Ticket ballot for 2027 World Cup opens to fans worldwide

Cricket fans around the world can now register for tickets to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027, with a global ballot opening on 1 October 2026 for matches across South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. rouesnews.click

Entry is free and does not operate on a first come, first served basis. Any valid entry submitted between 1 October and 21 November 2026 will be treated equally, regardless of when during that window it was received.

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The ballot launch coincides with the official release of the tournament’s match schedule, unveiled at the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town.

Representatives from the ICC, the Local Organising Committee, the three host nations and the wider cricket community gathered to mark the occasion, celebrating the World Cup’s return to African soil for the first time since South Africa last hosted the tournament in 2003.

Fans can enter for as many individual matches as they like, with each treated as a separate ballot entry, and can request up to four tickets per match while selecting their preferred ticket category at the same time.

No payment is required to enter. Where demand for a particular match outstrips supply, a randomised draw will decide which entrants are offered the chance to purchase, with successful applicants notified by email and given a set window to complete their purchase. Matches that are not oversubscribed will see all registered fans offered access, with any leftover tickets potentially made available in later sales phases.

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Entering the ballot does not guarantee tickets, but it does give fans anywhere in the world, for any of the three host nations, a fair and equal shot at attending what organisers are billing as Africa’s biggest Cricket World Cup yet.

The post Ticket ballot for 2027 World Cup opens to fans worldwide appeared first on SA Cricket Mag.

Bonne nouvelle pour Raúl Asencio. Le défenseur du Real Madrid a été opéré avec succès ce jeudi 1er octobre, comme l’a annoncé le club madrilène dans un communiqué médical. Une étape importante désormais franchie pour le jeune Espagnol, qui doit encore patienter avant de retrouver les terrains.

Une opération réussie

Le plus dur est derrière lui. Victime d’une fracture de fatigue du tibia droit, Raúl Asencio n’a plus disputé la moindre rencontre depuis mai 2026. Ce jeudi, le défenseur a finalement été opéré par le docteur Manuel Leyes : « L’intervention a été supervisée par les services médicaux du Real Madrid », a précisé le club dans son communiqué.

Une intervention qui s’est donc déroulée sans complication annoncée. Asencio peut désormais se tourner vers la prochaine étape : la récupération.

Encore de la patience pour Asencio

Le défenseur madrilène devra toutefois prendre son mal en patience. La phase de récupération débutera dans les prochains jours, une fois qu’il sera suffisamment remis de son opération.

L’objectif sera ensuite de lui permettre de retrouver progressivement les terrains, sans précipiter son retour. Après plusieurs mois loin de la compétition, Asencio devra également retrouver toutes ses sensations et son niveau physique avant de pouvoir reprendre pleinement la compétition.

Pour le Real Madrid, cette opération réussie constitue donc une première étape encourageante. Mais avant de revoir Raúl Asencio sur les pelouses, il faudra encore attendre.

The post Real Madrid : Asencio opéré avec succès appeared first on AfricaFootUnited.

Bafana Bafana legend Augustine Makalakalane has praised Pitso Mosimane for maintaining continuity in the squad following back-to-back victories over Guinea and Eritrea in the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

Mosimane largely stuck with the core of the team that featured at the FIFA World Cup in June, despite injuries to regulars such as Khuliso Mudau, Mbekezeli Mbokazi, Thalente Mbatha and the loss of Jayden Adams.

The decision to avoid wholesale changes has been welcomed by Makalakalane, who believes Mosimane was right to build on the work done by former coach Hugo Broos.

“It’s easy, I can’t just come into your house and start making new rules without knowing what you were doing and how you kept everything in order,” Makalakalane said on Radio 2000.

“Coach Pitso has done an excellent job by keeping most of the players from the World Cup who have experience and are competitive. They still have that euphoria of reaching the next round after progressing from the group stages.”

What Pitso needs to say to players

Makalakalane also stressed the importance of building on the back Bafana’s historic World Cup campaign, where they reached the knockout stages for the first time.

He believes the momentum from that historic run can give the team an added boost as they forge ahead under the guidance of Mosimane.

“That euphoria is reminiscent of what we went through in 1996 with Bafana Bafana after Nelson Mandela came out of prison and became president,” he added.

“There was euphoria, and it wins games. That’s what coach Pitso has to rely on at the moment. In such a short space of time since taking the job, these players are playing all over the world, and you need to be meticulous and efficient.

“You need to say, ‘Let me not reinvent the wheel first, but let me pull together players who have experience and can bring a winning mentality, players who understand each other.’ And that was a good approach from the coach.”

Makalakalane knows all about the importance of momentum and continuity, having been part of the Bafana squad that won the 1996 AFCON on home soil under the late Clive Barker.

China defeated Japan in the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games Identity V final, making team member Mu Xinyue the first woman to win an esports gold medal at the event.

China edges Japan in Identity V final

The gold came in the team competition for Identity V Asian Games Version, a 1v4 asymmetrical survival game in which four players take the survivor role against one hunter. Teams switch roles across the match, with points determined by survivors escaping and the hunter’s eliminations.

The opening rounds were closely contested, ending in 4-4 and 5-5 ties. China then took the third round 7-2, but Japan stayed in contention with a 4-4 result in the fourth.

Play was suspended for nearly 30 minutes during the fourth round after an on-site network-cable issue. The match resumed, and China secured the result in the decisive fifth round after taking a 3-1 lead in its first half.

China’s roster featured hunters Shi Xiangwei and Sun Le, alongside survivors Lu Shujia, Chen Mingming, Lu Yahui, Fan Siqi and Mu. Mu competed under the in-game ID Tao Wan’an. She said she stayed calm during the technical stoppage and waited for the referees and organisers to decide how play would proceed, according to Xinhua.

A landmark result amid a participation gap

Mu was the only woman in China’s esports delegation at the Games. Registration figures reported by Xinhua put the number of esports athletes at more than 500, with 14 women, placing her team gold against a stark representation gap on the continental stage.

The milestone adds visibility to women’s participation in competitive gaming, but the result alone does not change the numbers of athletes selected. Esports entered the Asian Games as a demonstration sport at Jakarta 2018 before becoming an official medal sport at Hangzhou 2023. At Aichi-Nagoya, South Korea’s Park So-yeon also became the first woman to represent the country’s national esports team, Xinhua reported.

Mu’s result sits within a broader history of women achieving success in esports, while questions about participation and representation remain part of the conversation. Esports Insider has examined the gender participation gap in competitive esports and documented the achievements of women esports players. National-team competitions can also make pathways to top-level events more visible, an issue raised in discussion of co-ed competition at the Esports Nations Cup.

What the gold means for the event

The Aichi-Nagoya final delivered a team title for China and a first for women in Asian Games esports gold-medal history. The distinction is significant: Mu earned the medal as part of a mixed-gender roster, rather than in a separate women’s event.

With esports now an official part of the Games’ medal programme, Mu’s achievement gives future editions a clear benchmark for representation. The registered-athlete figures show how much distance remains between women’s presence in the wider gaming audience and their visibility among national-team competitors.

The post China’s Identity V win sets new Asian Games esports benchmark appeared first on Esports Insider.