&#8220;This is the biggest international home season we have had in years, and it is an incredible opportunity for our players to test themselves against two of the world&#8217;s cricketing powerhouses,&#8221; Zimbabwe Cricket Managing Director Givemore Makoni says.



&#8220;Hosting South Africa and New Zealand for both Test cricket and an exciting T20I Tri-Series is a fantastic development for the growth of the game in Zimbabwe.”



South Africa arrive first and play two Tests in Bulawayo from June 28 onwards. It will be a warm-up for the start of the new World Test Championship cycle, which begins the Proteas with an away series in Pakistan in October.



New Zealand then join the party for a Twenty20 International Tri-Series, where each team plays the other twice, with all the games being staged in Harare.



The two teams that accrue the most points from those games will play a final on July 26.



New Zealand will then stay on for two tests against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo.



Having already hosted Afghanistan and Ireland in Test this year, it will be the first time since 2001 that Zimbabwe will play six games in the longest format at home in a calendar year.



Back then, they hosted two tests each against India, South Africa, West Indies and Bangladesh in a matter of months in what was a different time for the sport in the country before its decline.



Before this year’s incoming tour, Zimbabwe have also been granted a one-off Test in England from May 22-25. It is the first time they play a five-day game in England since 2003 and just the fifth time ever.



International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman Jay Shah recently visited Zimbabwe and was positive about the country’s future.



&#8220;I think Zimbabwe has the potential to go back to top performance like in the early 1990s,&#8221; Shah said.

Cricketer silhouette on Zimbabwe blurred flag background

Zimbabwe Set for Historic Home Season: Will Welcome Back Cricketing Giants

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is creeping into every walk of life these days and the world of sport is no different, with data and the use of science behind the numbers becoming more prevalent. But that is not just at the elite level.



Could AI help uncover the next superstars in South Africa’s talent-rich Gauteng province by analyzing and exposing the most promising players in the region?



Swiss tech company Talnets AG have partnered with the Gauteng Development League (GDL) to implement their technology to provide young players with the opportunity not only to be seen by local clubs but also win a contract overseas.



It follows a successful one-year trial period where the technology features the youth teams of Mamelodi Sundowns, Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, the three biggest clubs in South Africa.



Talnets AG’s technology uses AI to analyze a match based on over 60 different data points from video of GDL matches and turn this into useable numbers to create a detailed profile for each player over time.



This ‘player card’ becomes a CV for the player which lives online and is publicly shareable to scouts, coaches and clubs around the world.



But numbers never tell the whole story and the platform also creates short video highlights of the player that is assigned to their card and gives scouts the opportunity to visually see their actions as well as read their numbers.



Fungai Mapondera, originally from Zimbabwe but now based in Switzerland as CMO with Talnets AG, explains the concept to FORBES AFRICA.



“It is about extracting the data from the match video and assigning the different data points based on what the player is doing in the game,” Mapondera says. “In essence, you end up having a digital player card with all your data from all your games, plus the highlights from all those games, in one place.



“It makes it easy for you as the player to share that profile with anybody that may be scouting you.”



There have already been successes. One player was scouted using the system and has had trials in Spain. And there are many others who are set to have their talent exposed to the world through the platform.



Behind it all is a meeting between technology and sport, something that has been rapidly accelerating in recent years, and is set to develop even further into the future as the cost of such platforms come down and therefore become more widely available.



Pin-pointing exactly what makes for useable and readable data has been important.



“There are so many things you can analyze in a game,” says Talnets’ Chief Executive Officer Darko Stanoevski. “Our focus is on individual performance analysis, which requires a bit more of a specific approach.



“That framework could be simple things like goals and goalkeeper saves, to more intricate detail like the different kinds of passes, passive passes, passes that break the (defensive) line and so on.



“Grounded on the FIFA Football Language Model and built with top football experts, we have developed our framework with over 60 different data points to help us spot and identify young talents in an efficient, transparent and scalable way. Analyzing a full game based on this framework would give us around 600 data points for one team, and then it will be, on average, around 15-20 data points per player.”



This data collection used to be done manually by an analyst, taking days or even weeks. But that has been now cut down to a few hours.



“The AI is an enabler to lower time dramatically, to automate this entire analysis process and make it more scalable and more efficient,” Stanoevski says.



“It gets players visibility and access to clubs, to scouts and coaches that have access to the platform, and even more importantly, enabling the players themselves to share their profiles with anyone, so they can build a ‘CV’ and pursue their dream.”

Photo supplied by GDL

Could AI Help Uncover The Next Football Stars In South Africa? This Tech Firm May Have The Answer

The tiny Indian Ocean Island of Mauritius is known for its beautiful beaches, sandy shores and tropical charm… but not yet for its football prowess.



Soccer remains hugely popular on the island, but with around 1.25-million people calling it home, it is the size of a modest city elsewhere on the continent.



That makes creating a competitive team on the international stage a challenge, but there are plans afoot to develop the game in Mauritius, especially for girls, to help the country punch above its weight.



Mauritius are among the lowest-ranked teams globally in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings, but with a new generation of starlets coming through, Mauritius Football Association (MFA) Women’s football development officer and Under-17 national team coach Anielle Collet can see a brighter future.



She has worked in football for the last 23 years, having been drawn to the game as a young girl herself, and has seen many positive changes.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="906" height="1024" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/B24LESS0640-906x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-65449" style="width:530px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/B24LESS0640-906x1024.jpg 906w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/B24LESS0640-265x300.jpg 265w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/B24LESS0640-768x868.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/B24LESS0640-1359x1536.jpg 1359w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/B24LESS0640-1812x2048.jpg 1812w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 906px) 100vw, 906px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Marie Elsa Oscar of Mauritius (© Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix)</figcaption></figure></div>


She believes football is not just a sport in Mauritius, but an important part of the social fabric of the island.



“It&#8217;s part of our culture,” Collet tells FORBES AFRICA. “You can see everyone eager every weekend to watch the games. From where I come from, a small island, football is like a community base; everyone involved in the game is part of this community.”



Collet has been at the forefront of football development in Mauritius for the past few years, and is proud of the progress made by the MFA with the professionalization and promotion of the women’s game.



“We can see that the level of competition is increasing more and more,” she says. “Also, we now have players that are playing abroad in France, the United States and Canada. We can see there is improvement and at the football association we are putting much effort into the promotion of women&#8217;s football.



“To market it and commercialize it, we have a social platform where it is visible everywhere. We can see this change now.



“Before, it was stagnant. But now there is an increase because we have academies and a league that is running. We started to have female coaches and the game generally has become more visible.”



The MFA has been following a strategic plan, starting at youth and grassroots level, to develop a clear player pathway to the senior national side and the professional level, according to Collet. This involves the improvement of not only players, but staff as well.



The impact of these initiatives has been positive, with the impact measurable and easy to see in certain areas of development.



“We can see now that there are more girls that are keen to play football because there are special programmes put in place by FIFA and football academies, and we can see that schools are starting to do inter-college matches (for girls),” Collet says.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="889" height="1024" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/B24LESS0642-889x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-65448" style="width:606px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/B24LESS0642-889x1024.jpg 889w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/B24LESS0642-260x300.jpg 260w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/B24LESS0642-768x885.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/B24LESS0642-1334x1536.jpg 1334w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/B24LESS0642-1778x2048.jpg 1778w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/B24LESS0642.jpg 1851w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 889px) 100vw, 889px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Marie Chlotarina Clair of Mauritius (© Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix)</figcaption></figure></div>


Mauritius’ progress can be followed further when they compete in the COSAFA Under-17 Girls’ Championship in Windhoek, Namibia, from May 10-17.



“This will contribute to the development of a clear player pathway as they get the opportunity to showcase their talent at youth level on the COSAFA stage. This furthermore gives the players the opportunity to emerge at senior level,” Collet adds.

Football – 2024 COSAFA U17 Girls Championship – Zimbabwe v Mauritius – UJ Soweto B Stadium – Johannesburg

Football In Mauritius? How The Island Is Working Towards Its Goals For The Women’s Game

Slap fighting is a raw, visceral, little-known combat sport gaining momentum across South Africa. It’s not for the faint-hearted, underscoring the need for greater regulation, even as proponents are trying hard to formalize the sport.



In the pantheon of African sports, where football reigns supreme, rugby commands fierce loyalty, and athletics showcases raw talent, a new contender is emerging from the shadows – slap fighting, a visceral, no-frills combat sport where opponents take turns delivering open-handed blows to each other’s faces.



It’s fast carving out a space in Africa’s diverse sporting landscape. What began as a niche spectacle, propelled by viral videos and grassroots enthusiasm, is now gaining traction with South Africa leading the charge and whispers of interest echoing from Nigeria to Kenya.



The sport’s introduction to Africa coincided with a post-Covid pandemic hunger for powerful entertainment, and local organizers seized the moment.



Founder and CEO of Ultimate Slap Fight South Africa, Bobby ‘The Punisher’ Krisch, discovered the sport while scrolling online.



“In 2020, when we had the first lockdown, my son introduced me to YouTube, and I started looking at all these slap fights. I just fell in love with the sport. I had a bag at the back of my house and every day I would walk past it and slap it. The first time,&nbsp;I hurt myself, so I left it for two weeks. But there was nothing to do and when I went back to the bag and started hitting it again, I thought, ‘flip man, I can do this’.”



Slap fighting’s origins are often traced to Eastern Europe, particularly Russia, where videos of burly men slapping each other senseless went viral a decade before Krisch discovered&nbsp;the sport. It&nbsp;gained further prominence in the United States through promotions like Power Slap, led by Ultimate Fighting Championship president, Dana White, and Slap FIGHT Championship, which formalized rules and attracted millions of online viewers. By 2022, the sport had crossed oceans, and the South African Slap Fighting Association (SASFA) emerged as a pioneer, hosting its first events that year, while independent organizers like Krisch launched Punisher Slap Fighting.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="alignleft size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="758" height="1024" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Bobby-‘The-Punisher-Krisch-versus-The-Block-Image-supplied-758x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-65411" style="width:520px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Bobby-‘The-Punisher-Krisch-versus-The-Block-Image-supplied-758x1024.jpg 758w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Bobby-‘The-Punisher-Krisch-versus-The-Block-Image-supplied-222x300.jpg 222w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Bobby-‘The-Punisher-Krisch-versus-The-Block-Image-supplied-768x1038.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Bobby-‘The-Punisher-Krisch-versus-The-Block-Image-supplied-1136x1536.jpg 1136w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Bobby-‘The-Punisher-Krisch-versus-The-Block-Image-supplied-1515x2048.jpg 1515w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Bobby-‘The-Punisher-Krisch-versus-The-Block-Image-supplied-scaled.jpg 1894w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 758px) 100vw, 758px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Bobby ‘The Punisher’ Krisch versus The Block; (Image supplied)</figcaption></figure></div>


“I’m a normal guy, maybe a little crazy in the head,” chuckles Krisch.



The sport’s simplicity is its strength: two competitors face off, often across a table or barrel, exchanging slaps until one flinches, falls, or is knocked out. Rules are minimal but strict–strikes must land on the cheek, delivered from shoulder height, with no defence allowed. Matches typically span three rounds, though knockouts can end them sooner. This raw format, paired with its accessibility, has fueled slap fighting’s appeal in Africa, where sports often thrive on passion rather than infrastructure.



Danie ‘Pitbull’ van Heerden, a former boxer and wrestler from Pretoria, South Africa, became&nbsp;the&nbsp;poster child after a 2022 TikTok video of him competing amassed over 17 million views. His subsequent invitation to Power Slap in Las Vegas, where he won by technical knockout, put South Africa on the global slap fighting map. In 2024, van Heerden reached the Power Slap 8 finals, facing off against super heavyweight champion Koa ‘Da Crazy Hawaiian’ Viernes, cementing his status as a trailblazer.



Across South Africa, local events are flourishing, creating a raucous atmosphere reminiscent of&nbsp;the country&#8217;s&nbsp;love for communal celebration. The Afrikaans term snotklap (a hard slap) is ingrained in local slang&nbsp;and&nbsp;tied to&nbsp;it are&nbsp;notions of toughness and settling scores.&nbsp;The sport showcases&nbsp;this and its&nbsp;inclusivity–requiring no gloves, pads, or extensive training–mirroring the accessibility of township football or stick-fighting, traditions that have long thrived without formal support.



With South Africa as its heart beat, the sport is spreading its tendrils across the continent.&nbsp;In Nigeria, a country with a rich boxing heritage and a burgeoning interest in combat sports, social media clips of informal slap contests have begun circulating. Lagos, with its vibrant street culture and appetite for spectacle, is a natural hub. In Kenya, where athletics dominates but wrestling enjoys a following, grassroots interest is emerging, spurred by online exposure to Power Slap and Slap FIGHT Championship. Ghana, too, with its history of physical contests like Dambe, a traditional Hausa boxing style, offers fertile ground for slap fighting’s raw energy.



