By Gerald Imray (CP) – 1 day ago
JOHANNESBURG — Just three months after the continent's first World Cup was hailed as a great success and proof that African soccer had its house in order, the buildup to this weekend's second round of qualifying matches for the 2012 African Cup of Nations is dominated by off-field controversies.
Nigeria has been suspended from international football, Zimbabwe is deporting its new coach and Togo will play its first game since a fake team represented the country in an international match, leading to the arrest of football federation officials. In Zambia, a string of resignations from its football body has prompted a government investigation.
"It's a sad one for the players," said Nigeria captain Joseph Yobo following FIFA's statement that the country's federation had been suspended because of government interference. "We just hope everyone can simply come together and resolve this crisis once and for all for the progress of the country."
Nigeria's participation in Sunday's Group B match in Guinea is unlikely. Nigerian teams, national and club, are not allowed to compete until the federation's elected executive committee "is able to work without any interference," said FIFA, suggesting there was no quick fix.
Africa's football confederation, CAF, has offered no explanation of the two-time African champion's future in the competition should the country miss the match in Conakry. Nigeria won its first qualifier against Madagascar 2-0.
Zimbabwe heads into its Group A home game against Cape Verde without newly appointed Belgian coach Tom Saintfiet, who has been ordered out of the country for working without a permit. He was given his deportation orders at a training session in Harare on Tuesday.
Cape Verde tops the group after a shock 1-0 win over Mali, which hosts Liberia in the group's other fixture.
Zambia recorded a resounding 4-0 win over Comoros in its opening qualifier to top Group C, but that has been overshadowed by the fate of its football association, which is the subject of a sports ministry investigation after four officials walked out. Any evidence of government interference, which is forbidden by FIFA, could prompt a Nigeria-like sanction. Zambia plays away in Libya on Friday, Comoros is at home to Mozambique.
Togo was belatedly allowed to take part in qualifiers following the overturning of a CAF ban.
Now part of a five-team Group K, the Sparrow Hawks face a tough test at home to Tunisia Friday, their first game since the infamous fake team scandal, where a group of unknown players pretending to be Togo's national team played against Bahrain. Togo's interim football federation chairman, Seyi Memene, has now resigned after FIFA turned down his request to push back elections for a new board.
Togo has just two points from three games and is eight points behind runaway group leader Botswana, which has a bye.
South Africa may be relieved that its biggest problems are injuries to English-based players Steven Pienaar and captain Aaron Mokoena ahead of a trip to Sierra Leone in Group G. Everton midfielder Pienaar has been withdrawn from the squad with a groin injury, and Portsmouth's Mokoena sat out training this week in a bid to recover full fitness from his own groin strain. South Africa lost 1-0 to Sierra Leone in Freetown in 2008, a result which contributed to it failing to qualify for the 2010 African Cup.
"We are determined to give a much better account and get a result this time," Mokoena said.
Bafana Bafana began with a 2-0 win over Niger to top Group G over defending African champion Egypt, which was held 1-1 at home by Sierra Leone in its first match. The Pharaohs will look to get back on track in Niger on Sunday.
Former captain Stephen Appiah takes charge for his first match as stand-in coach when Ghana faces Sudan at home on Sunday. Milovan Rajevac, who led the Black Stars to the World Cup quarterfinals, resigned days after Ghana's opening 3-0 win in Swaziland.
Ghana is missing Chelsea's Michael Essien, who has taken a break from international football, and injured AC Milan midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng. Appiah also made the surprise choice to leave Inter Milan midfielder Sulley Muntari and forward Matthew Amoah out of his squad.
Sudan impressed as it beat Congo 2-0 in its opening qualifier.
"It is normal for people to say that we're favourites judging by our performance at the World Cup," Appiah said. "But in modern football there are no small teams."
Elsewhere, Morocco travels to Tanzania and Algeria plays Central Africa in Group D, with all four teams locked on one point after opening round draws. In Group E, Cameroon hosts DR Congo and Senegal plays Mauritius.
Uganda travels to Kenya after kicking off its campaign with a surprise 3-0 win over Angola to lead Group J.
Striker Didier Drogba is again not included in Ivory Coast's squad for Saturday's Group H match in Burundi. Drogba was also left out of the Elephants' 3-0 win over Rwanda last month by coach Francois Zahoui, who is believed to be managing the game time of his leading player after Drogba had groin and elbow surgery earlier this year.
The top two teams in Group K, and the group winners and two best second-placed teams from the other 10 groups will qualify for the 16-country finals in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
Copyright © 2010 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Friday, October 8, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
The Hearing That Cant Be Heard
The case of suspended ZIFA Chief Executive Officer makes very interesting following. There was so much noise about her suspension for alleged mismanagement at ZIFA offices and being involved in betting and match fixing scandals, yet the case has progressed slowly and the much hyped hearing is yet to take place. Rushwaya is further accused of authorising the travelling of the Zimbabwe National Senior Soccer team without approval from the Sports and Recreation Commission.
