Disk mania bw

Bafana get Zebras in Cosafa

South Africa will meet Botswana in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Cosafa Cup after the draw for the competition to be played in the North West province was made on Thursday.

Bafana Bafana will meet The Zebras on May 25, and could yet need to beat one of the powerhouses of the continent if they are to lift the title after Ghana were announced as a guest nation along with Tanzania.

Those two gained entry after Angola and Comoros declined their invitations to compete in the regional championship this year.

Ghana must wait to know their quarterfinal opponent, which will be the winner of Group B that contains Seychelles, Madagascar, Mauritius and Swaziland.

Holders Zambia also face an anxious wait as they will take on the top team in Group B, which could potentially set up a crunch meeting with Zimbabwe, who they have met in the last two tournament finals.

The other sides in that pool are Namibia, Lesotho and Tanzania.

The fourth quarterfinal sees Mozambique play Malawi.

The pool phase will begin on May 17 and finish on May 22, with the cup semifinals to be played on May 24 & 25. There will also be a plate competition for the losing quarterfinalists.

Zimbabwe and Zambia have each won the Cosafa Cup on four occasions, with South Africa and Angola the only other teams to have claimed a tournament win. They have three titles each.

South Africa’s last win came in 2008.

2015 COSAFA CUP FIXTURES

Group A 17/05 - Namibia vs Zimbabwe 17/05 - Lesotho vs Tanzania 19/05 - Zimbabwe vs Lesotho 19/05 - Namibia vs Tanzania 21/05 - Namibia vs Lesotho 21/05 - Zimbabwe vs Tanzania

Group B 18/05 - Seychelles vs Mauritius 18/05 - Madagascar vs Swaziland 20/05 - Mauritius vs Madagascar 20/05 - Seychelles vs Swaziland |22/05 - Seychelles vs Madagascar 22/05 - Mauritius vs Swaziland

KNOCKOUT STAGES

Quarterfinals 24/05 - Ghana vs Winner Group B 24/05 - Mozambique vs Malawi 25/05 - Zambia vs Winner Group A 25/05 - South Africa vs Botswana

• Chelsea are set to challenge Manchester United for the signature of Southampton and England right-back Nathaniel Clyne, 23.

• Manchester United will listen to offers at the end of the season for defender Rafael, 24, as manager Louis van Gaal prepares a clearout.

• Ivory Coast midfielder Cheick Tiote, 28, may have played his last game for Newcastle after being ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.

• Watford are considering signing former Aston Villa and Bolton defender Zat Knight, 34, after taking him on trial.

• Winger Emanuele Giaccherini, 29, has a future at Sunderland despite an injury-hit two years at the club, manager Gus Poyet says.

• Manchester United striker Robin van Persie, 31, is set to be out for a month with the ankle injury he suffered during last Saturday's defeat at Swansea.

• Arsenal's owners will allow manager Arsene Wenger to spend £50m this summer - but are expecting a significantly improved performance from him.

• Liverpool are ready to give winger Jordon Ibe, 19, a five-year contract that will more quadruple his pay to around £25,000 a week.

• Chelsea striker Diego Costa, 26, says he will not change the way he plays despite a recent three-match ban imposed for stamping on Liverpool's Emre Can.

• Burnley striker Ashley Barnes, 25, should ignore the criticism he has received from Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho over his "criminal" challenge on Nemanja Matic, according to his manager Sean Dyche.

• Newcastle interim manager John Carver says it is his decision - and not the board's - as to whether winger Jonas Gutierrez, 31, returns to play on Saturday after overcoming testicular cancer.

• Carver has suggested he would be happy if Aston Villa were relegated in May - after they sent Newcastle down in 2009.

• Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke, 24, has been staying behind at training for extra shooting practice to try to improve his season's goal total of three.

• Lionel Messi in birthday mode Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, 27, celebrated the birthday of his partner Antonella Roccuzzo by posting a selfie on Instagram with their son Thiago.

• Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge tweeted after his side went out of the Europa League to Besiktas: "Another big game on Sunday. Thank you to all the away fans that travelled to show support tonight. We were unlucky."

• Sunday Times journalist David Walsh was scathing about the performance of English clubs in Europe this week, posting on Twitter: "I watched City flounder, Arsenal crumble, now Spurs, Liverpool. The Premier League has to be the most exciting illusion in sport's history."

Fifa won’t compensate Uefa clubs

World football governing Fifa insist they won’t compensate European clubs should the 2022 World Cup in Qatar be moved to the end of the year.

A Fifa taskforce committee yesterday held a meeting to discuss the possibility of moving the World showpiece to November/December, which was followed by an outcry from many European heavyweights, who feel the proposed dates will severely interfere with the domestic football calendar.

Pellegrini: There’s Still Hope, Thanks To Messi For Showing Some Mercy

Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini says that Lionel Messi's missed penalty gives his side hope to launch a comeback against FC Barcelona in the second-leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 battle.

The 61-year-old, who joined the Manchester club in 2013, didn’t seem full of confidence ahead of the second-leg on 18 March, reluctantly saying that his team will try their best.

"If Messi had put his penalty away, it would have been far worse,” he told AS. “It’s going to be difficult to turn this around because we have lost the home leg. But the team has sufficient character and personality to at least try."

Karim Benzema joins Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the only players who have scored against ALL 19 clubs currently in the

ABSA Premiership Fixture | Tuesday, February 24, 2015

19:30 - AmaZulu v Mamelodi Sundowns