The sport’s digital footprint is key to its continental growth. Platforms like TikTok and YouTube, where slap-fighting videos rack up millions of views, are widely accessible in Africa, even in rural areas with limited sports infrastructure. Van Heerden’s viral moment is a case in point; his 17 million views transcended borders, inspiring imitators from Johannesburg to Nairobi. As internet penetration grows, slap fighting’s low barrier to entry and high shareability positions it for a broader takeover.



In Africa, slap fighting’s rise&nbsp;also&nbsp;taps into the continent’s deep-rooted appreciation for physicality and spectacle. From Senegal’s Laamb wrestling to Ethiopia’s Donga stick fights, the continent has a history of combat sports that celebrate strength and endurance. Slap fighting, with its unadorned brutality and immediate outcomes, fits this mold.&nbsp;



Yet,&nbsp;the sport&#8217;s&nbsp;ascent is not without hurdles. Medical experts decry its safety, citing risks of concussions and brain injuries from undefended blows.



In 2021, Polish slap fighter, Artur Walczak, suffered a brain bleed. Krisch counters that of 107 fighters in his events, only two have suffered broken jaws, and medical personnel are always present. Still, scepticism persists, with critics calling it barbaric.



Regulation is another sticky point.&nbsp;Krisch is trying hard to legalize the sport in South Africa.



“It’s a process. It’s been two years and I pray we will be recognized and taken seriously. We are ordinary guys; many of us never had the opportunity to do boxing and mixed martial arts and wrestling.&nbsp;This is a sport for the normal working guy.&#8221;



Van Heerden has called for South African authorities to formalize slap fighting with a rulebook, arguing it would enhance safety and legitimacy. A 2019 draft amendment to the National Sport and Recreation Act could provide a framework, but progress is slow. Elsewhere in Africa, where sports governance is often underdeveloped, establishing oversight will be trickier. Without it, the sport risks remaining an underground novelty rather than a sanctioned discipline.



The sport’s future hinges on its ability to evolve. If it can marry Africa’s love of raw competition with a sustainable model, slap fighting might not just be a fad but a fixture–a slap heard from Cape Town will&nbsp;reverberate&nbsp;across the continent&nbsp;and be heard&nbsp;in Cairo.&nbsp;

Bobby ‘The Punisher’ Krisch getting ready for a fight’ Image supplied

The Hands-On Sport: Is Africa Game For Slap Fighting?

For Lesotho, every inch on the football pitch has been gained the hard way. Mokhosi Mohapi is overseeing a revolution, from the National teams to improvements in the domestic league, academy and women’s football, all on a relative shoestring budget.



Lesotho is typical of several football nations in Africa that are forever having to punch above their weight, trying to create the ‘small wins’ that will lead to greater success in an industry where money talks.



Lesotho has a population of about 2.3 million. Compared to the bigger economies Nigeria, Egypt or neighbor South Africa, that would barely make up a smaller municipality.



And yet they play in the same international football competitions and strive for the same success as the giants on the continent, with far less resources, both in terms of players to pick from and finances.  



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="682" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Mokhosi-Mohapi-image-supplied-by-COSAFA-1024x682.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-65345" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Mokhosi-Mohapi-image-supplied-by-COSAFA-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Mokhosi-Mohapi-image-supplied-by-COSAFA-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Mokhosi-Mohapi-image-supplied-by-COSAFA-768x511.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Mokhosi-Mohapi-image-supplied-by-COSAFA-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Mokhosi-Mohapi-image-supplied-by-COSAFA-2048x1363.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Mokhosi Mohapi (©Nokwanda Zondi/BackpagePix)</figcaption></figure>



They also do not have the large diaspora of fellow minnows Comoros or Cape Verde Islands from which to pick players who grew up in France or Portugal, so every inch gained on the football pitch is done the hard way.



But they have had success. A 1-1 draw away in Nigeria in the current 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers was a seismic result that shocked the continent’s football.



They also managed a 2-0 win over regional powerhouse Zimbabwe in the same qualification campaign and finished runners-up in the 2023 COSAFA Cup, the southern African championship.



Leading this improvement is no-nonsense Lesotho Football Association (LFA) Secretary General Mokhosi Mohapi, who has the unenviable task of taking what resources he has and turning it into gold.



He is overseeing a revolution though, from the national teams to improvements in the domestic league, academy development and women’s football growth, all on a relative shoestring budget.



“We need to get better coaches, players placed in bigger leagues, a better domestic league and better development structures,” Mohapi tells FORBES AFRICA. “It is not that we have nothing, but we need to improve them all dramatically. We need to follow a set vision that places us right into what will be happening (in global football) in the next decade.&#8221;



One area he is targeting is sports science, which has come in vogue across Europe and many of the larger African countries.



“We are just playing football, we are not researching deeper into it,” he says. “I don&#8217;t understand how we are competing without using data and sport science, but we are doing well. Imagine how we will do when we start moving into that sphere like others are doing?



“Others [already using sports science] cannot get better than they are now, but we can. Much better.”



But the continued improvement of Lesotho football can only truly happen with more structured development and talent identification, and Mohapi reveals the country has opened a first academy using its own funds, a rarity on the continent.



“We have a residency academy in the Northern Districts and it is doing very well. They play in the fourth-tier and they haven’t lost a match. Remember, these are 12- or 13-year-olds. We put them there so they can train for a purpose [to play matches].



“While many countries are waiting for FIFA funding to start their academies, we decided to go on our own, otherwise it will still be stagnating like everyone else. So we thought, ‘let’s start it and see where we find ourselves’. 



“I am sure that among the football associations of our size (in Africa), we are the first to start an academy without waiting for FIFA to come and bring resources.”



Many associations around Africa are propped up by government funds, but Mohapi says the LFA have long learned to stand on its own two feet.



“It&#8217;s clear government won&#8217;t help us, the economy is a bit weak in the country,” he says. “It won&#8217;t be able to sustain our dreams, so we have to do it from whatever we have as resources. On that basis, we have to learn how to work within our means, but also dream big,” he says.

Football – 2024 Hollywoodbets COSAFA Mens Championship – Lesotho v Seychelles – Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium – Gqeberha

Small Country, Big Goals: Landlocked Lesotho’s World Cup Dreams

Twenty-one countries around the world will host F1 RACES in 2025. The African continent is vying to be a part of it too in the near future-for the prestige and profits down the road.



The sound of roaring supercars is hardly unfamiliar in Africa’s emerging urban landscapes; yet, the distinctive rumble of Formula One (F1) engines has not been heard on the continent since 1993.



For context, Jurassic Park was the highest-grossing film that year, Bill Clinton had just assumed his seat in the Oval Office, and South Africa’s Rainbow Nation was not yet in technicolor.



At the 1993 South African Grand Prix, the 72-lap race at Johannesburg’s Kyalami race-track saw Alain Prost take pole position, beating Ayrton Senna. But as the finish line was crossed and typical Johannesburg thundershowers cascaded, it signaled what has now become more than three decades of Africa being the only inhabited continent without a Grand Prix on the calendar.



Twenty-one countries will host F1 races in 2025. Despite there being only 24 fixtures on the annual schedule, both South Africa and Rwanda are vying for a spot for 2027.



“You can’t call it a World Championship if you don’t have a race in Africa,” Motorsport South Africa CEO, Vic Maharaj, points out. “Besides Europe, I think Africa has more of a motorsport culture than just about any other continent on Earth,” claims veteran F1 broadcaster, Sasha Martinengo.



That passion for cars is evident everywhere—from high-performance vehicles to everyday taxis and bakkies (pickup trucks in South Africa) that drivers customize with pride.



Mandla Mdakane, who has been racing since age four and drives for the Toyota Gazoo Racing Team, has witnessed it firsthand.



“You can travel to places and see an old Toyota Cressida, decked out, paint looking lovely. People tuning their exhaust pipes, their rims. We just are car lovers as a nation.”



Seven-time F1 world champion, Lewis Hamilton, has told the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) that it cannot continue adding other locations to the F1 calendar while “ignoring Africa” and has been vocal about his desire to race in Mzanzi before putting the brakes on his career—a dream that incumbent Sports Minister, Gayton McKenzie, has vowed to fulfill.



“The chance of hosting a Formula One Grand Prix in 2027 is the most promising that we’ve had in 20 years,” Martinen- go believes.



It is a sentiment shared by Maharaj, who is a member of the governmental bid’s appropriately-titled Steering Committee. “We were at the altar twice and never got married. This time, we’ve got the rings, the dress, and everything we need”.



The wedding metaphor seems fitting, as any couple who has embarked on the costly excursion would know.



“There’s a commercial rights fee, probably in the region of around $30 million to $40 million per year,” Maharaj explains. “That’s before you’ve even started to put the event on.” Beyond that, there’s the cost of infrastructure, logistics, and operational expenses. The head of Motorsport SA puts it bluntly: “It’s like hosting the Olympics every two weeks.”



In a country riddled with potholed roads, critics argue that these funds could be better spent on infrastructure, electricity, and public services. But others, like Martinengo, feel the returns justify the investment when considering the magnitude of tourism it will generate.



“The amount of wealth and prestige that hosting a Grand Prix brings is astounding. People will come to South Africa, watch the Grand Prix in Johannesburg, then probably head to the Kruger Park or hop on a plane to spend a week in Cape Town. If we do a five-year deal, for example, by the time we do our third Grand Prix, everyone is turning a profit.”



South African political economy analyst, Daniel Silke, believes there is some legitimacy to that, but maintains that transparency is key: “I don’t think we should necessarily ig- nore the concept of a Formula One on the basis that the coun- try’s economy is struggling… that said, I wouldn’t want to see a cost-benefit assessment done by politicians. I would like to see an independently audited cost-benefit analysis.”



What was once considered South Africa’s race to lose has become a fascinating continental competition with Rwan- da. President Paul Kagame, an avid petrolhead, has actively pushed for motorsport in the East African country, even host- ing the 2024 FIA awards ceremony in Kigali last December.



South Africa’s Kyalami track has undergone extensive upgrades and is working towards meeting F1’s strict Grade 1 requirements. “Kyalami is a European-spec track now. It’s undu- lating, technical, and thrilling. Every lap there is amazing,” says Mdakane.



“If Europe and the U.S. can have multiple Grands Prix, why can’t Af- rica?” Maharaj challenges.



Although the financial obstacles cannot be dismissed, Silke can spot glimpses of the checkered flag&#8230;



“It would, I think, be beneficial for Africa as a whole. An event of the global magnitude of a Formula One Grand Prix tends to put a country on the map. Even though South Africa is certainly at a low ebb economically with low growth, an event like this, much like the World Cup, does again provide that lift for a country.”



And while here, why not showcase some of Africa’s deep- rooted—if unconventional—driving culture?



“If you want a real motorsport event in South Africa, I say let’s have a HiAce taxi race,” quips Martinengo. “Now that would be something to watch!” Motorsport encapsulates the spirit of fighting for every inch, overcoming obstacles, and never giving up—charac- teristics that resonate profoundly in Africa. The continent is ready to get behind the wheel. Now, it’s up to F1 to decide if they are too.

F1 Grand Prix of Saudi Arabia

Africa’s Return To Formula One: What Lies Ahead

As the new coach of Kenya’s Harambee Stars, Benni McCarthy is hoping to impart to the team his learnings from Manchester United, where he worked with some of the world’s top stars, including Cristiano Ronaldo.



South Africa’s all-time leading scorer in international football Benni McCarthy has long transitioned from a fearsome striker, who won the Champions League in Europe and played in England’s Premier League, to a successful coach.



He has won praise after spells at Cape Town City and AmaZulu FC in South Africa, and until the end of last season was a striker coach for boyhood idols Manchester United.



Now McCarthy has taken on the new challenge of a national team, appointed in charge of the Harambee Stars of Kenya as he looks ahead to 2027, when the country co-hosts the Africa Cup of Nations with Tanzania and Uganda.



It is a risky job because Kenya has much expectation but little past achievement, but McCarthy has an eye on shaking things up, as he explains to FORBES AFRICA how he took to coaching and what he learned at Manchester United.



“Once I started working on TV as an analyst, I obviously started spending more time going through the teams a lot more thoroughly, learning more about them so that I would be able to analyze them better,” he says. “I felt it came naturally, not knowing if it was because of my football background because I’d played and was familiar with team tactics.



“I found I was able to quickly figure out what sort of system the various managers wanted to play with the players they had at their disposal. People were very encouraging about my analysis, feeling it was on point.”



But the biggest push came from his Scottish wife, Stacey, at the couple’s home in Edinburgh. 



