Zimbabwe suspends 80 footballers as part of ‘Asiagate’ match-fixing probe
National team players alleged to have taken bribes to throw matches played in Malaysia, Vietnam and ThailandEighty Zimbabwean footballers have been suspended because of alleged involvement in Asian betting syndicates linked to match-fixing.The country'...
Lonely, brutal death of boy who dreamed of playing for Chelsea
Footballer Jeffrey Ntuka died in a South African township – a tragic end to a story of lost hope and youthTwo dozen young men danced around the stage, arms aloft and fists clenched, their feet high-stepping and stamping in unison. When they began to ...
Unity is main goal of Libyan team in Africa Cup of Nations
Players enter soccer tournament in a spirit of democracy, as host's dictator, Teodoro Obiang, looks onHow Muammar Gaddafi would have loved to be there. Libya's footballers kicked off Africa's biggest football tournament on Saturday after a kitsch openi...
Equatorial Guinea footballers’ $1m win bonus condemned by poverty activists
Autocratic president's playboy son will pay players $1m and $20,000 per goal if they beat Libya in the Africa Cup of NationsAn offer of $1m (£644,548) to Equatorial Guinea's footballers to win a big match has been condemned by anti-poverty and corrupt...
Blatter apologises but refuses to resign
• The Fifa president apologises for 'unfortunate situation'• Blatter says he never considered resigning over controversySepp Blatter has issued a public apology for his comments on racism in football but insisted he will not resign as Fifa presiden...
Who is Tokyo Sexwale, subject of the Blatter-Ferdinand Twitter row?
The man in the picture that accompanied Sepp Blatter's statement is a possible future South Africa presidentFrom Robben Island prisoner to millionaire businessman and politician, Tokyo Sexwale is a symbol of black aspirations in post-apartheid South Af...
Equatorial Guinea players caught up in gender row
Country accused of fielding two men in recent African women's championship after reaching tournament finalTo field one man in a women's football team may be regarded as unfortunate. To field two looks like carelessness – or blatant cheating.This is t...
Leave Nelson Mandela alone, autograph hunters told
Plea interpreted as warning to ANC and others accused of hijacking the stateman's nameAides to Nelson Mandela today demanded a halt to the thousands of requests for autographs, endorsements and interviews in a plea interpreted by some as a veiled warni...
World Cup whistleblower: inquest opens into ‘poisoning’ death
Politician James Nkambule claimed corruption lay behind tender process for Mbombela stadium – host to four matchesPolice in South Africa have opened an inquest into the sudden death of a politician who blew the whistle on alleged assassinations and c...
Audio: Letter from Africa: The party’s over
David Smith on South Africa returning to normality after the unreal circus of the World CupDavid Smith
Nelson Mandela gives World Cup a dream finale with a wave and a smile
Former president caps nation-building tournament spirit with appearance at Johannesburg's Soccer City stadiumAnd so the circle was complete. Nelson Mandela, who presided over the birth of a democratic South Africa, took centre stage again last night at...
The party’s over, now for the verdict