标签： Africa

A high-profile racial abuse trial has begun at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court, where prosecutors have laid out claims that a Liverpool fan hurled a racist slur at professional footballer Antoine Semenyo during an August 2025 Premier League match at Anfield.

At the time of the alleged incident, Semenyo – who now plies his trade as a winger for Manchester City – was competing for Bournemouth in the opening fixture of the 2025-26 top-flight season. The 47-year-old defendant, Mark Mogan, a wheelchair-using resident of Dovecot, Liverpool, has entered a plea of not guilty to a charge of racially aggravated behaviour.

Prosecutor Simon Jones told the court the confrontation unfolded roughly 30 minutes into the match, when Semenyo was positioned to take a throw-in near the side of the pitch. Jones said: “Mr Semenyo briefly froze as he couldn’t believe what the male had said.” Prosecutors confirmed the player was left visibly distressed by the interaction, and waited until the next stoppage of play to report the abuse to match referee Anthony Taylor. The court also heard that after the initial slur, Mogan shouted additional abusive language toward Semenyo, who chose not to respond verbally and completed the throw-in as planned.

Two short surveillance clips of the incident were played for the court during opening arguments. Jones described Mogan as appearing visibly agitated and angry throughout the sequence. Witness testimony has corroborated further aggressive actions: multiple attendees told police Mogan threw chewing gum that struck the right side of Semenyo’s shorts before he was escorted out of the stadium by security at half-time.

Neil Sherratt, a Liverpool fan who sits adjacent to Mogan in the Main Stand’s disabled section, told the court he saw Mogan move close to the pitch barrier before shouting. Sherratt testified he heard Mogan yell a phrase urging Semenyo to hurry, and saw the footballer turn toward the stand with a stunned expression, responding with “you what”. A second witness, Liverpool supporter Nicholas Collins, told the court Mogan grew openly boastful and unapologetic after the incident, even threatening to attack any police officers who approached him.

During a police interview the day after the match, Mogan offered a competing version of events. He admitted shouting at Semenyo to hurry up, but claimed the footballer had first insulted him with a derogatory term for disabled people, which left him upset. Mogan also refuted the claim he threw chewing gum at the player, saying he only discarded it on the ground. He was accompanied by a court-appointed intermediary throughout the trial proceedings to support his access needs.

Prosecutor Jones argued that Mogan’s account to police was untruthful, and that the weight of witness evidence confirms the alleged racial abuse took place. Semenyo, who was born in London to Ghanaian parents and has represented Ghana at the World Cup, is scheduled to give evidence to the court via video link in upcoming sessions. The trial remains ongoing as the court hears further testimony and evidence.

South African sprinting star Sinesipho Dambile, the first athlete from his country to claim a Commonwealth Games men’s 200m title, says he considers comparisons to Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt a rare honor rather than an overwhelming burden as he chases his goal of becoming one of the world’s top sprinters.

The 24-year-old has enjoyed a meteoric breakthrough in the 2026 season, turning heads across global track and field with a string of consistent, record-beating performances that have cemented his status as one of Africa’s most exciting emerging sprint talents. In an exclusive interview with the Warm Up Track podcast, Dambile opened up about his mindset, revealing he actively thrives under the pressure that comes with being linked to the fastest man in human history.

“Pressure is a privilege,” Dambile said. “I love it because that’s where I excel.”

Dambile still carries a key piece of advice the eight-time Olympic gold medalist gave him when the pair met at the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, a moment that has stuck with him through his breakout season. “For Bolt, charisma naturally goes to him. Being able to meet him in person last year in Tokyo, he said: ‘Please make sure you enjoy this thing.’ That, until this day, still stuck with me,” he recalled.

Dambile earned his spot at the 2025 Tokyo World Championships by taking gold at that year’s South African national championships. There, he fought his way to an eighth-place finish in the 200m final after setting a new personal best of 19.97 seconds in the semi-finals. He has shattered that mark already this year as he continues his rapid developmental trajectory.