“My wife said to me, ‘maybe this is what you should be doing? You’d still be in football, in and around with the players’. I had missed the camaraderie of the change room plus the discipline it brings to your life and the competitive edge it gives you. My wife convinced me.



“That’s when I decided to go and do my coaching badges because I didn’t want to be in a situation where people just do me favors because I was an ex-player. I felt I needed to educate myself and learn what I didn’t know.”



These days, it is a requirement in most leagues that coaches at top-level clubs have the required qualifications, no longer relying only on time served as a player.



“I don’t think I could coach if I didn’t go on the courses,” McCarthy admits. “You think that if you’ve played in front of tens of thousands of people that you can handle it, but it’s a completely different kind of pressure.



“Having to speak in front of players, who are as good as you were, or even better, and convince them what you are trying to put across will make them even better… that’s a scary thought. I don’t think I would have survived without the training.



“It gave me the skill set on how to become more confident, to become a bit firmer, be able to speak out so that players can understand and buy into what you are saying. That’s what they teach you on these courses.”



His two seasons at Manchester United, working with some of the world’s top stars, including Cristiano Ronaldo, was also a massive learning curve at the very highest end of the game.



“We had a nice openness, and we pick each other&#8217;s brains, and we challenged each other. I felt that I could contribute,” McCarthy said.



“But it was an eye-opener because of the amount of work that goes into the job. The manager works countless hours.”



He will hope to bring all that experience and know-how into the Kenya role.



“I think [Kenya is] a sleeping giant in my eyes. I looked at the project and they are a country that has a lot of potential,” McCarthy said.



“Their conversations with me were that there was a lot of respect and admiration for me and they think my mentality and mindset, my story coming from Africa, moving to Europe at such a young age to survive and flourish under difficult circumstances, is a story Kenyans can take from and take it one notch further.”

Manchester United v Athletic Bilbao – Pre-season Friendly

The Coach Creating Stars From South Africa To Kenya

The Springboks’ season kicks off in June, with players called for alignment camps and an ever-growing list of assistants to coach Rassie Erasmus.



This year promises to be a transitional one for the world champions, South Africa, as head coach Rassie Erasmus looks to the future both on and off the pitch.



The Springboks are back-to-back Rugby World Cup winners and have set the standard in the global game in recent years, with many of the innovations developed by Erasmus, which at first were criticized, now adopted by other teams.



It means to stay on top, the Springboks need to keep evolving, on and off the pitch, and Erasmus has already made one major re-appointment to bolster their brains trust.



The return of Felix Jones as one of six assistant coaches is a key appointment. The Irishman was involved in both the Springboks’ World Cup wins in 2019 and 2023 but left after the latter to take up a position with England.



His stay there was short and he is now back in South Africa, with the Springboks able to utilize one of the best rugby brains in the world.



“We do think there are little things we have missed where we can do better and Felix is going to play a pretty vital role in that,” Erasmus says. “There is not one (Springbok assistant) coach who didn’t send me a list of things that he wants Felix to be involved with in his department.



“We know exactly what his role is going to be with us a nd if we do our hard work first, those small little edges might help us, which Felix will bring.”



Former New Zealand international flyhalf Tony Brown, ex-Ireland hooker Jerry Flannery, Deon Davids, Mzwandile Stick and scrum coach Daan Human are the other five assistants.



Erasmus has already welcomed 56 players to what are termed alignment camps, where much of the talking is done off the field to bring new and old players up to speed with what is expected of them in a Springbok jersey.



The coach has also requested an additional two tests be added to the Springboks’ schedule for 2025, which would bring their number of fixtures to a whopping 15.



That is to try and integrate non-regular players into the side quicker with the major goal in mind – building a pool of players capable of winning the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.



“We are hoping that we will get 15 matches, we have almost confirmed every single one,” Erasmus says. “It’s a really tough season. I think it’s only the second time in history that we will play that many – 2007 was 17 matches.



“But we need that because we still want to filter and sieve some players, give a lot of them opportunities whilst winning because I know that I won’t be sitting here (as coach) if we just chop and change and don’t win (matches).”

England v South Africa – Autumn Nations Series 2024

How The South African Rugby National Team Plans To Tackle 2025

Watched by as many as one billion people worldwide, the 1974 bout saw George Foreman undefeated in 40 fights—then the reigning heavyweight champion—overwhelming Muhammad Ali in the early rounds with his raw power.



George Foreman, the two-time heavyweight boxing champion who contended with Muhammad Ali in Africa’s first-ever heavyweight title fight, the Rumble in the Jungle, has died at the age of 76.



“With profound sorrow, we announce the passing of our beloved George Edward Foreman Sr., who peacefully departed on March 21, 2025, surrounded by loved ones,&#8221; Foreman&#8217;s family shared on Friday on his official Instagram page, requesting privacy as they mourn his loss.



The Rumble in the Jungle fight in Kinshasa, Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), remains one of the most iconic sporting events in history. Ali, employing his now-famous rope-a-dope strategy, absorbed Foreman’s punches before launching a counterattack that led to an eighth-round knockout, cementing his own legacy.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="612" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-117969243.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-64972" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-117969243.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-117969243-300x179.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/GettyImages-117969243-768x459.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">George Foreman poses at Imtech Arena on July 2, 2011 in Hamburg, Germany. (Photo by Martin Rose/Bongarts/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>


Born in 1949 in Houston, Texas, Foreman found direction through the Job Corps program, where he discovered boxing. His talent quickly emerged, and at just 19, he won a gold medal in the super-heavyweight division at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, waving an American flag in the ring at a time of deep racial and political tensions in the U.S.



Foreman’s professional career skyrocketed when he annihilated Joe Frazier in just two rounds to win the heavyweight title in 1973. His combination of size, strength, and relentless aggression made him one of the most feared fighters of his era.



After his loss to Ali, Foreman continued to fight before retiring in 1977. He made a stunning comeback a decade later and, in 1994, at age 45, became the oldest heavyweight champion in history by knocking out Michael Moorer. Outside the ring, he became a global business icon, earning a fortune through the George Foreman Grill, which sold over 100 million units worldwide.



Holyfield once said whereas he is happy for Foreman, he will still remain Evander Holyfield and does not wish to trade places with Big George. Holyfield beat Foreman on points in April 1999 when he defended his three titles.



Reflecting on the 50th anniversary of Rumble in the Jungle, Foreman told The Telegraph, “It amazes me that it was 50 years ago and people are still talking about it, and the term rope-a-dope. I’m just happy that I can remember it, period. I have nothing but fond memories, but at the time, I was devastated at the defeat.’’



The fight was immortalized through the lens of filmmaker Leon Gast, whose Academy Award-winning documentary, When We Were Kings, brought new depth to its narrative. The documentary, featuring insights from cultural icons like Spike Lee and Norman Mailer, framed the match as a cultural and psychological duel, an enduring metaphor for triumph against the odds.

George Foreman in Fight Pose at Nassau Coliseum

Africa’s First-Ever Heavyweight Title Contender Dies At 76

The decorated former Olympian and Zimbabwe’s sports minister Kirsty Coventry will replace Thomas Bach as President of the IOC.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote has-medium-font-size is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">
“It&#8217;s a signal that we&#8217;re truly global…”
</blockquote>



Double Olympic champion Kirsty Coventry continues to set new records after she was elected president of the International Olympic Committee on Thursday, becoming the first woman, first African and youngest-ever to hold the prestigious post in the 130-year history of the organization. Zimbabwean Coventry, 41, needed only one round of voting as she secured her mandate, replacing outgoing president Thomas Bach, who did not stand for re-election.



&#8220;It is a really powerful signal,&#8221; Coventry said. &#8220;It&#8217;s a signal that we&#8217;re truly global and that we have evolved into an organization that is truly open to diversity and we&#8217;re going to continue.&#8221;



Coventry won 49 of the 97 votes in the first round for a majority ahead of Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr, who earned 28 and finished in second. Sebastian Coe from the United Kingdom was third having managed only eight votes.



&#8220;This is not just a huge honor, but it is a reminder of my commitment to every single one of you that I will lead this organization with so much pride,&#8221; Coventry said at the IOC session in Pylos, Greece.



&#8220;I will make all of you very, very proud, and hopefully extremely confident with the choice you&#8217;ve taken today, thank you from the bottom of my heart.



&#8220;I&#8217;m going to sit down with President Bach. We&#8217;re going to have a few months for a handover takeover. And what I want to focus on is bringing all the candidates together. There were so many good ideas and exchanges over the last six months.”



The next Summer Olympic Games are in Los Angeles in 2028 and Coventry must navigate an increasingly difficult geopolitical landscape that will inevitably spill over into sport.



&#8220;We need to look at the IOC and our Olympic movement and family and decide how exactly we&#8217;re going to move forward in the future,” she said. “What is it that we want to focus on in the first six months? I have some ideas, but a part of my campaign was listening to the IOC members and hearing what they have to say and hearing how we want to move together.



&#8220;It&#8217;s extremely important we have to be a united front and we have to work together. We don&#8217;t and we might not always agree, but we have to be able to come together for the betterment of the movement.&#8221;



Coventry is a decorated former Olympian having won two gold medals, four silver and a bronze in backstroke and medley events in the pool.



She shone at the Athens (2004) and Beijing (2008) Games. &#8220;Greece seems to be my lucky charm,&#8221; she said with a smile.



Since retirement she has turned to politics having been Zimbabwe’s sports minister since 2018.



A champion of the African continent, Coventry has pledged to expand Olympic participation and ensure the Games remain relevant to younger generations.

144th International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session – Day Two

Meet The First Woman, First African And Youngest-Ever To Be Head Of The 130-Year-Old International Olympic Committee

Dr Patrice Motsepe was elected unopposed for a second term as President of Confederation of African Football (CAF) in March, a nod to the progress made since he first took office four years ago as he has proposed a new, ambitious target for the organization.



CAF, as with many sporting bodies around the world, has grappled with various challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic and the ever-evolving manner in which fans consume sport, but is now arguably on its soundest footing for some time.



Motsepe has not been without his critics, but the proof of his impact is in the numbers.



CAF has managed to increase its annual subversions to Member Associations from $200,000 to $400,000 per annum, and to its six Zonal Unions from $500,000 to $750,000. That money is earmarked for football development.



Prize money across all CAF competitions is up, not least for women’s football, with CAF investing almost five times as much in the women’s game as at the start of his tenure.



Renewed sponsorships and record television audiences have been a driver behind improved revenue that is budgeted to take CAF forward in the 2024-25 financial year.



But, Motsepe says, this is just the beginning, and he has ambitious plans for his second term.



“The tender is open for the $1-billion contribution to African football over the next eight years and it’s going very well,” Motsepe said. “We have to comply with Comesa (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa), because there are regulations in Comesa that you cannot conclude an agreement for more than four years.



“We don’t only have to comply but respect those regulations. Many of the partners we are talking to are saying, but president of CAF, you want $1-billion, we will give you $1-billion, but we need more years.



“The aim is to give every African nation $1-million (subversion) annually, starting in 2026.”



Having launched the CAF Women’s Champions League soon after taking office in 2021, Motsepe says the ladies’ game will continue to be a special focus.



“An African women’s national team may win the (FIFA) World Cup before a men’s national team,” he said. “Governments can help. The private sector. Half of our (African) population are women. Women’s football is about inspiring young girls.”

Dr Patrice Motsepe was elected unopposed for a second term at CAF’s 14th Extraordinary General Assembly in Cairo on March 12; image supplied

African Billionaire’s Ambitious Plans For Second Term As Football Boss

Qualification for Zimbabwe to the next Africa Cup of Nations finals comes at an important juncture for football in the country, which has been under a dark cloud for years.



Government interference in the running of the sport led to a ban by world football’s governing body FIFA, forcing Zimbabwe to miss an entire Africa Cup of Nations qualifying cycle.



Crumbling infrastructure has also cost the country dearly as Zimbabwe’s national team, as well as their clubs competing in continental competition, have been disqualified from hosting matches at home as their stadiums have been deemed not up to international standard.



That meant that Zimbabwe had to play their entire 2025 Cup of Nations qualifying campaign away from home, including using Uganda and South Africa as their ‘alternate’ home venue.



But despite the handicap, the Warriors advanced to next year’s finals in Morocco, where they will be competing in African football’s showpiece for the sixth time and have been drawn with Egypt, familiar foes South Africa and Angola in the pools stage.



It has proven a quick success for the German coach Michael Nees, returning to Africa for the first time in almost a decade after previously working in Rwanda, the Seychelles and South Africa.



He has galvanized the team into a more effective unit and saw them see off the challenge of both Kenya and Namibia to finish along with Cameroon in the top qualifying places in their group.



The 57-year-old was always confident of success with Zimbabwe, as he tells FORBES AFRICA.



“This is a football country. They love, they adore football. You need to go around the county, to watch the games, then you feel the real football,” he said.



