Africa

The South African World Cup team will share one million rand (£87,000) for every goal they score at next month's World Cup on home soil, a senior official said yesterday.

Cricket is beginning to draw a younger and wider demographic of fans, including more women, according to research by Sport+Markt.

The German football league (DFL) has added South Africa's Premier Soccer League to the list of overseas leagues it is partnering with to share skills and ideas and extend its sphere of influence.

South Africa has unveiled transport upgrades for this year’s FIFA World Cup, the result of 19 billion rand ($2.5 billion) of investment.

Football’s world governing body FIFA said 29 of the 64 games at June’s World Cup in South Africa were now sold-out after 100,000 tickets for were bought in the first 24 hours of over-the-counter sales.

South Africans will be able to buy half a million World Cup tickets in cash from supermarkets in the organisers' latest drive to get rid of unsold seats.

Brazil-based international food supplier Seara has signed a sponsorship deal with football’s world governing body covering the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.

The South African Rugby Union (SARU) has renewed its contract with local sports marketing agency Megapro Marketing for the next five years.

German sportswear company Puma will enter a team in the next Volvo Ocean Race, in 2011-12, after finishing second in the 2008-09 competition.

The South African government has guaranteed this year’s FIFA World Cup will not be affected by racial violence after the murder of right-wing leader Eugene Terre’Blanche on Saturday.

South African Airways (SAA) has retaken control of flight tickets that were being sold by the World Cup's official ticketing agency and says it will offer them to customers at lower prices.

South Africa has completed the 10 World Cup venue stadiums, which were approved by a final, 10-day FIFA inspection tour on Friday.

Irish city Galway has beaten competition from Amsterdam and Stockholm to be chosen as the finishing port for the next Volvo Round the World Ocean Race in 2012.

This year’s FIFA World Cup in South Africa is set to generate the highest commercial revenue ever for the event, at $3.5 billion, some $900 million up on the Germany World Cup in 2006.

FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said he expects ticket sales to cover the $423-million budget for the organisation of this year’s World Cup in South Africa.

German football's Bundesliga has agreed a television rights deal for sub-Saharan Africa with South Africa-based pay-broadcaster SuperSport.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has attacked “anti-African” criticism over the World Cup being hosted in South Africa this year.

World football’s governing body has reacted angrily to “alarmist foreign reports” about South African crime in English and German media, adding tickets are selling successfully in the lead-up to the event.