SPORT - The African Mirror

Mar

27

2026

Senegal storms CAS as AFCON crisis lays bare a continent’s fractured football soul

FOOTBALL

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has confirmed that the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) has formally lodged an appeal challenging one of the most convulsive rulings in African football history - the Confederation of African Football's (CAF) decision to retroactively strip Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title and hand the trophy to tournament hosts Morocco. The appeal, registered at CAS's headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 25 March 2026, formally asks the global sports arbitration tribunal to set aside CAF's March 17 decision entirely and restore Senegal as the rightful champions of AFCON Morocco 2025. The…

Mar

24

2026

By Jovial Rantao

How Mohamed Salah’s 9 year love affair with Liverpool finally kissed the desert sand

FOOTBALL

WELL, they said it couldn’t happen. They said the love was too deep, the bond too sacred, the goals too numerous. They said Mohamed Salah and Liverpool were written in the stars - a celestial pairing as permanent as the pyramids and as dependable as the Nile in flood season. They were wrong. On Tuesday, 24 March 2026, the sky fell in on Anfield. The Pharaoh announced his departure, and English football stopped breathing. It was not a leaked rumour from some dubious agent in a Dubai hotel lobby. It was not a cryptic Instagram post requiring football’s finest code-breakers…

Mar

24

2026

By The African Mirror

Steyn City writes history: Africa’s first LIV Golf triumph signals a continental sports revolution

SPORT

WHEN LIV Golf's convoy of world-class players, global broadcast trucks and an army of international visitors descended on Steyn City in Johannesburg this past weekend, they were not simply delivering a golf tournament. They were making history. Africa had never before hosted a LIV Golf event. By the time the final putt dropped and the galleries roared their approval, it was abundantly clear that it would not be the last. The inaugural LIV Golf Johannesburg has delivered everything its most optimistic backers dared to hope for - and then some. The numbers tell a breathtaking story: more than 100,000 international…

Mar

24

2026

By SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

110 delegates, 38 nations: Special Olympics Africa opens landmark Johannesburg summit

SPORT

THE 22nd Special Olympics Africa Leadership Conference opened in Johannesburg on Monday, drawing 110 delegates from 38 countries across the continent in what organisers have called the largest gathering of inclusive sport leadership in the region's history. The four-day summit - running from 23 to 26 March - assembles national directors, sports directors, and athlete leaders to shape the future of para-inclusive athletics on the continent, with programme sessions spanning sports development, leadership, partnerships, and programme quality. A centrepiece of the summit is a Unified Basketball demonstration event hosted by Special Olympics South Africa at 3 Square Sports Stadium in…

Mar

20

2026

By The African Mirror

The Pharaoh of Fifty

FOOTBALL

THE pass arrived like a whisper - sublime, perfectly weighted, finding its man in the churning chaos of a Champions League night. Mohamed Salah received it on the left flank, his first touch caressing the ball into space. One defender went. Then another. His body shifted, the threat telegraphed and yet utterly unstoppable: the outside of the boot, curling - curling - curling into the top corner, beyond the desperate reach of the Galatasaray goalkeeper. Anfield erupted. But for Mohamed Salah, this was no ordinary goal. It was goal number fifty. Fifty Champions League goals. Fifty moments of genius, accumulated…

Mar

18

2026

By Mpho Rantao

Morocco handed AFCON title after Senegal are stripped

FOOTBALL

TWO months after they were crowned champions, had a trophy tour in their nation's capital and awarded lucrative bonuses, Senegal have been stripped of their mantle as African football champions. Morocco have been named the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations Champions after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) appeal board made a landmark decision, overturning Senegal's helm as the champions of the 2025 tournament following an appeal made by Morocco. The night in question involved a goal scored by Ismaila Sarr that was disallowed before Morocco were awarded a late penalty following VAR intervention. In protest to the call, Senegal…

Mar

16

2026

By JOVIAL RANTAO

The day the Rainbow Nation owned New York City

ATHLETICS

THE city that never sleeps rubbed its eyes on Sunday morning and found South Africa standing at the top of the world - not once, but twice. By the time the last whistle blew in Lower Manhattan and the gold medals cooled against the skin of the victors, New York had become, briefly, magnificently, a province of the Rainbow Nation. It began on the sun-warmed ribbon of asphalt that winds through the streets of Manhattan, and it ended on a patch of synthetic grass beside the Hudson River. Twenty-one point one kilometres of road running. Fourteen minutes of sevens rugby.…

Mar

16

2026

By SPORTS CORRESPONDENT

Crash, bang, wallop – and a star is born

MOTORSPORT

LET us be blunt: if you slept through the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix, please hand in your motorsport credentials at the door, collect your consolation prize, and go watch paint dry instead. Because Shanghai - glorious, dramatic, wheel-banging Shanghai - delivered the kind of afternoon that reminds you exactly why Formula One is the greatest sport on the planet. There was a teenage prodigy winning his maiden race through sheer composure. There was a seven-time world champion finally cracking open his Ferrari account. There were the reigning world champions stuck in the garage - both of them - staring at…

Mar

14

2026

By The African Mirror

José Riveiro among candidates if Kaizer Chiefs pull the trigger on coaching change

FOOTBALL

WITH pressure continuing to mount at South Africa’s top team, Kaizer Chiefs, following inconsistent results through different phases of the season, speculation has begun to grow around the future of co-coaches Khalil Ben Youssef and Cedric Kaze, with reports linking both to a possible exit from the club. Chiefs have struggled to match the pace set by title contenders Mamelodi Sundowns and Orlando Pirates, with frustration among supporters becoming increasingly visible in recent weeks. Although Amakhosi have not signalled any immediate changes, speculation continues that they could pull the trigger, with several candidates reportedly in the mix. José Riveiro One…

Mar

14

2026

By BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY

A digital database of African football talent is coming soon

FOOTBALL

GROWING up in Ghana, Nana Yaw Oppong-Mensah spent countless afternoons playing football in neighbourhood matches where the level of competition was often surprisingly high. He remembers the players he grew up with as technically gifted, fast, and fiercely competitive. Yet years later, many had disappeared from the professional pathway. “In Africa, there is a lot of talent in the communities,” Oppong-Mensah explained in an interview with Bird Story Agency. “You see players who are incredibly good, but many of them never get the visibility they need to move forward.” For Oppong-Mensah, the problem is not a shortage of ability. It…