His first task was to blend the mix of home and overseas-based players, many of them second-generation Zimbabweans from the diaspora born in Britain.



“You rely always on the mixture of players abroad, who play in very good leagues, and local players. It must always be some sort of mixture. Sometimes one group will dominate, sometimes maybe the other group will dominate. But I don&#8217;t think I will ever call 25 players from overseas clubs only,” he explained



“Conditions (in Africa) are not like in a professional environment in Europe. The pitches are more difficult, so the game must be a little slower, because they need time to control the ball. It cannot be a fluent passing game, like it would be on a nice pitch. So we have to recognize that that and this is where local players who can use the conditions better have a role to play.



“You need to see that you get a team harmony, where there is no superiority and inferiority, where everybody is respected and regarded,” he adds.



“Some were fortunate to be born in the right place at the right time, and maybe get the right education and training, but that doesn&#8217;t mean that a player who grew up with inferior conditions has less talent. He had maybe had less conditions to develop his talent, but maybe the talent is still hidden, and we need to unlock that potential.”



“We have to take it step by step, from training to training, from match to match. I think that would be for us, the best approach. In this group, I’d say South Africa, with seven home games in 10 matches, have the best opportunity ever to go to a World Cup. I mean, which team has seven home matches?



We don&#8217;t have home matches. Nigeria, on paper, would have the second-best chance, but they’ve had problems the group. But I don&#8217;t think the group is decided yet,” he says, hinting that Zimbabwe might yet have a say in the tussle for a World Cup place.

Football – 2025 AFCON Qualifiers – Namibia v Zimbabwe – Orlando Stadium – Soweto

‘This Is A Football Country’: The 57-year-old Coach Confident Of Success With Zimbabwe

Nigerian Ndubuisi Egbo is little known on his own continent even though he played professionally in both Egypt and South Africa and kept goal for the Super Eagles.



His playing career ended in Albania, a most unlikely destination for an African footballer but a country where he has gone on to write his own piece of personal history.



Egbo holds the distinction of being the only African coach to have won a league title in Europe, hopefully breaking down an up-to-now formidable barrier of entry.



African coaches in Europe have been sparse; a handful of Angolans in the Portuguese league, the Senegalese Omar Daf in France’s Ligue 2 and former Nigerian superstar Sunday Oliseh, who took Fortuna Sittard up to the Dutch first division but has battled to get a job since.



But Egbo’s achievement is something special, even if in one of the smaller European countries, renowned for the repressive dictatorship that kept it closed off from the world for some three decades until the early 1990s.



“Even before I ended my career, I already started with the goalkeeping coaching license. When I was playing, a lot of coaches saw something in me, and many of them told me ‘you are going to be a good coach in the future’ because of the way they saw that I read the game. So that was in my mind early, that when I finish my playing career, I was to go into coaching,” he tells FORBES AFRICA.



Egbo started in 2011 as goalkeeper coach, and then from 2013 as assistant coach with FK Bylis. He joined FK Tirana as goalkeeper coach and assistant coach in 2014 and was three times asked to step in as caretaker coach when there was a change at the helm of the team.



“I refused, because I know how huge and big Tirana are as a team. It was only in 2019 that I accepted



the head coach role, when I finally believed it was the right time. I took my time to learn a lot from the men who coached Tirana, and also the experience I have with my coaches in Nigeria. I saw a lot of the mistakes, the positives and the negatives and from there I created my own philosophy of approach and methodology of work and that helped me a lot. And also knowing the language, being able to communicate with my players, not needing any translator, made it much easier for me to manage.”



It was a dream season for Egbo, who took over with the side in the doldrums but very quickly lifted them all the way to the title.



“My first game in charge was against Partizani, which is the biggest derby in the country, and we have not won for six years. I had a premonition that we are going to win the game even before the game and when we won the game, it was the catalyst that propelled. We went 16 games unbeaten, jumping from eighth out of 10 teams and hauling in a 12-point deficit. It was like we came back from the dead to be alive again.”



It was a groundbreaking achievement for an African in the European football industry.



“I never thought about that until towards the end of that season, when we were almost sure mathematically that were going to win the league. And then people started to call me from Nigeria and say, ‘do you know that you&#8217;re going to be the first African to win a league in Europe’. But in my work, I don&#8217;t look at the accolades. I&#8217;m the type who wants to let my work speak for itself. That is how I do my thing. At the end of the day like I always say to my players, ‘let us do the job’. And at end of the season then we can start to count our gains and our losses.”

Ndubuisi Egbo; Image suppliedw

The Only African Coach To Have Won A League Title In Europe Who Lets His Work Speak For Him

Standfirst: Africa will be the stage for FIFA World Cup matches for only the second time in the 100-year history of football’s greatest show when Morocco co-host the 2030 tournament with Spain and Portugal.



It follows South Africa’s successful tournament in 2010, when the frowns of a doubting global audience turned to cheers and smiles as the country created a party atmosphere like no other yet seen at a World Cup.



Those glorious four weeks changed perceptions about the country and the continent, and has left a lasting legacy in terms of infrastructure and goodwill, not all of which has been properly utilized in the ensuing 15 years.



It will be Morocco’s turn in five years’ time, though the goalposts have shifted since 2010.



Back then, the World Cup was a 32-team tournament that has since been expanded to 48 sides, a new format that kicks in at the next edition in 2026 when the United States, Canada and Mexico are co-hosts.



Just how many matches Morocco will host in 2030 is still to be determined, but however many, it will not have the same heavy burden on stadia, training facilities and tourism infrastructure that South Africa endured.



Still, the North African nation plans to invest greatly ahead of the tournament, the bulk of which is likely to be played in Spain.



A proposed new 115,000-seater Hassan II Stadium is set to be constructed in Casablanca, which would make it the largest purpose-built stadium in the world. Construction has yet to start.



There is another new 68,700-seater venue proposed for Rabat which is currently under construction.



FIFA, in their wisdom, have announced that the opening three games of the World Cup will be staged in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, as a nod to the centenary celebrations of the first tournament held in the latter in 1930.



That has been criticized by climate campaigners as creating too large a carbon footprint, but once the action shifts to the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco from game number four, it will be a condensed event with simpler travel links.



While this will be Morocco’s moment to shine, it is also a chance for Africa to reaffirm its position in the global game by proving an able and desirable co-host.



With the new 48-team format, there are only so many countries that can be a single host of the tournament. Saudi Arabia will be in 2034 because they can develop the infrastructure they need.



Certainly, within an African context, the co-hosting model looks the most likely when the continent’s next turn comes around in 2050 or 2054.



“The Morocco, Portugal and Spain partnership brings together and unites Africa and Europe through football, and inspires all of us to work together and make the world a better place,” Confederation of African football president Dr Patrice Motsepe said.



He lobbied hard for the tournament in Morocco and while there was no serious opposition to the Bid, he made sure African nations united behind it.



“The 2030 World Cup is a source of immense pride for the entire African continent. This is truly Africa’s World Cup. Morocco has set the standard for Africa. The work (the country) has done serves as a model for sustainable football development across the continent.”



Five years may seem a long way away, but it goes by in the blink of an eye and there is much work to be done by Morocco to be ready for the tournament.



But they will add a different flavor to the Iberian duo, and a welcome dash of North African culture.



Morocco have bid several times before for the World Cup, including losing out to South Africa in 2010, but their time has now come.



They will want to put on a good show primarily for themselves, but also to showcase that African football deserves its place at the top table. It is a moment for the whole continent to celebrate.

2026 FIFA World Cup European Qualifiers draw to be held in Zurich

‘Truly Africa’s World Cup’: Morocco’s 2030 Football Showcase To Be A Celebration For The Entire Continent

It’s never happened in the history of football, that a nation with less than one million people qualifies for the World Cup, buy maybe this Comoros Islands coach can make it happen.



Italian coach Stefano Cusin started his adventures in African football with the tough assignment of trying to improve the fortunes of South Sudan, which, as the world’s youngest nation, had much catching up to do.



His time spent in the country’s capital Juba helped transform South Sudan into a more competitive outfit, earning their rivals respect and the 56-year-old coach a good reputation.



When he took on the job as Comoros Islands coach, it was a step-up in terms of potential even if the Comoros are among the continent’s smallest countries, and in footballing terms, also young.



They exceeded expectations by qualifying for the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon three years ago and at that tournament inflicted a shock defeat on four-time champions Ghana before booking an unlikely spot in the knockout rounds.



Comoros did not make it to the last finals in the Ivory Coast but Cusin has engineered a return for the small island archipelago to the next finals, which will be held in Morocco in December.



This time it was no shock but what was unexpected was the Comoros finishing top of their qualifying group, ahead of perennial contenders Tunisia and even beating the north Africans away in Tunis during the qualifying campaign.



“It&#8217;s something unbelievable, even if we have really good players. Of course, we could not imagine beating Tunisia. We did prepare as best we could because in our minds we did want to get a result. But we didn’t really expect it because Tunisia hadn’t lost a home game for some 14 years. It was an unbelievable result and we were very happy with it,” Cusin tells FORBES AFRICA.



Comoros might have a small population but do have the added benefit of a large émigré community in France, most settled in and around Marseille. They provide the bulk of the team.



“Look, all of them are Comorians. Of course, most of them grew up in Europe so this is a big advantage because they have had a background of good training. Most of them played for France at the youth national team level. So, we are talking about quality players. They are not amateurs.



“From the beginning of this mission, I noticed how much the squad has the right mentality, the right plan and very good players,” he adds.



It does mean there is little chance for homegrown players to make the team.



“It&#8217;s a big step because most of our players are playing in France, some in Ligue 1, or in the Netherlands in their top league,” adds the coach, born in Montreal, Canada, but who grew up in Italy and whose coaching career has been wide and varied.



“But we are trying to bring some of the best local talents with us. There&#8217;s potential, but it’s still a very young football country. I’m enjoying the challenge because for me personally, this is a place that we can build something, it’s a place where the people want to work, they want to grow, they want to improve.”



With a place at the Cup of Nations finals secure, the Comoros can now concentrate on the World Cup qualifiers, which dominate the international schedule in Africa for most of 2025.



“You know, our target was to qualify for AFCON. Now we’ve make our target come true. The World Cup is the dream. I mean, if it happens, it would be unbelievable, but it&#8217;s very difficult because in our group we are up against some very strong teams. It’s never happened in the history of football, that a nation with less than one million people qualifies for the World Cup. But in any case, we will fight for our dream.



“Football is a sport for dreamers. So, if you are not a dreamer, you shouldn’t be a coach,” he adds.



More realistic is to have a good showing at the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco.



“We must go step by step. The World Cup qualifiers will help us to gain experience and to grow again. And then we will arrive in Morocco without expectations. But at the same time, we will not fear any team. And I suppose that&#8217;s the best place to be. There&#8217;s no pressure, but at the same time, I know that we can do well because of what the team has already,” Cusin adds.

Wigan Athletic v Wolverhampton – Sky Bet Championship

‘A Sport For Dreamers’: The Italian Coach Who Started His Journey In African Football

Anthony Joshua is targeting a showdown with Tyson Fury in 2025, but the two-time heavyweight champion isn’t just focused on reclaiming the world title — he’s also investing in Nigeria’s future.



British-Nigerian boxing star Anthony Joshua recently expressed his determination to reclaim the world champion title after paying Nigeria&#8217;s President Bola Tinubu a New Year&#8217;s Day courtesy visit.



“Ups and downs happen, but I can’t stop now. I keep riding the wave. My goal is to become a three-time world champion and face Tyson Fury in 2025,” Joshua told reporters.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="698" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG_20250103_154612-1024x698.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-64318" style="width:612px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG_20250103_154612-1024x698.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG_20250103_154612-300x204.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG_20250103_154612-768x524.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG_20250103_154612-1536x1047.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG_20250103_154612-2048x1396.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo courtesy of X</figcaption></figure></div>


He met with Tinubu at his Lagos residence, where he presented the president with an autographed boxing glove. Tinubu expressed pride in Joshua’s achievements, calling him &#8220;a true champion and worthy ambassador of Nigeria&#8221;.



&#8220;Anthony Joshua’s dedication and achievements continue to inspire millions daily,&#8221; Tinubu shared in a post on X. &#8220;Thank you for the autographed glove — it is a symbol of perseverance and excellence. A symbol of what Nigerians are known for.&#8221;



On returning to his roots in December, Joshua began his visit in Sagamu, Ogun State — his hometown —on the outskirts of commercial capital Lagos.



The visit was marked by warm receptions as he connected with residents and local leaders. A highlight of the visit was his meeting with Governor Dapo Abiodun in the state capital, Abeokuta. Following their discussions, the Ogun State Government announced plans to build a state-of-the-art Anthony Joshua Indoor Boxing Ring in Abeokuta.



