Messi’s father Jorge dies aged 68 after illness

ROSARIO, Argentina, August 8, 2026 – Lionel Messi’s father Jorge has died at the age of 68 following a long illness.

Jorge, who had also been the Argentina forward’s agent since he was 14, passed away in a hospital in his hometown of Rosario, Argentina, in the early hours of Saturday morning. tbzikra.com

After speculation about his health during this summer’s World Cup, the Messi family issued a statement saying he was dealing with a “health-related situation” but did not disclose the nature of his condition.

Jorge helped his son become arguably the best player of all time and was in Qatar to see Lionel end his quest to lead Argentina to their third World Cup triumph in 2022.

The Inter Miami forward, 39, also became an eight-time Ballon d’Or winner and won the Champions League four times with Barcelona, plus 10 La Liga titles in 17 seasons in their first team.

Jorge supported his local team Newell’s Old Boys and Lionel joined the club when he was seven years old.

The family relocated to Spain in February 2001 after Lionel was signed by Barca aged just 13, and although Messi’s mother and three siblings soon moved back to Rosario, his father stayed with him in Barcelona.

“Jorge was the pillar and the person who supported with vision, rigor and affection the career of the greatest player of all time alongside his wife, Celia Cuccittini,” Newell’s Old Boys posted on X., external

“His constant companionship and behind-the-scenes leadership were essential in backing every step of Lionel, from his beginnings at Malvinas [youth academy] to the pinnacle of world football glory.

“Thank you for teaching him to love these colours.”

The club added that they “embrace with affection Celia, Lionel, Rodrigo, Matias and Maria Sol, and all their loved ones and close ones in this difficult moment”.

Barcelona thanked Jorge “for his commitment to our club, for entrusting us with the beginnings and the most glorious years of his son Leo’s football career”.

The Argentine Football Association said it “deeply mourns with sadness and sorrow the passing of Jorge Messi, father of our captain and emblem, Lionel Messi”.

It added: “From here, we stand in solidarity with the entire family during this difficult time and send the most heartfelt, warm and affectionate embrace.”

The Messi family responded after an Argentine television presenter falsely reported Jorge had died during Argentina’s opening game at this summer’s World Cup.

The presenter later resigned, while the family expressed their “deep discomfort with the lack of sensitivity, respect and discretion with which some people have treated what is strictly a private family matter”.

En République démocratique du Congo (RDC), Miguel Masaisai s'attaque à un nouveau défi, celui de parcourir le continent africain à vélo pour rejoindre Rabat, au Maroc, soit un périple total de près de 14 000 kilomètres. Le cycliste congolais est arrivé à Kinshasa, mercredi 5 août, au terme d'une traversée de 67 jours, depuis Goma, un parcours de près de 6 700 kilomètres reliant l'est à l'ouest du pays, réalisé dans le cadre de son initiative « Pedals for Peace », en faveur de la paix et de l'unité en RDC.

Banyana Banyana are just one victory away from qualifying for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil after booking their place in the quarter-finals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Burkina Faso.

Thembi Kgatlana scored the decisive goal in the first half as South Africa secured second place in Group B to advance to the knockout stages, where they will face tournament hosts Morocco in Rabat on Saturday, 8 August.

Kick-off is at 22:00 (SA time).

A place in the semi-finals will also secure qualification for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

South Africa finished the group stage on four points, three behind group winners Ivory Coast, who defeated Tanzania 2-1 in the other Group B fixture.

Desiree Ellis praises grit over glamour

Banyana Banyana coach Desiree Ellis admitted her side made life difficult for themselves after taking an early lead but was delighted with the resilience they showed to grind out the result.

“I said it was going to be a tough one, and we made it a little bit difficult for ourselves. We scored early and stopped playing,” Ellis said.

“You’ve got to give credit to the players though, it wasn’t pretty and sometimes it doesn’t have to be pretty. Defensively we were organised and I think we had one or two chances that could have put the game to bed, but I thought the team played very well.”

Ellis made two changes to the side that drew with Ivory Coast, bringing Isabella Ludwig and Hildah Magaia into the starting line-up in place of Bongeka Gamede and Nthabiseng Majiya.

The victory completed an impressive turnaround after the defending African champions opened their campaign with a defeat to Tanzania before drawing with Ivory Coast.

