WHEN Fifa announced the base camps for all 36 Fifa World Cup finalists last week, they were all in South Africa.

STEVEN Gerrard could hardly have chosen a better way to impress Fabio Capello than by ruling his wife out of contention for the World Cup finals at least until the semi-finals stage.

I INTENDED to pen this column after the conclusion of Zimbabwe’s ongoing tour of the West Indies, which began yesterday with the first ODI in Guyana.

ZIMBABWE’s cricket team is in the West Indies and played the first of five ODIs yesterday after the Twenty20 international which they won.

THE shock elimination of Orlando Pirates by Botswana champions Gaborone United from the African Champions League in the preliminary stages must have encouraged Zimbabwe’s representatives in this season’s African club competitions.

IN African countries, a footballer flourishing in a foreign land, especially in Europe, is a cause for celebration.

DAVE Houghton, the former Zimbabwe captain who is now a consultant with the team, believes the side should be back on the Test scene by the end of the year after improvements on and off the field in recent times.

THE story of Highfield and cricket is nothing short of a fairytale.

AS of last week, 96 golfers — including seven Zimbabweans — had been entered for the revived Zimbabwe Open golf tournament.

CAPS United and Zimbabwe striker Nyasha Mushekwi believes he was given a better trial assessment in Belgium than earlier in South Africa.

ZIMBABWEAN professional golfers who have not qualified for the Zimbabwe Open will next month battle it out for nine of the 12 places reserved for them.

WHILE baby sister Vanessa was exiting the limelight after relinquishing her Miss Tourism Zimbabwe crown, big brother Gerald Sibanda was entering it in style, making his debut for Western Province last week.

AT the time of writing, Manicaland Mountaineers were the only team almost guaranteed at least a top two finish in the Stanbic Twenty20 series.

“IN T20 the playing field is level…it’s anyone’s game.”

SPORT has historically been overlooked by central government in Zimbabwe. While most countries have standalone sports ministries, in this country, it has always been merged with other departments of government.

SPRIGHTLY professional golfer Julius Kamalizeni is determined to make an impression on this season’s Sunshine Tour, which include the revived Zimbabwe Open, when he debuts on the tour this month.

CHELSEA captain John Terry will miss tomorrow’s FA Cup tie with Cardiff as he takes a few days leave following allegations about his private life.

ZIMBABWE Cricket selectors have named the 15-man squad for the end-of-month tour of the West Indies.

FORMER Dynamos defender Nyasha Chazika is back at the Harare giants after four years of club-hopping.

JOSE Mourinho has billed Chelsea as one of the world’s best teams but not without taking most of the credit for himself.