&#8220;Joshua’s achievements on the global stage bring pride to Ogun State, and we are committed to supporting him while celebrating the immense talents that put our state on the world map,” the governor’s office stated. Joshua was also named Ogun State’s official sports ambassador, and he is set to play a key role in the Gateway Games National Sports Festival, where he will light the ceremonial torch in May.



The boxer also visited Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who praised him for his determination and highlighted Lagos’ role as a hub for culture and &#8220;endless&#8221; inspiration. &#8220;As Anthony prepares for a bigger and better 2025, we encourage him to keep inspiring the world with his grit and determination,&#8221; Sanwo-Olu said.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="683" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG_20250103_154621-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-64317" style="width:556px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG_20250103_154621-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG_20250103_154621-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG_20250103_154621-768x512.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG_20250103_154621-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/IMG_20250103_154621-2048x1365.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo courtesy of X</figcaption></figure></div>


Joshua, 35, rose to international fame by winning his first 22 professional fights, holding the heavyweight title from 2016 to 2019. Though he faced setbacks, including two losses to Oleksandr Usyk, Joshua rebounded in 2023 with a series of victories, including a knockout win over Cameroonian boxer Francis Ngannou early last year.



&#8220;To all Nigerians in the diaspora, you have a place to call home. I’ll continue to put my feet on the soil here and give back to communities,&#8221; declared Joshua, ranked by Forbes as the 16th highest-paid athlete globally in 2024, with earnings of $83 million

RING Magazine Awards London

‘A Place To Call Home’: Celebrity Boxer On Reconnecting With Nigeria As He Eyes Third World Title

South Africa boasts a rich potential of sprint stars. Akani Simbine’s coach Werner Prinsloo weighs in on what’s needed to give the world a run for its money.



South Africa has a new wave of exciting young sprinters to add to the established talent of Akani Simbine, which led to a surprise silver medal in the 4 x 100-meters at the Paris Olympic Games. Simbine, Shaun Maswanganyi, Bradley Nkoana and Bayanda Walaza stunned the field to finish second and underline the rich potential of sprint stars in the country.



But nurturing talent from young prospects to the finish is both a labor of love and a long process, with many pitfalls, and highs and lows, along the way.



Werner Prinsloo has been coach of Simbine, 31, for the last 14 years and is regarded as one of the top sprint trainers in the country, and by extension, the African continent.



He is excited by the prospects for several athletes coming through, but has also seen this movie before, and it did not end as he had hoped last time.



“Sprinters seem to come in waves. If you go back to 2014 or 2015, there was a group of very good sprinters and we thought we were going to dominate the world. But it didn’t happen. They come and go,” Prinsloo tells FORBES AFRICA.



“It’s up to the coaches to nurture the talent and we’ve got a group of really good trainers that can manage these sprinters over time. The big issue we have, and we see this not just in South Africa, is the fact that a lot of juniors don’t transition to the senior level.



“That’s our biggest challenge, because we have a big group of high school sprinters that are very, very good. But taking the next step is the challenge.



“Someone like Akani is an example. He started with me at the age of 17 and he wasn’t a top sprinter in his age group. But over the last 14 years he matured and got better, and that’s what we need to be able to get right with the current youngsters.”



The reason why many promising sprinters fail is largely a socio-economic one, according to Prinsloo.



“There are a lot of factors and we’ve had these discussions among coaches and administrators so many times. A lot of these kids, when they’re in high school, they have a system to work in, they have a coach. Everything’s done for them,” he says.



“Some get to university and that continues, but most don’t. So, what happens then? They don’t have that support system anymore. Now they have to do everything for themselves. Find and pay for a coach, find a physiotherapist and travel from wherever they live to training.



“Most kids come from poor backgrounds and they just can’t afford that. Unless they can somehow go to university, they are lost to the system, despite their enormous potential.”



A MEN’S 100M is  generally over in under 10 seconds and to the untrained eye, it just looks like guys trying to run very fast. But Prinsloo reveals there is a real science behind it and a mix of good genes and working on the mechanics of each portion of the race is vital. “People underestimate real sprinting. Everyone can run, but sprinting is a skill that needs to be developed over time,” he says. “Obviously, the best of the best are born with what they call ‘fast twitch muscle fibers’. And they have more of it than everyone else.



“So that gives them a bit of an edge, because they have that ‘speed gene’. Most of the Jamaicans are born with it and those are the guys that become the top sprinters.



“And then over time, it’s just developing the mechanics of sprinting. Some of the guys get it at a young age, some need more maturity over the years to develop it.



“If you break down the 100m, you have your start phase, you have a drive phase, then you have an acceleration and transition phase, which goes into the maximum speed phase. All in under 10 seconds.



“And in each one of these phases, the mechanics are different. The public don’t see it. They just see the guys coming out of the blocks and running, but in each phase the biomechanics are different. We work on each separately.



“Akani is one of the fastest in the world in the maximum speed phase, that is the best part of his race. And we know if we can work on him to get better in the acceleration phase, for example, that will put him in a good position.”



Simbine remains the gold standard, so to speak, in South African sprinting, but has yet to pick up an individual medal at the Olympics despite coming agonizingly close on two occasions.



His time of 9.93s in the Tokyo final in 2021 was four hundredths of a second behind bronze medalist Andre De Grasse. Marcell Jacobs won gold in 9.80.



He bettered his time in Paris to 9.82, and on this occasion was one hundredth of a second behind Fred Kerley (9.81) for the bronze and fractions of a second behind gold medal winner Noah Lyles (9.79).



“Leading up to Paris, we said, ‘look, we have to make this the year to perform’. And so everything in the last few years was geared towards getting him ready,” Prinsloo says.



“We got to a point where in training and in our approach to the work that we do, we found this groove. A big factor was his mentality, his emotional state. He was in a much better space. And that builds a lot of confidence in athletes. “It’s unfortunate he couldn’t get into the medals in the 100m, but the time was good. He ran a personal best and a national record, and that set up everything for the relay silver.”



Prinsloo confirms that the next games in 2028 are very much in Simbine’s sights. “We are looking to the next Olympics in Los Angeles. We are so close to the 9.7s and that’s what we’re pushing for now. It’s going to be small things that will get us there.”

The Olympic Games-Paris 2024

Getting Up to Speed: On South Africa’s Exciting Young Sprinters

In the heart of Kigali is a cricket stadium transforming lives and where young people are finding hope, purpose and opportunity.



Just 12 kilometers east of Kigali’s bustling city center, where real estate developments, commerce, and technology dominate the landscape, lies a contrasting haven. Here, the sounds of urban life give way to the chatter of children, their laughter carried by the crisp air as they dart across a lush green field. Feet pound the grass, the coach calls out instructions, and a young player dives to catch a brightly-colored cricket ball mid-air, prompting an eruption of cheers and chants of “Howzat!”



What might appear at first glance to be a typical sports ground is anything but. This is Gahanga Cricket Stadium, a unique nexus of youth development, inclusion, and education. Beneath its striking thatched roof – a nod to Rwandan architectural heritage – is a story of resilience and hope, a place where a game of cricket has become a tool for building brighter futures.



The journey to Gahanga began with Christopher Shale, a British businessman and cricket enthusiast, who spent years in Rwanda without access to a proper cricket facility.



Shale dreamed of creating a home for cricket in Rwanda, one that would be open to all, regardless of background. Tragically, Shale passed away in 2011, but his vision endured through the efforts of his family, friends, and the charity, Cricket Builds Hope.



In 2017, the Gahanga Cricket Stadium was inaugu- rated as a state-of-the-art facility spanning 4.5 hectares, complete with international standard grounds and a pa- vilion.



Will Hammond, the Director of Cricket Builds Hope, sees cricket as more than just a game, he sees it as a means to unite communities and create opportunities. Inspired by Shale’s vision, he is committed to using the sport to transform lives and build a legacy of inclusion and hope in Rwanda.



“Christopher believed cricket could bring people to- gether,” says Hammond. “His dream wasn’t just about sports but about creating a space where young people could find purpose and opportunity.”



Today, Gahanga is much more than a stadium. It is a hub of activity where children from diverse back- grounds converge to play, learn, and grow. On weekends, the facility comes alive with them participating in crick- et programs, some learning the sport for the first time, others sharpening their skills. The programs are free and intentionally inclusive, breaking down barriers of economic and social divides.



English trainer and Head of Educational Program, Justin Mugabo, who has been part of the Gahanga team since 2022, notes the transformative impact of combin- ing cricket with education. “When I started, we had about 120 children. Now, we have over 400 every week- end. Many come from disadvantaged backgrounds, in- cluding street-connected children. Through cricket and



English programs, we’ve seen incredible improvements in behavior, language skills, and academic performance,” he notes.



Gahanga’s reach extends beyond children. The Sports for Change program has also empowered over 330 women through workshops on financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and social health. Women’s cricket is also thriving. In 2022, Rwanda’s women’s Under-19 crick- et team made history by qualifying for the Under-19 World Cup in South Africa, a testament to the rising tide of talent nurtured on this field. The stadium’s impact is deeply felt in the community.



Keza Beatrice, a young participant, reflects on her journey: “We came here without speaking English, but now we speak it fluently. Cricket has taught us so much more than just the game.”



Mugabo adds: “The community appreciates what we’re doing here. Parents tell us their children have changed, not just in how they play cricket but in how they engage with the world.”



Running a facility of this scale comes with its challenges though. Will acknowledges that maintaining Gahanga costs around $80,000 annually; funds are raised through partnerships and donations. Yet, the team remains committed to ensuring the stadium remains free and accessible to all.



“We ensure long-term impact through seed funding, savings groups, and income-generating activities. We want to replicate this model across Rwanda, bringing cricket and its benefits to even more districts,” says Country Manager Joseph Karemera.



In many ways, the stories of the students, teachers, and every- one involved in the Gahanga Cricket Stadium embody the spirit of Rwanda – a nation defined by its unwavering focus on building a bright and inclusive future. Here, under the iconic thatched roofs that pay homage to Rwandan heritage, cricket is more than a sport. It is a bridge to education, inclusion, and empowerment. As the sun sets over Gahanga, the laughter of children fades into the evening air. For them, this is not just a stadium; it is a sanctuary, classroom and home.

PHOTO-2024-07-19-14-21-44[5]

Ground Support: Cricket For A Cause In Rwanda

One of the best defenders on the African continent, Nigerian footballer ASHLEIGH PLUMPTRE, on her move to Saudi Arabia, where she is helping grow the game for young women.



Ashleigh Plumptre has never taken the conventional route. Born and raised in Leicester, England, she decided to play international football for Nigeria, eligible through a paternal grandfather from Lagos.



And last year she gave up playing in the English Women’s Super League to move to the fledgling league in Saudi Arabia, where she turns out for Al-Ittihad from Jeddah.



Both, she says, have been voyages of discovery and purposeful paths she has chosen as she drops another bombshell: “I don’t love football enough just to play it.”



That is bold coming from a player who has been to the very top of the game, featured at a FIFA World Cup and viewed as one of the best defenders on the African continent.



But Plumptre has always been searching for more from the game than what the pitch can offer. For the 26-year-old, cultural interactions and gaining a better understanding of the world have been equally, if not more, important.


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="906" height="1024" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Ashleigh-Plumptre-Image-courtesy-Ittihad-906x1024.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-64181" style="width:598px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Ashleigh-Plumptre-Image-courtesy-Ittihad-906x1024.jpeg 906w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Ashleigh-Plumptre-Image-courtesy-Ittihad-265x300.jpeg 265w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Ashleigh-Plumptre-Image-courtesy-Ittihad-768x868.jpeg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Ashleigh-Plumptre-Image-courtesy-Ittihad-1358x1536.jpeg 1358w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Ashleigh-Plumptre-Image-courtesy-Ittihad-1811x2048.jpeg 1811w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 906px) 100vw, 906px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Ashleigh Plumptre; Image courtesy Ittihad</figcaption></figure></div>


“I am still really competitive and I want to grow as a player and as a person, but the fulfilling part for me is the fact that you feel like you’re having a genuine impact on people’s lives here,” Plumptre tells FORBES AFRICA of her move to Saudi Arabia, where the women’s competition was only formed three years ago.



“Take football away, some of these girls, their experiences, whether it’s in school or as families, are very different from the way I was brought up. We can have conversations that I would never have if I was anywhere else.



“It’s the same reason I decided to play for Nigeria. It was a journey of discovering my heritage and knowing about a different culture and that, for me, is the kind of thing that will stay with you when you stop playing.”



There may have been concerns that moving from one of the best leagues in the world to one that is still finding its feet as a competition may have hurt her international ambitions with the Super Falcons, but she does not believe this is the case.



“No, not at all,” she says. “My Nigeria coach (Randy Waldrum) has just left now, but when I joined Ittihad and I told him about this move, his only question was, ‘who is your coach’.