In June’s Diamond League meeting in Doha, he clocked a blistering 19.74 seconds – the fourth-fastest 200m time posted by any athlete globally in 2026. He followed that up with a second-place finish behind American sprinter Kenny Bednarek at last month’s Diamond League final in Brussels, where he outpaced Botswana’s 2024 Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo, and took fourth place in the inaugural Ultimate Championships. But for Dambile, the undisputed highlight of 2026 remains his historic Commonwealth Games gold medal, won in Birmingham in July.

While the 200m remains his primary focus, Dambile already has plans to follow in Bolt’s footsteps by expanding into the 100m – a move the Jamaican made mid-career before dominating both sprint distances. Dambile says he is fully prepared to put in the work required to succeed at both distances. “He (Bolt) paved the way,” Dambile said. “I spoke to my team a couple of times and I was like, ‘I want you guys to count me in on the 100m’. I want to do both. I know I’m going to be successful.”

Unlike some high-profile sprinters known for brash on-track showmanship – such as Olympic 100m champion Noah Lyles – Dambile describes himself as a naturally quiet competitor who prefers to let his racing do the talking. But he says he plans to embrace Bolt’s advice to enjoy the sport more openly, and promises fans will see more of his approachable personality in coming competitions. “I’ve never been a loud person, trying to bring attention to me,” he said. “I’m always smiling out there, I’m always looking at the crowd, looking at the kids, and that’s just me. I just want to go out there and do my thing, to make sure that everybody enjoys the show.”

Dambile’s breakthrough success has aligned with a new wave of optimism and belief across South African sprinting. He was a core member of the South African quartet that claimed 4x100m gold at the 2025 World Relays in Guangzhou, alongside teammates Bayanda Walaza, Bradley Nkoana, and veteran sprinter Akani Simbine. Dambile credits the squad’s tight camaraderie for driving their collective success, noting the team draws inspiration from South Africa’s beloved rugby Springboks, who have built a legacy of World Cup success. “We go as a squad, so we have that little bit of energy. We pump each other up because we’re going for the one thing – doing it for our country. The biggest sport in our country is rugby, so you get the Springboks going there winning the World Cup and we wanted to have the same feeling,” he explained.

The influence of veteran teammate Simbine, a seasoned global sprint star, has been particularly pivotal to Dambile’s growth. Simbine, the 2018 Commonwealth 100m champion, earned his first Olympic medal at the 2024 Paris Games, taking silver in the 4x100m relay after near-misses in individual 100m finals at both Paris 2024 and Tokyo 2020. “He’s made all the finals. He’s been there. He’s been the guy. He’s been one of the best sprinters in the world,” Dambile said of Simbine. “So when someone like that from home can do it, we also start to believe that it’s actually possible to do it.”

Like Simbine, Dambile is a product of the TuksSport program at the University of Pretoria, a renowned talent hub that has produced many of South Africa’s top track and field athletes, including 2026 Commonwealth 100m fourth-place finisher Gift Leotlela and 2025 world indoor 800m champion Prudence Sekgodiso. Dambile calls the program the best possible training environment for a young sprinter, noting the shared community of homegrown talent has pushed every athlete to improve. While all four Pretoria-trained athletes competed at the 2026 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, only Dambile left with a medal – a moment he says felt like the reward for years of unseen work. “It was so much relief because what I did was not just a small thing. It was huge, especially for myself [and] the country of South Africa. My emotions were all over the place. I just pushed through everything and when I was in that moment, I knew I deserved it because of the amount of work I’ve put in,” he said.

Dambile first made his mark as a junior athlete, winning a bronze medal in the 200m at the 2021 Under-20 World Championships in Nairobi. But his rise to senior stardom has not been without obstacles: a persistent injury forced him to miss most of the 2024 season, derailing his momentum just as he looked set to break through. That makes 2026’s success all the sweeter, he says, and it has already changed his profile at home. “It’s easier to recognise me in the country now with me winning the Commonwealth. A bit of fame now – you can see people when they talk about you. It’s like I’ve been experiencing beautiful things happening,” he noted.

