| Soccer sure to hog spotlight with Nash in charge
When it comes time for Major League Soccer's launch in Vancouver, Nash will be front and centre. His secretive stake in the franchise - set to begin play in 2011 and almost certainly to be called the Whitecaps - is irrelevant. Like his former NBA employer Cuban in Dallas, or Seattle's showbiz MLS owner Carey, Nash will be the face, and not just because nobody knows what current Caps owner Greg Kerfoot looks like. Victoria-raised Nash walks on rain puddles in B.C., and he's a global star. Slam magazine just placed the two-time NBA MVP in their top 50 greatest players of all-time. Time magazine in 2006 declared him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. He can take the MLS franchise where none of its other owners can - onto the pages of the New York Times and L.A.
Mayoral Cup soccer gets R1m boost
THE uThukela district municipality in northern KwaZulu-Natal will spend R1million on a mayoral cup tournament to showcase its readiness for the 2010 soccer World Cup. The Mayoral Cup, to be played on July 26, has been staged since 2003 with only only one big team taking part. This year Premier Soccer Soccer league side – AmaZulu, Maritzburg United, Jomo Cosmos – and a squad from the district will be featured. Tourist attractions “Though no game is going to be played in our district [in 2010], we are positioning ourselves to benefit from this event,” mayor Mqapheli Sithole said yesterday. “We do have a stadium and facilities that clubs can utilise for training.
Fearless Turnstone team wins 1st soccer championship
Ranging in age from 10 to 25, the members of Turnstone's Team Fearless recently won the National Power Soccer Tournament Division II championship in Indianapolis.
Power soccer is an adaptive wheelchair sport created for power-chair users about 20 years ago, and was offered at Turnstone for the first time in 2006. Temporary guards are installed on the front of chairs and are used to punch an enlarged ball around the court. Each side plays with four players at a time. There are more than 50 teams nationally who compete.
The Indianapolis tournament capped a two-year run to the championship. Last year Fearless won the regional but lost the national championship game 2-1 to another local squad, the Fantastic Flyers, in Suwanee, Ga. This year Fearless was the top-ranked team all year until the regional when it was upset by the Courage Thunder of Minnesota, 3-0.
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