“It was not like he was going to change my mind or anything, that was made up about the move, but I told him (at the time it was former United States national team player Kelly Lindsey) and he said, ‘oh, she is the best captain I ever had’ and that she had played for him.



“He understood, based on my personality, why I decided to move to Saudi. Obviously, we have a different national team coach now (Justin Madugu), but he’s been checking up on me and making sure I’m okay and recovering well (from injury).”



The society in Saudi Arabia has become far more open in recent years and opportunities for girls to play the game have seen some 80,000 sign up to play school soccer, she says, something that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.



Plumptre is enjoying her role as a mentor and someone who is helping to grow the game in the country.



“The international players all live in a compound around other families and there are a lot of boys and girls that play on a little turf pitch,” she says. “There are girls, probably about seven or eight years old, who are playing with the boys. They come to our games, and they want to participate.



“I have this thirst for wanting to grow and learn about people, and ultimately, I’m given that opportunity here. I guess I’m a ‘player mom’ sometimes. But I like that and it puts me in situations where I have to learn and always ask questions.



“I’ve got three younger siblings and I always say to them, ‘in life, we’re so accustomed to just being told what to think, whereas we don’t put ourselves in situations to actually be around different people and ask ‘why?’, rather than just already having this pre-conditioned opinion on something based on what we’re told’. “I’ll put myself in the situation to learn, and keep asking, ‘why?’, without judgment. Every day is a learning day for me.”

Ashleigh Plumptre 1; Image courtesy Ittihad

From The Super League To Saudi: A Nigerian Footballer’s Journey

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



Netflix is quickly adding to its slate of live sports programming by launching its weekly live broadcasts of the WWE “Raw” program on Monday with a star-studded premiere episode, just weeks after it streamed the NFL Christmas Day games and the Mike Tyson and Jake Paul fight.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



Netflix will kick off its partnership with WWE with a premiere episode set to air Monday, which will feature a star-studded slate of guests including an appearance from rapper Travis Scott, who wrote the new WWE “Raw”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.billboard.com/music/rb-hip-hop/travis-scott-wwe-raw-theme-song-netflix-debut-1235831839/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">theme song</a>.



Other wrestling stars slated for appearances at the premiere include John Cena, the wrestler-turned-actor who said he will formally retire from wrestling this year, as well as Logan Paul, Cody Rhodes and Roman Reigns.



The premiere launches Netflix’s weekly broadcasts of WWE “Raw,” one of its flagship wrestling programs that previously aired Mondays on the USA Network, which still retains the rights to another major WWE program, “SmackDown,” in the United States.



Netflix will, however, broadcast “SmackDown” to viewers in some non-U.S. territories, as well as specials like “WrestleMania,” “SummerSlam” and “Royal Rumble” for international viewers.



Netflix and WWE struck the deal, valued at $5 billion according to a Securities and Exchange Commission&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1973266/000119312524012602/d715345d424b3.htm" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">filing</a>, for a 10-year period, though Netflix has the option to exit after the first five years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-does-the-premiere-episode-air">When Does The Premiere Episode Air?</h2>



The first WWE “Raw” stream begins at 8 p.m. EST on Monday, Jan. 6. The event will air live from the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. For viewers who miss the live broadcast,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/how-to-watch-wwe-on-netflix" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Netflix</a>&nbsp;says episodes of WWE “Raw” will be available to watch immediately after the live show ends. The premiere episode will feature a match between reigning women’s world champion Liv Morgan, who will fight to defend her title from Rhea Ripley. Other matches during the episode include Roman Reigns vs. Solo Sikoa, Drew McIntyre vs. Jey Uso and CM Punk vs. Seth &#8220;Freakin&#8221; Rollins.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-fact">Surprising Fact</h2>



WWE also&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2024/02/08/wwe-and-x-announce-partnership-to-air-5-minute-wrestling-matches/">partnered</a>&nbsp;with X last year to broadcast 5-minute wrestling matches on the Elon Musk-owned social media platform.&nbsp;<a href="https://x.com/WWE" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">WWE</a>&nbsp;maintains a large audience on X, with more than 14 million followers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">Tangent</h2>



Billionaire&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/vincent-mcmahon/">Vince McMahon</a>&nbsp;and his wife Linda McMahon founded WWE together in 1980, and have since separated but not divorced, with Linda leaving the brand in 2009 to pursue a political career, including two failed Senate campaigns and a stint leading the Small Business Administration. Linda was named by President-elect Donald Trump as his pick for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8rl8knmg8eo" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Secretary of Education</a>&nbsp;in November. Vince McMahon first resigned from his role as CEO and chairman of WWE in 2022 after an&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/wwes-vince-mcmahon-agreed-to-pay-12-million-in-hush-money-to-four-women-11657289742?mod=article_inline" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">investigation</a>&nbsp;revealed he had made more than $12 million in hush money payments to four women, all formerly affiliated with WWE, to prohibit them from making claims of sexual harassment against McMahon. McMahon was&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/wwe-board-elects-vince-mcmahon-executive-chairman-11673401713" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">elected</a>&nbsp;as executive chairman again in January 2023, but he&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/wwe-founder-vince-mcmahon-resigns-ex-employee-accuses-lawsuit-sexual-a-rcna135981" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">resigned again</a>&nbsp;in January 2024 after a lawsuit filed by a former employee accused him of sex trafficking, abuse and sexual assault, which McMahon denied as “lies.” The U.S. Department of Justice is reportedly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2024/05/30/vince-mcmahon-sex-trafficking-lawsuit-wwe-federal-probe/73912612007/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">probing</a>&nbsp;McMahon’s sex trafficking allegations. Another lawsuit filed in October&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/vince-mcmahon-wwe-accused-allowing-rampant-sexual-exploitation-young-b-rcna176988" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">accused</a>&nbsp;both Vince and Linda McMahon, as well as the WWE and parent company TKO Holdings, of knowingly enabling former ringside announcer Melvin Phillips, Jr. to sexually exploit children in the 1980s.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



The WWE partnership marks Netflix’s latest dive into live programming, following a string of unsuccessful attempts and its first forays into sports streams. The streaming service first started livestreaming in 2023 with a Chris Rock comedy special, but bungled a live “Love is Blind” reunion, which crashed and aired hours after it was scheduled, that same year. The company’s first sports broadcast, the highly anticipated fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, attracted 60 million viewers but was plagued by glitches and delays that frustrated viewers and sparked a firestorm of concern online among sports fans about whether Netflix could handle streaming the NFL’s Christmas Day games and WWE “Raw” broadcasts. The NFL broadcast, which averaged 30 million&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/nfl-netflix-christmas-b438221c22de046d9417e5a668f6f659" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">viewers</a>&nbsp;for its two games and a Beyoncé halftime performance, was largely&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6018940/2024/12/25/netflix-nfl-broadcasting-streaming-christmas/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">glitch-free</a>&nbsp;aside from minor reported buffering and audio issues.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-further-reading">Further Reading</h2>



<a href="https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2024-01-23/wwe-raw-heads-to-netflix-in-2025" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">WWE’s ‘Raw’ will stream live on Netflix next year in major sports rights deal</a>&nbsp;(Los Angeles Times)



<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6018940/2024/12/25/netflix-nfl-broadcasting-streaming-christmas/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Netflix has up-and-down first foray into NFL broadcasting after early glitch</a>&nbsp;(The Athletic)



<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/vince-mcmahon-wwe-accused-allowing-rampant-sexual-exploitation-young-b-rcna176988" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Vince McMahon and WWE accused of allowing &#8216;rampant&#8217; sexual exploitation of young boys by announcer in new lawsuit</a>&nbsp;(NBC News)

Monday Night RAW

What To Know About WWE Streaming On Netflix: Premiere On Monday Featuring John Cena, Travis Scott, Logan Paul

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO SWIM SOUTH AFRICA’S FALSE BAY, with nothing but a swimming costume and a tenacious will to cross the 34km route, contending with white sharks and jellyfish stings, and in freezing temperatures that can tear into your soul? Here’s why more open water swimmers are signing up, and why it’s cheaper than the English channel.



In 1488 Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias described False Bay as the “Gulf between the mountains”. It is the largest true bay in South Africa and got its name from frustrated sailors who thought they had reached the tip of Africa, only to realize that Hangklip was not Cape Point. This ‘false bay’ is home to a diverse array of species that include whales, dolphins, sharks and seals swimming alongside octopi and a wide variety of fish. The crisp, clear water is the perfect home for the nutrients and phytoplankton that support marine life – and for a growing number of open water swimmers in search of adventure.



“False Bay is growing in international stature as a challenging and enticing swim,” Derrick Frazer, owner of Big Bay Events, a company that trains open water swimmers, tells FORBES AFRICA. “Between 1989 and 2012, numerous attempts were made to swim False Bay but only five were successful. In 2019, a six-person relay team successfully swam it as an investigative swim to see if opening up the route would find interest among swimmers and, since then, more and more people are being drawn to this swim.”



Frazer has seen an exponential increase in international swimmers joining his team each season. In 2021, he had one international swimmer, by 2024, it was three and in 2025, he has six international swimmers already booked for the year. “We’ve supported a total of 35 crossings at a 100% success rate,” he adds.



To provide a bit of context into exactly how challenging the False Bay swim can be, the best point of comparison is the English Channel – the open water swim from England to France is around 32 kilometers in water temperatures of around 15-18 degrees Celsius with the swimming window open from the end of June to the start of September. Any times outside of those involve colder temperatures, shorter days and darker swims. False Bay is approximately 34 kilometers and the water temperature dips to as low as 11 degrees in winter. The summer months of January and February are a more pleasant crossing at 20 degrees, but swimmers tend to pick their swim around the weather and the currents.



The swim route across False Bay can be taken in two ways. Swimmers can opt into swimming from Rooi Els to Miller’s Point or from Pringle Bay to Buffels Bay in the Western Cape. Both routes are around 34 kilometers and can be swum at any time of the year – although avoiding the south eastern



wind or South Easter is recommended. When declaring the False Bay swim official in 2019, the False Bay Swimming Association suggested that it be done in spring and autumn.



“The sheer distance, combined with False Bay’s reputation as the ‘white shark capital of the world’, and the constantly changing conditions in the bay, is drawing adventurers,” Carina Bruwer, marathon swimmer and member of the False Bay Swimming Association Board, tells FORBES AFRICA.



As the first South African woman, and third person ever, to successfully cross False Bay nearly 20 years ago, she understands the allure of this incredibly challenging swim.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-long-cold-beauty">The long, cold beauty</h4>



Bruwer says: “You have to contend with cold water, unpredictable currents and the possibility of wildlife encounters making it both a physical and mental challenge. Completing it offers a tremendous sense of accomplishment as you cross from one iconic point to another.”



In 1989, the first-ever swim across False Bay was made by Annemie Landmeters in 9:56h, a record that remained unbroken until November 30, 2022, when South African Katherine Persson finished it in 8:9h. In 2019, the fastest swim for a male swimmer was made by South African Barend Nortje in 9:17h who then broke his record in February 2024 at 7:28h. Both are in the Guinness World Records. Both are joined by a growing legion of open water swimmers wanting to experience the remarkable.



“Open water swimming has seen huge growth worldwide and swimmers are constantly looking for new and more extreme challenges,” says Frazer. “It is a compelling swim, particularly for Africans, as it sits in our backyard, it is one of our longest recognized routes, and it’s cold – the chilly waters of the Cape make the Channel swim feel warm by comparison. Swimmers who’ve trained a lot in Cape Town go to the Channel and say, ‘wow, this water is so warm, it’s fantastic’.”



It is also extremely beautiful. Unlike its English colleague, False Bay offers breathtaking scenery along the Cape Peninsula and the thrill of sharing the water with local marine wildlife.



“There’s a mystique about it. People want challenges and something new, and there’s also an element of danger to it,” says Troy Mayers (53), who was the 18th person to complete the swim.



“It’s a very difficult swim and it is unique and not a lot of people have done it, which makes it feel like you’re one of a few people brave enough to tackle it. You definitely have to be brave to sign up for False Bay.”



This is a sentiment shared by Kimberlee De Wit (36), Wendy Viola (59), Gillian Dusterwald (60) and Teru Adamson (55) who crossed False Bay on October 9, 2024. They were the last four people to complete the swim that has now only ever had 48 people cross its depths since it became an official swim in 2019.



“We felt it was important to demonstrate that big swims aren’t just for elite swimmers,” Viola tells FORBES AFRICA. “Average swimmers like us can achieve great things and conquer tough swims if we work together, believe in ourselves and have the right attitude. We were inspired to do this swim by sitting on the beach, looking across the bay and wondering if we could do it.”



The women worked with Scott Tate from Swim Cape Town to prepare for their swim, which was a relay across the bay. They would alternate swimming for an hour and sitting for an hour to simulate relay conditions – IN/OUTs as suggested by Tate – which gave them the physical and mental confidence they needed to manage their swim.



