Soccer

Barcelona forward Lionel Messi will head a team of international stars in a charity match against Burkina Faso's national team in June, a government spokesman said Thursday. (africahit.com)

[The Moment] A mild drama occasioned by the arrest of a drug courier ensured the aircraft billed to take the Super Eagles to Lima in Peru did not leave until 14 hours after the scheduled departure time. (AllAfrica)

[iMaverick] Johannesburg - Chelsea's late surge to glory, which saw them crowned European champions on Saturday, means that two of the richest clubs in England achieved breakthrough triumphs within a week of each other, suggesting soccer's balance of power could well be shifting. (AllAfrica)

[iMaverick] Johannesburg - CRICKET (AllAfrica)

[Daily Trust] The Super Eagles' trip to Lima, Peru on Saturday night, was aborted by the arrest of a drug suspect by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), aboard the Iberia Airliner that was to convey them from Lagos. (AllAfrica)

[Daily Trust] The senior national team, Super Eagles, finally departed yesterday for Lima, Peru for an international friendly match scheduled for Wednesday, after their flight was cancelled on Saturday night following the discovery of a drug courier on board. (AllAfrica)

[Daily News] THE national women soccer team, Twiga Stars crashed to a soul-searching 5-2 defeat against South Africa's Banyana Banyana in an international friendly match at the National Stadium in Dar es Salaam on Sunday. (AllAfrica)

[Leadership] The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has congratulated Nigeria's international midfielder, John Mikel Obi, over the UEFA Champions League victory. (AllAfrica)

[Daily Trust] Chelsea FC of England have won the 2011/2012 European Champions League after defeating Bayern Munich of Germany. (AllAfrica)

[Vanguard] The late Reggae crooner, Lucky Dube in one of his songs said, "If you don't have any good thing to say about somebody, just shut up because the thing you say may come back to hurt you". Dube was right as Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson has found out after his 'noisy neighbours', Manchester City denied him of the 2011/2012 Premiership title last Sunday. (AllAfrica)

[Daily Trust] The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has commended the U-20 Women National Team, otherwise known as Falconets, for leaving no one in doubt as to its potency when earning a FIFA World Cup berth in Kinshasa on Saturday. (AllAfrica)

[CAF] Veteran striker Benni McCarthy scored twice in the second half to earn Orlando Pirates a 4-2 win at Golden Arrows Saturday and a second consecutive South African Premiership title. (AllAfrica)

[SAFA] South African Under 20 National Team coach Solly Luvhengo has announced a 25-member squad to play in the 8-Nations International tournament in Cape Town which will be hosted by SAFA Western Cape. (AllAfrica)

[SAFA] The 8-Nations International Tournament in Cape Town is starting to come to life with teams making their way to the Mother City. (AllAfrica)

[Leadership] The Nigeria Football Federation has congratulated Nigeria international midfielder John Mikel Obi for winning the UEFA Champions League title with English Premiership club Chelsea in Munich on Saturday night. (AllAfrica)

[This Day] Torino striker, Nnamdi Oduamadi, was the surprise guest of the national team; Super Eagles in Madrid Airport, when he stopped to connect a flight to Lima, Peru for Wednesday's international friendly. (AllAfrica)

[This Day] Following Sunday's drug incident at the Murtala Mohammed Airport in Lagos, which forced the cancellation of the Iberia flight that the Super Eagles were boarding to Madrid enroute Lima for Wednesday's international friendly against Peru, it was double pain for the team as it missed it connecting flight from Madrid to Lima. (AllAfrica)

[ANGOP] Luanda - The former secretary general of the Angolan Football Federation (FAF), Victor Geovety Barros, Sunday in Luanda called for an impartiality on the part of referees so the results of the National First Division Championship (Girabola) be credited to the teams alone. (AllAfrica)

[ANGOP] Luanda - The young midfielder Ary, aged 18, was one of the highlights of the big classico between Petro de Luanda and 1º de Agosto, played on Sunday at Luanda's 11 de Novembro stadium, as part of the 12th round of the national first division soccer championship (Girabola2012). (AllAfrica)

[ANGOP] Luanda - Santos FC defeated on Saturday Nacional de Benguela by 3-2 at Luanda's Coqueiros stadium,in the 12th round of the national first division football championship (Girabola2012). (AllAfrica)

[Capital FM] Nairobi - The spotlight will be on Harambee Stars head coach Francis Kimanzi on Tuesday when he names the side that plays The Malawi Flames in their first 2014 World Cup qualifier on June 2 at the Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani. (AllAfrica)

[New Vision] Victoria University won the last 2012-13 Bell Uganda Super League slot and immediately sent out a warning about their intentions of staying in the top division. (AllAfrica)

[Times of Zambia] CHIPOLOPOLO skipper Chris Katongo on Saturday scored his fifth goal of the 2012 Chinese Super League when he propelled Henan Jianye to a 1-0 home win against struggling Shanghai Shenhua who featured former French international striker Nicolas Anelka. (AllAfrica)

[Times of Zambia] THE Government has said Zambia is now ready to stage international football matches following the opening of the magnificent Levy Mwanawasa Stadium in Ndola. (AllAfrica)

[New Era] Windhoek - All 18 football coaches who attended the recently concluded CAF/NFA B-Licence coaching course made the grade after an evaluation by CAF recently. (AllAfrica)

[New Era] Walvis Bay - An individual piece of magic by Enrico Hoëbeb, helped Eleven Arrows to retain their MTC Premiership League status in their relegation dogfight against fellow basement-dwellers United Stars at the Kuisebmund Stadium in Walvis Bay on Saturday. (AllAfrica)

[Daily Observer] Gambian international Pa Saikou Kujabi's Hibernian's long wait to lift the Scottish Cup continues after they were thrashed 5-1 by Edinburgh rivals Hearts in a one-sided final at Hampden Park. (AllAfrica)

[SA Info] Orlando Pirates secured back-to-back Premier Soccer League (PSL) titles on Saturday, when they preserved their two-point lead at the top of the standings with a 4-2 victory over Golden Arrows at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. (AllAfrica)

[Daily Observer] Major League Soccer announced through their new MLS Disciplinary Committee two suspensions for actions taking during recent matches. FC Dallas midfielder Brek Shea was suspended for three matches and fined an undisclosed amount for kicking a ball at an assistant referee during the FC Dallas - Columbus Crew match on May 12. The other announced action was the one match suspension of Portland Timbers defender Futty Danso. (AllAfrica)

[This Day] Chelsea completed a remarkable story this season as they clung on to beat Bayern Munich on penalties Saturday and win the UEFA Champions League for the first time in their history. (AllAfrica)

[This Day] Kwara United would have their goalkeeper, Kazeem Yekeen to thank as his brilliant dive at the death saved them from sharing points with visiting Kano Pillars. (AllAfrica)