Looking ahead, Dambile and his coaching team have already mapped out a clear training and competition plan for the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. His long-term goal is nothing short of making history for South African sprinting. “We’ve already set up a map towards that. We definitely know how important it’s going to be over the next two years. I want to be the best 200m athlete the sport has ever seen. I need to make sure that I have the World Championship [and] Olympic title. I want to do things that have never been done in my country,” he said.

After nearly four decades away from the African continent, Formula 1 has announced a historic agreement that will bring the African Grand Prix to Rwanda, marking the end of a 10-year push by series owners Liberty Media to expand the sport into untapped global markets. The announcement was made Tuesday at an official event in Kigali, with F1 president Stefano Domenicali joining Rwandan President Paul Kagame and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem on stage to mark the occasion.

Liberty Media has held an ambition to host a Formula 1 race on African soil since it acquired the commercial rights to the sport in early 2017, and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton has publicly advocated for adding an African race to the calendar for years. Rwanda beat out competing bids from Morocco, South Africa and other interested nations to secure the hosting rights, signing a 10-year contract that will see the first race held in the early 2030s. What set Rwanda apart from rival bidders was its cohesive, unified proposal with secured financial backing and a clear long-term vision for the project, while Morocco struggled to source sufficient funding and South Africa advanced four separate conflicting proposals across three different locations that F1’s leadership deemed unworkable for an already crowded global calendar.

The new purpose-built circuit will be constructed on a greenfield site in Bugesera, approximately 25 miles south of Kigali, as part of a large mixed-use development adjacent to a new international airport currently under construction. The development will include not just the race track, but also residential neighborhoods, hotels, spas, sports science facilities, an entertainment district and an innovation hub. Insiders familiar with the project have confirmed that there are no expected barriers to completing construction ahead of the proposed 2030 launch date.

Designed by former F1 driver Alex Wurz, the 6km circuit is planned to leverage Rwanda’s dramatic natural undulating terrain to create a driver challenge in the vein of iconic classic tracks like Spa-Francorchamps, Suzuka and Mugello, with nearly 200 meters of total elevation change across 17 corners. Preliminary released renders of the layout already show clear similarities to the opening section of Japan’s Suzuka, and Wurz’s design will be finalized after additional consultation with F1 teams and competing drivers.

Domenicali described the deal as a landmark moment for F1’s global growth, saying he was proud that the series was opening the sport to a new generation of fans across the African continent. He praised Rwanda as a global success story, highlighting the country’s natural beauty, resilience and growing reputation as a hub for international investment and innovation. For his part, Kagame framed the Grand Prix as more than just a national event, saying it would create jobs, boost tourism, attract new business and skills, and pave the way for future major motorsport events across the continent. He emphasized that the project would help break the long-standing cycle where African athletes achieve global success while the continent sees little economic or infrastructural benefit from international sport.

The deal has already ignited controversy, however, with critics accusing Rwanda of using the high-profile motorsport event for sportswashing, a practice where nations host major sporting events to distract attention from alleged human rights violations. Rwanda has pushed back against these claims, noting that the project is funded through a combined public-private development fund, rather than diverting funds from social services in a country that still receives international development aid. The Grand Prix is part of Rwanda’s broader five-year economic strategy that aims to attract £3.5bn in private investment to drive national growth, boost tourism and expand GDP.

Currently, the Democratic Republic of Congo has a case pending against Rwanda at the International Court of Justice, accusing the Rwandan government of violating international treaties on genocide prevention, racial discrimination, women’s rights and torture. F1 is not the first global sports property to face these accusations related to Rwandan partnerships: English Premier League clubs Arsenal and Aston Villa have also faced criticism for sponsorship deals with the Rwandan government. This is not a new issue for F1 either, as the series already hosts races in other countries that have faced sportswashing claims, most notably Saudi Arabia, which is also set to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup.

In response to the controversy, F1 cited its organizational charter, which commits the series to upholding internationally recognized human rights across its global operations, with mandatory monitoring of potential impacts and stakeholder engagement to address emerging concerns. The league emphasized that bringing F1 to Africa would inspire 100 million new fans and that sport can act as a force for positive change across the continent.