“It was tough – we had to deal with motion sickness, nutrition, rough conditions, jellyfish stings, getting a wet body into a dry costume on a rolling boat, three hours sitting on a boat between swims and no bathroom on board,” says Viola. “Our conditions weren’t as good as forecast so we had a rough start with big swells rolling perpendicular to our swimming path which made us feel as if we were constantly swimming in the wrong direction. We thought we would get an assist at the end and be blown into Rooi



Els but the ocean decided to change completely and push us back into the bay so the last third of our swim was a slog.”



The relay ended with the last swimmer battling compass jellyfish and a rough current until the last 500 meters when all the women jumped in to complete False Bay together in just under 12 hours.



“Gillian and I are the two oldest women to have done the swim,” says Viola. “When we look back, we feel privileged to live in such a beautiful place with such a swimming opportunity.”



“It was mentally a challenging swim. I know what lives in the water and what they are capable of, and from the moment I got in, I felt completely exposed,” says Mayers. “Every swell, every shadow underneath you that looks like a shark, was a moment of stress. Eleven hours later, when my feet touched down on the ground, I felt incredible relief and joy.”



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="1024" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Troy-Mayers-in-the-challenging-waters-of-False-Bay-Image-supplied-1024x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-64144" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Troy-Mayers-in-the-challenging-waters-of-False-Bay-Image-supplied-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Troy-Mayers-in-the-challenging-waters-of-False-Bay-Image-supplied-300x300.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Troy-Mayers-in-the-challenging-waters-of-False-Bay-Image-supplied-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Troy-Mayers-in-the-challenging-waters-of-False-Bay-Image-supplied-768x768.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Troy-Mayers-in-the-challenging-waters-of-False-Bay-Image-supplied.jpg 1280w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Troy Mayers in the challenging waters of False Bay; Image supplied</figcaption></figure>



The relay teams that tackle the swim also have to deal with long periods of time sitting on the boat waiting for their turn. It takes mental resilience to stay in the moment and ready to jump back into the icy cold waters. As Dusterwald points out: “We were sitting on a very slow-moving boat in the middle of a very large ocean and were hoping for warmer weather but ended up in beanies and warm coats on a cold, overcast day.”



Her team didn’t think for one second they wouldn’t make it. Their mental commitment to the physically-demanding task kept them focused, and together until the end.



“The presence of marine life, particularly sharks, can be mentally daunting even with safety precautions in place,” adds Bruwer. She also mentions the unpredictable currents that can either help or hinder swimmers, often changing mid-swim. This is further complicated by the sheer distance, the winds, and the variable weather conditions.



“My first 16 kilometers I did in four and a half hours, then it took me six hours and 45 minutes to do the next 16 kilometers because the current was against me,” says Mayers. “This is a wicked swim. I was the first person to get caught in that current and two swimmers after me have since been caught in it – it was unexpected and I had to dig deep to get through it.”



For most swimmers, the highlight is their personal achievement at having completed such a monumental swim, knowing they’ve conquered one of the most challenging bodies of water in Africa.



“This swim represents a shift in my own limitations,” says Bruwer. “After failing due to severe hypothermia, I returned a year later to face the crossing again and I completed it, achieving my own impossible.”



The mental and physical toughness that swimmers develop when tackling False Bay translates into a skillset that can be transferred to any other long-distance endurance swim. Most notably, the English Channel.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-african-advantage">The African advantage</h4>



According to Frazer, who has shepherded many swimmers across the English Channel, the price tag attached to the swim can be upwards of ZAR250,000 ($13,736). This includes flights, the cost of the boats, booking fees, training and all the other hidden bits in between. Swimming False Bay – an equally inspiring test of skill and endurance – is a lot cheaper.



“It costs between ZAR30,000 to ZAR40,000 ($1,648 to $2,198),” says Mayers. “The price factor is definitely a drawcard and contributing to why False Bay is becoming so popular.”



You still have your jellyfish, currents, variable weather, and cold water, but in False Bay there’s the added benefit of enjoying a swim in an area of outstanding natural beauty.



“When you look across that bay, the view is extraordinary,” says Dusterwald. “It is iconic. I have a picture of me swimming in the water with the mountains in the background and only a few people in the world have that. It is an absolutely amazing swim.”



Dusterwald also says that the support she and her team received throughout the swim was extraordinary. The community was phenomenal in its support of their endeavor throughout their training and in the months after their successful completion.



“The highlight for me were the dolphins at the end,” she says. “A massive [pod] of dolphins swimming all around Teru – I don’t think she realized how amazing it looked. It was absolutely wonderful.”



The False Bay swim may have only had a handful of people tackle its icy waters and unpredictable weather, but this only adds to its allure. The swim is gaining global recognition and is consistently placed alongside other renowned marathon swims, including the Catalina Channel.



“Although South Africa remains less accessible than Europe or North America, more people are traveling specifically for swimming and Cape Town is becoming a destination of choice,” concludes Bruwer. “With a number of iconic swims in the region, False Bay stands as the ultimate challenge and is listed as one of the premier long-distance swims by open water associations and forums.”

Photo by Derrick Frazer at Big Bay Events

The New Channel Swim: The Truth About False Bay In South Africa

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



The next two FIFA Women&#8217;s World Cup tournaments, to be held in 2027 and 2031, will be streamed exclusively on Netflix in the first ever broadcasting deal to separate the women&#8217;s tournament from the men&#8217;s, marking a major victory for the streamer as it works to break into the world of live sports.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-facts">Key Facts</h2>



FIFA on Friday confirmed that the next two women&#8217;s tournaments will be streamed exclusively on Netflix in the most significant deal FIFA has ever signed with a streaming service—though how much Netflix paid for the rights was not disclosed.



In addition to broadcasting the tournament,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/womens-world-cup-netflix" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Netflix said</a>&nbsp;it plans to produce documentary programming spotlighting top players and exploring the explosion of women&#8217;s soccer globally, and said &#8220;studio shows and top-tier talent will supplement coverage with commentary and entertainment.&#8221;



The deal represents the first time FIFA has ever sold rights to the women&#8217;s tournaments separately from the men&#8217;s—which will be aired on Fox and Telemundo through 2026—and marks a change from the usual practice of broadcasting the tournaments on free-to-air public networks.



The deal is also major milestone for Netflix as it continues to pursue live entertainment: the streamer last month broadcast a boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson to 108 million people (to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/danidiplacido/2024/11/16/mike-tyson-vs-jake-paul-was-an-entertaining-disaster/#:~:text=Viewers%20were%20able%20to%20watch,livestream%20often%20buffering%20and%20freezing.">mixed success</a>), will air a double-header of NFL&nbsp;<a href="https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/nfl-games-on-netflix" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Christmas Day games</a>&nbsp;next week and, in January,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/wwe-raw-netflix-release-date-news" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">WWE &#8220;Raw</a>&#8221; will stream live on Netflix from the new Intuit Dome in Los Angeles.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-key-background">Key Background</h2>



The 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup will run from June 24 to July 25. A total of 32 teams from across the world will compete in 12 cities throughout Brazil, the host country. It will be the first FIFA Women&#8217;s World Cup to be held in South America and will make Brazil the sixth country to ever host both the men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s World Cups. The 2031 women’s tournament location has not yet been announced, but the U.S. is expected to make a bid. Other potential bidders include&nbsp;<a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3197102/china-bid-2031-fifa-womens-world-cup-push-top-ranking-team" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">China</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1149554/japan-hopeful-2031-host-womens-world-cup" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Japan</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://theathletic.com/4547986/2023/05/24/england-womens-world-cup-2031/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">England</a>,&nbsp;<a href="https://bsnsports.com.ng/post/Morocco-Targets-Hosting-Of-2031-FIFA-Women-s-World-Cup" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">Morocco</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.safa.net/2023/11/24/sa-withdraws-from-bidding-for-the-2027-fifa-womens-world-cup-turns-attention-to-2031-event/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">South Africa</a>, FIFA is expected to make a choice on the host country in the second quarter of 2025.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-big-number">Big Number</h2>



1.12 billion. That’s how many&nbsp;<a href="https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/43075385/netflix-fifa-agree-deal-women-world-cup-2027-2031" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">people watched</a>&nbsp;the 2019 Women’s World Cup across the world, FIFA said (Fox and NBC Sports had the American broadcasting rights). The&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/sports/womens-world-cup/what-are-the-differences-between-womens-and-mens-fifa-world-cups/3183885/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">U.S. victory</a>&nbsp;over the Netherlands in the final was watched live by 263.6 million people to become the most-watched match in tournament history, and the 2023 tournament set a new record for the most-watched&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/07/27/womens-world-cup-hits-record-tv-viewership-for-group-stage/">group stage match</a>&nbsp;in tournament history when 6.43 million people watched the U.S. draw against the Netherlands.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tangent">Tangent</h2>



FIFA earlier this month confirmed the 2034 Men&#8217;s World Cup will be hosted by Saudi Arabia in a <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2024/12/11/saudi-arabia-will-be-confirmed-as-2034-world-cup-host-heres-why-its-so-controversial/">controversial move</a> that has drawn criticism to both the organization and the country. Saudi Arabia was the only host to submit a competitive bid for the 2034 tournament, but it was done after a rushed process that appeared <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2024/dec/11/world-cup-2034-saudi-arabia-fifa-award-gianni-infantino?CMP=share_btn_url&amp;page=with%3Ablock-67581b198f08fdf95326f760#block-67581b198f08fdf95326f760" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">unfair</a> to other countries and was widely seen as part of the country&#8217;s continued efforts to modernize its global image. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2034-world-cup-saudi-arabia-migrant-labor-human-rights-fcf03a475a23fda09583ef69176337a0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Advocates</a> have also said they worry migrant and labor abuses that plagued Qatar’s 2022 World Cup preparations will repeat as Saudi Arabia gets ready to host the event.<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/"></a>

England v Switzerland – Women’s International Friendly

Netflix Gets Next 2 Women’s World Cups As Streamer Continues Foray Into Sports

Zimbabwean striker Peter Ndlovu opened the door for a multitude of talent from the continent to follow in his footsteps and compete in what is regarded as the world’s best club arena.



Peter Ndlovu holds two pieces of English Premier League history no one can take away from him, even if his achievements are now more than three decades old. 



The Zimbabwean striker, widely regarded as the best footballer his country ever produced, was the first African to play in the newly re- branded English League in August 1992, and a couple of weeks later became the first African to score in the Premier League, effectively opening the door for a multitude of talent from the con- tinent to follow in his footsteps and compete in what is regarded as the world’s best club arena.



These days clubs across England are filled with top African talent as the Premier League has become the most sought-after destination for the world’s top footballers.



The jaw-dropping salaries are the major attraction but also the level of competition and the uniquely fiery atmosphere created at the iconic stadiums across the country.



But when Ndlovu was featuring for Coventry City in England’s top flight in 1992, there were not many Africans around.



He was still a teenager when he moved from Bulawayo, having joined Coventry from his hometown club Highland- ers the year before, and when he came on for John Williams in Coventry’s Premier League away victory at Tottenham Hotspur on August 19, 1992, broke new ground for African footballers.



“I’m sure I was told then, ‘do you know that you’re the first African to play in the Premier League?’ I probably just said ‘ok’ and didn’t give it any more thought,” Ndlovu tells FORBES AFRICA.



He then went one better and became the first African to score in the rebranded English top flight, netting for Coventry in a 2-1 win at Sheffield Wednesday on Septem- ber 2, 1992.



In all, Ndlovu scored 34 Premier League goals – which all came for Coventry – and remains the highest-scoring Zimbabwean in English football but he has long since been surpassed in the all-time list of African marksmen.



Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah leads the way on 159 goals and is still scoring. The Egyptian superstar is sure since to have added more to the impressive tally.



Then there are the likes of Senegal’s Sadio Mane, now playing in Saudi Arabia, on 111 and the Ivorian superstar Didier Drogba with 104 league goals for Chelsea.



Ndlovu is only too pleased those who have come after him have succeeded in raising the bar &#8230; and the profile for players from the continent.



“I’m just so proud of all of them that they have made the Premier League better and we can see that many of the big money players [bought] now are Africans.”


<div class="wp-block-image">
<figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="978" src="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/GettyImages-829253240.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-63852" style="width:628px;height:auto" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/GettyImages-829253240.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/GettyImages-829253240-300x287.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/GettyImages-829253240-768x734.jpg 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">(Photo by Phil Noble &#8211; PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)</figcaption></figure></div>


Since Ndlovu made his debut, more than 300 Africans have followed in his footsteps and competed for Premier League clubs, who are watched by hundreds of millions on television around the globe on a weekly basis.



