Venda Football Club (VFC) have reason to believe that they will teach the Orbit College students a soccer lesson when they meet in their Motsepe Foundation Championship League match at the Thohoyandou Stadium on Saturday afternoon. VFC are in the right frame of mind after they managed to collect the full points in their match against Hungry Lions, which was played at the Mxolisi Dicky Jacobs Stadium in Upington two weeks ago.

Mr Mashudu Siaga, one of the best boxing-ring announcers in the country and the first professional ring announcer in Limpopo, believes that the standard of boxing in the country is deteriorating.

Local boxing trainer-manager John “Smoking Joe” Nemakonde has warned professional boxers who participate in traditional fist-fighting tournaments (musangwe) as well as street fighting bouts to stop doing so with immediate effect. Nemakonde was responding to allegations that some of his boxers were spotted participating in musangwe tournaments.

The last batch of the round-of-32 matches of the Nedbank Cup will be played at different venues throughout the country this weekend. Madridtas FC, who bought their ABC Motsepe League franchise from Black Leopards at the beginning of the current soccer season, will be on the road on Sunday. They will travel to Bloemfontein, where they will lock horns with D General FC at the Free State Stadium.

Black Leopards will be campaigning in the DStv Premiership League come next season if the utterances of the team’s assistant coach, Mr Papi Zothwane, are anything to go by. Zothwane was seated on the team’s technical bench for the first time in their league game against Platinum City Rovers at the Thohoyandou Stadium last Saturday. Black Leopards won the game 3-1.

A group of South African athletes travelled to Dubai last week to compete in the first international competition of the new season’s build-up to the 2024 Paralympics in Paris. Among them was local T37 athlete, Sheryl James.

Matangari Settlers are still in joyous mood after being crowned the new champions of the Lumveleni Soccer Tournament at the Ngudza Grounds on Sunday. Settlers defeated Tshikambe FC 3-1 in the final to lift the trophy. They were presented with cash amounting to R14,000, a floating trophy, a soccer ball, and gold medals during the ceremony held at the Lumveleni Restaurant shortly after the game.

Verskeie van Louis Trichardt se bergfietsryers het Saterdag, 17 Februarie, Hoedspruit se hitte trotseer vir deelname aan die gewilde Mango Mania-bergfietswedren en met podiumplekke huiswaarts gekeer.

The Mpheni Grounds in the Elim area will be the centre of attention for soccer lovers on Saturday. This is where the much-awaited ABC Motsepe League clash between Mpheni Defenders and Vondwe XI Bullets will be staged.

The semi-final and final matches of the Lumveleni Soccer Tournament will take place at the Ngudza Grounds on Sunday. The first semi-final between Tshikovha Arsenal and Matangari Settlers is scheduled to start at 09:30.

Teams affiliated with the Limpopo Stream of the ABC Motsepe League will play their last matches of their first-round league programme this weekend. Only two matches will be played on Friday afternoon, while the remaining fixtures are scheduled for Saturday.

After hosting Pretoria Callies in their Motsepe Foundation Championship League match at the Thohoyandou Stadium on Wednesday afternoon, Black Leopards will play another home match at the same venue when they meet Platinum City Rovers on Saturday afternoon. (The result of their midweek game against Pretoria Callies was not available at the time of our going to press.)