But human rights advocates have rejected that position. Felix Jakens, head of campaigns at Amnesty International UK, argued that “Rwanda is buying into the world’s biggest sports to polish its image and deflect from its appalling human rights record.” Jakens added that F1’s claims of being a force for good ring hollow when the league ignores the human rights record of its host partners, calling on F1 to use its influence to push for reform rather than lending its global brand to what Jakens called a public relations exercise.

South Africa’s 12-match unbeaten streak in Test cricket came to a decisive end in the opening fixture of their three-match series against Australia in Durban, with a 214-run defeat raising serious questions about the home side’s preparedness and top-order performance ahead of a busy upcoming international schedule.

After Australia declared their second innings on 314-6 to set South Africa a mammoth 421-run chase, the Proteas held on for just over an hour into the fifth and final day thanks to a defiant six-hour knock from Aiden Markram, who scored 75 from 237 balls. But Australia’s star pace bowler Josh Hazlewood tore through the lower order to claim the final four wickets of Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer and Anrich Nortje, finishing with career-best match figures of 6-49 – beating his previous best of 6-67 against India back in 2017 – to secure a 1-0 series lead for the world number one side.

The result comes after South Africa booked their place in the 2025 World Test Championship final at Lord’s through an impressive run of results that saw them beat lower-ranked sides and pull off key draws against top competition. But this match marked the Proteas’ first Test in almost 12 months, and most of their batters only had one domestic red-ball match under their belt to shake off the rust. Proteas coach Shukri Conrad was quick to point to this lack of recent match play as a mitigating factor, noting that Australia also recently came off an eight-month break and suffered an upset defeat to Bangladesh on home soil earlier this year. He also added that South Africa’s past wins – including a famous away victory over Australia just last summer and a 2-0 series win in India – prove the side is still capable of beating the world’s best teams.

Even so, the defeat exposed a long-running worrying trend in South Africa’s batting unit, particularly against top-tier bowling attacks. Several of the side’s white-ball specialists stepped up into the Test lineup for this fixture, but struggled to handle the relentless pressure and quality of Australia’s world-famous pace quartet. Opener Ryan Rickelton, who has only scored centuries against lower-ranked Sri Lanka and Pakistan, nicked wide deliveries in both innings to exit cheaply. Middle-order batter Tristan Stubbs similarly threw away his wicket with loose shots in both innings, with his two career Test hundreds also coming against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

While Mulder’s 110-ball 29 on the final day showed some fight, wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne lasted just three deliveries in the second innings, and his career Test average drops significantly when facing top sides like Australia, England and India. David Bedingham looked solid in his new role at number three, scoring 49 and 46, but he also failed to convert promising starts into a match-changing big innings. Only Markram’s stubborn defensive knock stood out as a clear positive for the home side.

This defeat cannot be pinned solely on batting failures, however. Captain Temba Bavuma faced criticism for letting the game drift on day two, when Australia’s lower order extended their first innings from 124-6 all the way to 390. Part-time batter Matt Renshaw top-scored with 82 in the second innings and 190 in the first, and he was allowed to easily farm the strike in a crucial 134-run ninth-wicket stand with spinner Nathan Lyon. South Africa’s bowling attack, meanwhile, failed to match the relentless pressure applied by Australia’s pace unit.

Anrich Nortje’s return to Test cricket for the first time since March 2023 was a bright spot, with the fast bowler taking two wickets in each innings and delivering hostile pace, even hitting Steve Smith on the helmet with a bouncer on day four. But Mulder offered little threat after his opening new ball spells, Marco Jansen was far less dangerous after picking up early wickets of Nic Maddinson and Steve Smith on day one, and the home side’s spinners Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj failed to find their usual sharpness, per Conrad’s assessment. The entire side is now eagerly awaiting the return from injury of star fast bowler Kagiso Rabada, who was seen bowling in the nets on the final day of the Durban Test.

With the second Test set to get underway in just five days in Gqeberha, South Africa will be hoping this opening defeat was nothing more than a rusty first outing after a long break. If deeper issues are exposed in the second fixture, however, the upcoming months – which include a high-profile visit from England over the Christmas period – could prove far more challenging for the out-of-form Proteas.