“What I like about all those that have come after me, you can say they’ve even added value and represented the continent very well,” he says.



“You can see how much the standards have gone up compared to the time when I started. It’s a very good league and we support it all the time.



“Also, with the large number of players playing in the Pre- mier League, as well as all over the other leagues, it shows that Africa is the provider of some of the best players in the world.”



Ndlovu’s 12 years of competing in English football makes him among the more consistent imports. He stayed at Coventry until a £1.6-million move to Birmingham City in 1997 and also played at Huddersfield Town and Sheffield United, while representing Zimbabwe’s national team for 16 years.



“Well, when I went there first it was just like, ‘I’m going to play football’. Then I realized how much it had changed my life, changed my perception about the football, changed the way that I would act.



“It made me a better person, it made me understand what success was all about, what football is all about. And when I started concentrating, I became a better person, not only a better footballer, but a better person in life.”



Ndlovu returned to Africa in 2004, joining Mamelodi Sundowns and then once he hung up his boots, took up a post in the club’s administration.



He was a popular team manager for the ‘Brazilians’ as they won the African Champions League in 2016 and began an unbeaten run of success in South Africa’s own Premiership where they have now won seven successive league titles. Now 51, Ndlovu has reflected with pride on his ground-breaking achievements… and a special place in the record books

Soccer – Worthington Cup – Semi Final – First Leg – Sheffield United v Liverpool

The Zimbabwean Game-Changer In English Football

Inspiring a lasting legacy,the world still resonates with Africa’s first-ever heavyweight title fight, Rumble in the Jungle, watched by as many as one billion people worldwide.



As first light crept over Kinshasa’s then Stade du 20 Mai (20th of May Stadium), the air electric and the world watching, Muhammad Ali, poised like a man who held the keys to destiny, prepared to face the undefeated juggernaut George Foreman, both men ready to etch their names into history.



Rumble in the Jungle, as the world would come to call it, was no ordinary boxing match. On October 30, 1974, the President of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo), Mobutu Sese Seko had invested $10 million to bring the event to Kinshasa, a sum that was almost unthinkable in those days.



It was a visionary bid, meant not just to crown a champion but to spotlight Zaire as a cultural powerhouse.



For Ali and Foreman, the stakes went beyond titles or money. Undefeated in 40 fights, Foreman was the favorite and expected to dominate the night.



“It amazes me that it was 50 years ago and people are still talking about it, and the term rope-a-dope,” Foreman tells Telegraph Sport.



“I’m just happy that I can remember it, period. I have nothing but fond memories, but at the time, I was devastated at the defeat.’’



Ali had a plan, one as cunning as it was unorthodox. Knowing he couldn’t beat Foreman with raw power, he leaned into the ropes and let Foreman punch himself into exhaustion, an audacious tactic that would come to be known as the rope-a-dope.



This strategy wasn’t just a stroke of genius in the ring; it became a legendary lesson in patience, resilience, and mental fortitude. As Nigerian sports analyst Mustapha Shuaib put it, “Ali’s ability to innovate under the stress of a championship fight is a lesson for entrepreneurs today. When you’re backed into a corner, that’s when true creativity is unleashed.”



Promoter Don King, with his uncanny sense for the dramatic, orchestrated the fight with a flair that transformed it into an event of monumental proportions.



King secured $5 million for each fighter, setting a new standard for athlete compensation and possibly laying the foundation for the billion-dollar sports economy we know today. <a></a>



“Don King didn’t just promote a fight; he promoted a vision,” says Shuaib. “He understood that Ali wasn’t just a fighter—he was a global symbol. King packaged the fight as a cultural moment, a clash of personalities and ideals that resonated worldwide.”



The fight was immortalized through the lens of filmmaker Leon Gast, whose Academy Award-winning documentary, When We Were Kings, brought new depth to its narrative. The documentary, featuring insights from cultural icons like Spike Lee and Norman Mailer, framed the match as a cultural and psychological duel, an enduring metaphor for triumph against the odds.



‘’Rumble in the Jungle set the stage for a new era of sports marketing and broadcasting, showing how a well-told sports narrative could captivate the world and draw in global sponsors,’’ says Shuaib.

George Foreman Fighting Muhammed Ali

Fifty Years On, The Fight Between Muhammad Ali And George Foreman In Kinshasa Endures As A Tale Of Tactics And Triumph

<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-topline">Topline</h2>



Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul are set to fight in a live boxing match streamed on Netflix Friday, in what would be Tyson’s first sanctioned match in nearly 20 years amid rising concerns about the 58-year-old’s age and safety.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Key Facts</h2>



The event is different from the regular pay-per-view format that is typical of boxing matches, as Netflix’s 282 million subscribers (as reported in its Q3 earnings call) will have access to the event.



The event was initially slated to stream in July but was delayed due to Tyson’s stomach ulcer flareup during a flight.



The match has the biggest age gap between boxers in professional boxing history according to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.espn.com/boxing/story/_/id/40049533/mike-tyson-vs-jake-paul-sanctioned-professional-fight" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">ESPN</a>: Tyson is 58 and Paul is 27 years old, a 31-year difference.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Time Is The The Fight Between Mike Tyson And Jake Paul Fight?</h2>



The event at the AT&amp;T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, starts at 8 p.m. EST on Friday.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How To Watch The Tyson-Paul Fight?</h2>



It’s airing exclusively on Netflix.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Are The Tyson-Paul Fight’s Betting Odds?</h2>



Paul is the favorite to win&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oddschecker.com/us/boxing-mma/boxing/jake-paul-v-mike-tyson" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">on most</a>&nbsp;betting sites, with payouts on a $10 wager ranging from $14.40 to $15.33. Payouts for a Tyson bet range from $27 to $28.75 on a $10 wager. Bets are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/boxing/2024/11/07/mike-tyson-vs-jake-paul-betting/76117981007/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">not allowed</a>&nbsp;in six states—New York, Colorado, Kentucky, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Vermont, with some state officials saying the event was untraditional and more like an exhibition.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Time Is The The Fight Between Mike Tyson And Jake Paul Fight?</h2>



The event at the AT&amp;T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, starts at 8 p.m. EST on Friday.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How To Watch The Tyson-Paul Fight?</h2>



It’s airing exclusively on Netflix.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What Are The Tyson-Paul Fight’s Betting Odds?</h2>



Paul is the favorite to win&nbsp;<a href="https://www.oddschecker.com/us/boxing-mma/boxing/jake-paul-v-mike-tyson" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">on most</a>&nbsp;betting sites, with payouts on a $10 wager ranging from $14.40 to $15.33. Payouts for a Tyson bet range from $27 to $28.75 on a $10 wager. Bets are&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/boxing/2024/11/07/mike-tyson-vs-jake-paul-betting/76117981007/" rel="noreferrer noopener" target="_blank">not allowed</a>&nbsp;in six states—New York, Colorado, Kentucky, Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Vermont, with some state officials saying the event was untraditional and more like an exhibition.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Further Reading</h2>



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/lindseychoo/2024/10/17/netflix-earnings-streaming-beats-expectations-subscriber-growth/">Netflix Earnings: Stock Climbs As Streaming Giant Beats Expectations—But Subscriber Growth Slows</a>&nbsp;(Forbes)

LIVE On Netflix: Jake Paul Vs. Mike Tyson

Mike Tyson Vs. Jake Paul—When The Netflix Boxing Fight Starts, Betting Odds And More

Zimbabwe’s Minister of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Kirsty Coventry is making an historic bid to lead the International Olympic Committee (IOC), hoping to become the first female president of the organization in its 130-year history.



Coventry, 41, is a decorated Olympian herself having won two gold medals, four silver and a bronze in backstroke and medley events in the pool, having shone at the Athens (2004) and Beijing (2008) Games. 



It is the best medal haul of any Olympian from Africa, and since retirement she has turned to politics having been Zimbabwe’s sports minister since 2018.



That experience will come in handy as she bids for the presidency of the IOC, hoping to take over from incumbent Thomas Bach, whose term has come to an end, but she comes up against six strong candidates.



Englishman Sebastian Coe is the president of World Athletics, Juan Antonio Samaranch Salisachs from Spain is the current IOC vice-president, Morinari Watanabe from Japan is president of the International Gymnastics Federation, David Lappartient from France is president of the International Cycling Union, Johan Eliasch of England is president of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation; and Prince Feisal Al Hussein from Jordan is a member of the IOC executive board.



“I really felt it was time for Africa now, time for a woman and just time in general,” Coventry told Zimbabwe Sports Hub. “I think when you get to certain pathways in your career, you have to choose whether or not you are going to keep running the race, move forward or not.



“And for us, for me, for my family, for a lot of support that I have received from my African colleagues, from my IOC colleagues, everything felt like the time is now to throw my hat into the ring and again come back to being an athlete.”



Coventry does have experience of administration within the IOC, she was elected chairperson of the IOC Athletes&#8217; Commission, the body that represents all Olympic athletes worldwide, in 2018. She also serves on the IOC’s executive committee.



The election of a new president will take place at the 144th IOC Session in Athens, Greece, from March 18-21, 2025.

IOC President Bach Brisbane 2032 Media Update

Time For Africa? Decorated Olympian And Zimbabwe Sports Minister In The Race For International Olympic Committee Presidency In 2025

The cricket hall of famers spoke to FORBES AFRICA about how international matches are a lot friendlier with more connections between players unified by a common love and passion for the sport.



Getting two cricket legends in the same room is a feat, and when it’s a former batsman and bowler sharing an excellent rapport, it’s great content on stage, and off it – even if it’s for an impromptu five-minute interview.



On the sidelines of the Mastercard&nbsp;EDGE 2024 forum in Dubai last week, FORBES AFRICA caught up with Trinidadian former international cricketer Brian Lara and Australian former international player Glenn McGrath.



One of the greatest batsmen of all time, known for his world record 400 versus England in Antigua two decades ago, Lara opened up about the camaraderie and friendship he shares with McGrath, off the field as well, but also how the global cricketing fraternity today is a lot more connected, which formats such as the IPL have solidified.&nbsp;



“When we played, it was a little more difficult, because we were most likely, most of the time, playing country against country, [such as] Australia versus West Indies, Australia versus England. And the opportunity to sort of come together might happen at the end of a match,” Lara, who played for the West Indies and known as ‘the prince of Trinidad’, tells FORBES AFRICA.



“With today&#8217;s cricket, [especially] franchise cricket, where you know the Australians are playing with the Indian, English or West Indian players, you see that it [is] making international matches a lot friendlier. I think that is one of the key components in franchise cricket, getting players together, and you&#8217;re seeing a lot more friendships created.”



McGrath, considered one of the greatest bowlers of all time, nods in agreement, saying: “The thing I loved about playing IPL was that all of a sudden, you get to play alongside guys you&#8217;ve only ever played against, and you realize that we&#8217;re not that different. Whether you&#8217;re from the West Indies, Australia, India, Pakistan, England, South Africa, there&#8217;s a common love and passion for the game. We might prepare a few things differently, but the synergies are there and the similarities are there, and you realize that we&#8217;re not that different at the end of the day.”



Lara adds: “I didn&#8217;t play much of franchise cricket, but what is interesting is, when you&#8217;re hearing a South African talking about another South African player, his strengths and his weaknesses, or an Australian talking about another Australian player, you know that is information you have never gotten before. So, all of a sudden, you&#8217;re sharing that sort of information.



“And I think actually, there are players in today&#8217;s world who are friendlier or [have] stronger friendships like, for instance, [between] South African [cricketer] AB de Villiers and Indian player [Virat] Kohli… What they show on the surface, [it] looks like their friendship is very strong. So, that&#8217;s amazing. I know [with] Viv Richards and Ian Botham back in the day, through playing for Somerset, [it] was something very similar.”



On the personal front, Lara’s autobiography, Lara: The England Chronicles – about his matches against England playing county cricket – was released in July this year, and he says he is working on more books, and it&#8217;s just “a matter of proper timing”.



McGrath is focused on his eponymous foundation, raising money to provide support and care to individuals and families experiencing breast cancer.



“It keeps me busy, but we&#8217;ve got a great team at the foundation,” says McGrath. “If you have the right people, it&#8217;s amazing what you can achieve. Our goal is to get to every family in Australia going through breast cancer, with free support. And we&#8217;re very close to achieving that. Just [with] the fear that&#8217;s associated with the word ‘cancer’, to have someone to come along and help [you] navigate the health system, to know what&#8217;s coming up next, to allow you to make informed decisions of your treatment, and even just a shoulder to cry on, makes a huge difference.”



Earlier, as part of the ‘Priceless Surprise’ session at the Mastercard event on October 16, in a panel moderated by Indian actor and TV presenter Mandira Bedi, the two cricket greats enthralled a packed room with some colorful anecdotes from the field, and posed together for images with members of the audience.

Category: Sport