“It’s not how you start, but how you finish,” Ellis said.

“The fightback shows what this team is made of, and we keep working on being better and that’s all we can do. Now the games are coming thick and fast, there’s no margin for error.

“We have also showed that we can grind out results. I think in 2018 we played probably the best football of the tournament and we didn’t win it. In 2022 we mixed it up, so we’ve learned that you can’t play pretty all the time and that’s what people expect from Banyana Banyana.

“But we will take it step by step and day by day.”

Milestones for Banyana Banyana

There was more reason to celebrate for South Africa beyond qualification.

Captain Refiloe Jane marked her birthday with victory, while Hildah Magaia and Gabriela Moodaly-Salgado both reached the milestone of 50 international caps.

Kgatlana’s match-winning display also earned her the Player of the Match award.

Le RC Lens sécurise l’avenir d’Ismaëlo Ganiou. Après une saison 2025-2026 convaincante, le défenseur central de 21 ans a prolongé son engagement avec le club artésien jusqu’en juin 2030.

Cette nouvelle marque la confiance accordée par les dirigeants lensois au jeune défenseur. Ganiou a participé à 29 rencontres toutes compétitions confondues la saison dernière et a également trouvé le chemin des filets à trois reprises.

Avec le départ de Malang Sarr cet été, le Lensois devrait disposer d’un rôle plus important au sein du secteur défensif. Le club compte désormais sur lui pour franchir un nouveau cap et s’installer durablement parmi les cadres de l’équipe.

Cette prolongation de deux saisons supplémentaires permet ainsi au RC Lens de conserver un joueur considéré comme important pour la suite de son projet sportif.

The post Ismaëlo Ganiou prolonge son contrat avec le RC Lens appeared first on AfricaFootUnited.

The Pumas boosted their Currie Cup playoff hopes with a narrow bonus-point win against the Vodacom Bulls XV at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

Coach Jimmy Stonehouse’s team raced into a 19-point lead only to fall behind early in the second half before regaining their composure to triumph 33-31 in a game that produced five yellow cards and a red.

The Pumas moved up to third on the log, while the winless Bulls remain at the bottom.

The visitors started the match strongly, with wave after wave of attack resulting in a try for winger Alfondso Isaacs.

The Bulls then suffered a big blow when flank Abongile Nonkontwana saw yellow for a shoulder tackle – later upgraded to red – and Pumas captain Willie Engelbrecht and lock JJ Scheepers barged over while he was off to make it 19-0 after 21 minutes.

The 14-man Bulls got on the board when Isaacs tackled a probable Bulls’ try-scorer without the ball and were awarded a penalty try, with the Pumas winger sin-binned.

But the hosts then went down to 12 when hooker Siphosethu Mnebelele and replacement loose forward Cephas van Biljon were yellow-carded for cynical breakdown infringements.

To the Bulls’ credit, they repelled the Pumas’ relentless attack and then scored a try through lock Johnathan Eloff with the clock in the red to reduce the deficit to five at the break.

REPORT: Griquas leapfrog Lions to top log

With both teams restored to 15, the Bulls hit the front early in the second half when Mnebelele went over under the posts for a converted try.

But another yellow soon followed, this time flashed at Pumas flank Ntsika Fisanti for a shoulder tackle. That didn’t prevent the visitors from striking back, though, replacement hooker Jan-Henning Campher rumbling over from a lineout maul.

Bulls replacement prop Sandi Msengana levelled the scores at 26-26, only for lock Sintu Manjezi to be sin-binned for collapsing a maul and Campher to score his second.

The Bulls hit straight back through fullback Hakeem Kunene, but the try was scored in the corner and Johannes’ conversion went wide.

LAMBIE: 2010 Currie Cup final better than wedding day

In round five of the Currie Cup, the Pumas host the Stormers XXIII while the Bulls welcome the Cheetahs to Loftus.

BULLS XV – Try: Penalty try, Johnathan Eloff, Siphosethu Mnebelele, Sandi Msengana, Hakeem Kunene. Conversions: Keagan Johannes (2).
PUMAS – Tries: Alfondso Isaacs, Willie Engelbrecht, JJ Scheepers, Jan-Henning Campher (2). Conversions: Nevaldo Fleurs (4).

Photos: Pumas/Facebook

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