After a three-decade absence of Formula 1 racing on the African continent, motorsport’s premier series has announced a landmark 10-year agreement that will bring the newly created African Grand Prix to Rwanda, with the first race scheduled to take place by the early 2030s.

The purpose-built racing venue will be constructed in Bugesera, a district located roughly 25 miles south of Rwanda’s capital Kigali, adjacent to the city’s under-development new international airport. It will mark F1’s first return to African soil since the last South African Grand Prix was hosted at Kyalami in 1993. This milestone finally fulfills a years-long goal for the series: to host championship races on every inhabited continent on Earth.

The new circuit is the brainchild of former F1 driver Alex Wurz, in partnership with iconic F1 track architects Tilke and development firm DAR. Following the natural terrain of Rwanda’s hilly southern landscape, the track design leverages the region’s dramatic elevation shifts to create a one-of-a-kind, technically demanding driving experience, while also optimizing sightlines to deliver world-class viewing access for spectators. F1 officials emphasize that the layout was created to work in harmony with the local natural environment, rather than reshaping the landscape to fit a standard track design.

Discussions around bringing F1 back to Africa have circulated for decades, with South Africa holding multiple rounds of negotiations for a return to iconic venues like Kyalami and new proposed sites in Cape Town, but no binding long-term agreement ever materialized. F1 leadership framed the deal with Rwanda as the result of years of collaborative planning to lay the proper groundwork for a sustainable, successful event that will deliver long-term value to the region. F1 president Stefano Domenicali called the contract a watershed moment for the global series, noting that “Africa has always been part of Formula 1’s future, and from the beginning we were determined to return in the right way, with the right partner, a long-term commitment and a clear vision for creating meaningful impact.”

Rwandan President Paul Kagame highlighted the transformative potential of the deal for the entire continent. “For more than three decades, the world’s premier motorsport championship has raced without this continent, and that changes with this agreement,” Kagame said. “Rwanda is proud to host the Formula 1 African Grand Prix, and to share this moment with more than 100 million fans across Africa, many of them young people who deserve to see the sport at home and to see themselves in it: as engineers, technicians, entrepreneurs and, one day, drivers.”

Kagame added that the combined project of the new circuit and adjacent international airport will generate sustained economic benefits for Rwandans and the broader region, far beyond a single annual race weekend. The development is expected to create thousands of local jobs, build new technical skills in the local workforce, boost tourism across the country, and attract new long-term business investment. F1 also frames the deal as a critical expansion opportunity for the sport, which has historically had limited penetration in Africa compared to established markets in Europe, Asia and the Americas.

No final calendar slot has been confirmed for the African Grand Prix yet, but F1 officials have noted they will avoid the country’s heavy rainy season between March and May, with the October to November secondary rain season seen as a more viable window. F1 is currently bound by its own commitment to cap the annual championship calendar at a maximum of 24 races, meaning adjustments to the existing schedule will be required to add the new African round.

The agreement has already been marked for controversy, however, as human rights organizations are widely expected to raise accusations of sportswashing against both F1 and Rwanda. These accusations mirror similar criticism Rwanda has faced in recent years over its “Visit Rwanda” sponsorship deals with English Premier League football clubs Arsenal and Aston Villa. The controversy is further heightened by an ongoing case against Rwanda at the International Court of Justice, brought by neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo, which accuses Rwanda of violating multiple international treaties covering genocide prevention, racial discrimination, women’s rights, and torture.

In response to these concerns, an F1 spokesperson reaffirmed the series’ position that motorsport can act as a force for positive change, saying “We have the opportunity to inspire and bring the passion of F1 to 100 million people across Africa and sport can be a positive force for good.”

The history of F1 in Africa stretches back to 1958, when Morocco hosted the final round of the inaugural F1 World Championship. South Africa hosted races from 1960 to 1966 under apartheid, before moving to the Kyalami circuit near Johannesburg from 1976 to 1985. Kyalami hosted two final races in 1992 and 1993, as apartheid ended, before F1 left the continent.