“He is the Michael Jordan of football. In football, there is no one to compare to him.
“He’s been the best for the last 20 years. Even now, after all this time, he goes and out and shows us that.
“I don’t believe we will ever see a footballer like him again.”
In the first of three columns for The Athletic, Xavi praises the “incomparable, almost inhuman” Lionel Messi.
FREE TO READ 🔗 https://t.co/08ORJQFjHc
Proud of his principled stance on what matters to him.
The criticism he’s faced is another example of the heightened critique black players often face - see the white French journalist describing it as “only cutting and umbilical chord”.
Good on the NYT making this free to read
“The baby could arrive before the end of the tournament,” said Belgium winger Jeremy Doku. “I would like to be there.
"No father would want to miss that. I know that the federation is aware and we will see what we can do.”
This did not seem controversial. And yet, over the days that followed, those three sentences sparked a backlash against the 24-year-old.
The baby, yes, would be waiting for Doku on his return. That is both true and beside the point.
The birth of a child — particularly your first child — is a life-changing event. There is no substitute for being in the room.
You are not there wholly for the baby, even if those early moments of bonding are important. You are, in part, there for yourself. More than anything, though, you are there for the person giving birth.
Make no mistake: sport is a wonderful thing. It delights and diverts. It can seem incredibly important. It is also, for those who play it, a job. It won’t love you back. It won’t look after you when you’re old.
If Jeremy Doku wants to be there, that should be the end of it, writes @jacklang
FREE TO READ 🔗 https://t.co/xQIdBSiWox
Remcoms and the boards at Woolworths have failed abysmally. If memory serves me correctly Woolworths was trading at almost R100 a share when Ian and the board started their Australian sojourn.
[MEET A YOUNG ACADEMIC POLICE OFFICER]
Hailing from Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal, the 30-year-old Constable (Dr) Lindokuhle Ngcobo is stationed at SAPS Hillbrow and serves in the Crime Prevention Unit, where his responsibilities include monitoring and stabilising crime hotspots, responding to robbery complaints, tracking and apprehending suspects, and participating in intelligence-driven operations.
Constable (Dr) Ngcobo is highly accomplished academically as he holds a PhD in Policy and Development Studies, a Master of Social Science in Public Policy, a Bachelor of Social Science Honours in Public Policy, and a Bachelor of Social Science degree from University of KwaZulu-Natal.
He represents the power of education, hard work, and dedication to community development. He acquired his PhD in 2025 with thesis topic: “Exploring the lived experiences of women with disabilities and policy response towards mitigating challenges faced during the corona virus pandemic alert levels 5-3: A case study of the City of Johannesburg.
Before joining the Family in Blue, Constable (Dr) Ngcobo worked as a Policy Researcher at the Department of Community Safety, demonstrating his long-standing passion for research and policy development. Seeking a greater challenge and a more direct impact on society, he enrolled in the Basic Policing Development Learning Programme (BPDLP) at the 3 SAI Kimberley Academy, where he was fortunate to be part of Project 10 000’s 2022 intake.
His passion for serving communities and contributing towards a safer South Africa inspired him to join the South African Police Service.
Furthermore, Ngcobo’s research interests align closely with the SAPS mandate, as both are grounded in social justice, human rights, community development, and policy transformation. Reflecting on his decision to join SAPS, Dr Ngcobo explained:
“I believed that working within SAPS would expose me to the real-life social challenges faced by vulnerable communities, including inequality, gender-based violence, disability exclusion, youth crime, and barriers to access to justice.”
Recognising a gap in the integration of technology, research, and innovative community engagement strategies within policing, Constable (Dr) Ngcobo believes that young people can make a significant contribution by introducing digital solutions, research-based interventions, and modern communication approaches that enhance service delivery while strengthening relationships between SAPS and the communities.
This youth month, he encourages young people to consider SAPS as an employer of choice because he believes the organisation offers an opportunity to serve the nation with pride, discipline, and integrity while providing career growth, skills development, leadership opportunities, and a platform to make a meaningful difference in society. It is never too late to achieve goals.
Constable (Dr) Ngcobo set himself the challenge of obtaining a doctorate before the age of 30, and through dedication, he achieved it.
A bit late, but needs to be said.
The BEST editor and leader I had the pleasure of working with.
The number of brands you elevated, the careers you helped to launch, the talent you nurtured are countless. But more importantly, you touched people's lives and changed then forever
And so it ends…
Today was my final day as Editor-in-Chief of Kaya News & Talk.
What a privilege it's been to lead this @KayaNews team.
My open letter to these magnificent journalists below.
Thank you for everything ❤️
The Gudjohnsens have an interesting history in international soccer. Daniel’s father - Eidur - and his grandfather - Arnor played in the same international match. 17-year-old Eidur came on for his dad (34) against Estonia in 1996.
Messi's face when he realized he was talking to Daníel Guðjohnsen, son of his former Barcelona teammate Eiður Guðjohnsen 😂
Messi and Eiður played together and won a treble in 2009. Now, Messi is about to play in his sixth World Cup 🤯
Steven Bartlett says a few glasses of wine ruined the next 3 days of his life
“It's one of those areas where you don't understand the hidden cost until you really give it up for a while. I stopped drinking at 30 years old. I'm now 33. When I was 31, I thought, I'll have a drink again because now I could really A/B test it. I had a year of not drinking, decided to have a drink again”
“It ruined three days of my life. I had a couple of glasses of wine, didn't get drunk. It ruined three days of my life because of the domino effect it caused”
“I got worse sleep that night, and then because I got worse sleep that night, I ate more poorly the next day because my dopamine system or whatever, the cortisol system was all messed up. I podcasted worse. I didn't go to the gym that day or the day after because I felt really bad. I then slept worse, and I could track all of this on my Whoop”
“Everything about the sport has changed. The expectations have risen, the interest has risen, the stress attached to winning has become very important,” said Theo Garrun, a writer who has extensively covered school sports.
In South African school sports today, there is a growing concern that its rapid commercialisation is shifting the game away from its fundamental purpose.
What in the actual!? Stop. Please. It may just be bad clipping for social media but I struggle to see how these snippets promote the full conversation & prompt people to engage with it. The impression I’m left with is that I’m listening to someone’s ‘Friday night drinks’ chatter.
Does staying home on election day kill your right to complain about the results? Gareth Edwards takes the debate to the classic Friday night argument over drinks. Francis Herd identifies the massive social pressure and moral weight that makes the act of not voting feel like a source of shame.
#MakingSense #eNCA #Voting #LocalGovernmentElections #SouthAfrica
Watch the full episode here: https://t.co/rPcOiaQy6E
One vote among millions carries almost zero statistical weight. Francis Herd explains the paradox of voting and why casting a ballot looks completely irrational on paper. Watch the full conversation to see why people still show up despite this uncomfortable truth.
#MakingSense #eNCA #Voting #Elections #SouthAfrica
Watch the full episode here: https://t.co/rPcOiaQy6E
I find it quite bewildering and utterly amusing how some MBA holders insist on appending those three letters to their names like a royal seal, or a knighthood. You’d swear a Master of Business Administration is the Michael Jackson of postgraduate degrees moonwalking its way above all other disciplines.
Please don’t mind me I’m just a sour Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration graduate from Wits Business School. You can call me lil bitter Latoya. But Latoya Jackson!