The hearing, which is supposed to give the Iron Lady of Local Football a chance to respond to the allegations levelled against her, has been postponed for one reason or the other, countless times. The latest postponement is alleged to be due to the fact that the ZIFA witnesses were away. This has been the case in previous times when either Rushwaya or ZIFA’s lawyers have failed to make themselves available. Now there is doubt as to whether this case will get to its logical conclusion.
Already, Rushwaya’s lawyers argue that the ZIFA Disciplinary Committee erred in not convening her internal hearing within 30 days as required. One wonders if the current delays are not going to have the same effect, naturally or at law. It has been the case in many instances in Zimbabwe for such high profile cases to be postponed and delayed until the public has forgotten and they die a natural death.
This case must be explored to its root as it may represent a dangerous cancer bedevilling the local game. Many have argued that the game will be difficult to run for as long as the mother association itself is rotten. Here is a chance for ZIFA to exonerate itself and redeem some credibility.
The whole way in which the alleged mismanagement took place smirks of an organisation that is run on tuck shop management principles. The case puts into question governance structure not only at ZIFA but in the whole sports management framework in Zimbabwe. For instance, how could the Sports Commission authorise the release of funds to ZIFA under such unclear circumstances. Fine, as an employee of the Association, the Chief Executive runs the day to day issues but surely there must be bounds. Borrowing such substantial amounts surely requires Board approval. As the supreme sports body in the country, the SRC must require board resolutions to accompany such applications by associations affiliated to it. So, in our eyes, this case transcends individuals but shows gross ineptness in the whole sports structure of the country.
Even if we look at the issue of the National Team travelling without the approval of the Sports Commission. Yes, Zimbabwe is not the only nation to be involved in such cases, with the latest coming out of Togo where an official received a life ban over the same allegations. But what’s striking is that in most of such cases, the teams involved will not be the official national teams of the countries involved, showing that the football powers that be in that country have the control of their team. Remember the bogus Ecuadorian team that played the then Sunday Chidzambwa coached Warriors just before the AFCON Finals in Tunisia in 2004?
But, in our case, the actual Warriors team was involved.
Firstly, it’s amazing how people then turn up to profess their ignorance of what would have happened when it would have reported in the papers that the team is leaving. Surely one or a few individuals can’t be in total control of a whole nation’s football team. This should be beyond individuals. There must be a system known by everyone involved, including the players. There must be a national assurance in place before they agree to board the plane and leave the country. Let’s look beyond here, and imagine a situation where something more serious than match fixing happens. We don’t mean to be alarmist but so much happens in international travel that our players and officials must be guaranteed that the Government of Zimbabwe, through the SRC, guarantees their travel outside the country. Are there any such things in place? If so, to what extent are they being implemented, not just in soccer, but all sports?
All stakeholders need to be concerned about the blatant flouting of corporate governance principles, which we strongly believe goes beyond the ZIFA CEO’s office. We shouldn’t be surprised when club officials receive “gifts” from their opponents on behalf of their clubs. It seems common cause that after officials have signed on behalf of their clubs and agree to accept whatever decision is made regarding their participation in a competition, they can decide to go against this when the decision don’t favour them. Are we surprised when the nation’s Premier Soccer league reportedly uses two different constitutions to run its affairs? What lacks is simple constitutionalism. An understanding that governance is of laws, not men. We just can’t accept to apply the law and best practices, even where our personal interests are compromised.
All these issues show a bigger issue that goes beyond individuals. It’s a systematic problem that needs to be dealt with. What’s more disturbing is that when one man fires the board that runs his club for being AWOL, and questions why the official team band leaves the country without approval, many rush to point fingers at him and accuse him of all sorts of things. Yes, we all need to be successful at what we do, and support the national cause each time, but we must ask ourselves at what cost. In Goal setting they say it is not the result you achieve at the end of the day which is most important, but who you become in the process. We might all be happy to have played Brazil, but who did we become in the eyes of the footballing world, in the midst of the whole Kentaro dispute? How many other high profile nations will be willing to come and play the Warriors, when ZIFA is now being viewed as not able to fulfil its contractual obligations? In the eyes of the world, it doesn’t matter who was in charge of what, what is important is that there need to be systems which work to ensure that regardless of the individual in the office, all is being done in ZIFA (which in the football world is Zimbabwe itself)’s name, and is above board.
It’s simply this ability to create non personal systems, that work which makes the South Africa Premiership look so many miles ahead of ours. It’s the same puzzle that Zimbabwe Cricket has been able to crack that now sees the Cricket equivalents of the Zinedane Zidane, Luis Figo or George Weah coming to be involved in Zimbabwean cricket. The Alan Donalds, Jason Gillespie’s and possibly Briand Laras of cricket can safely come to play or coach in Zimbabwe because they know that the contracts ZC and their franchises offer hold water, whether its Ozias Bvute or someone else who is in office. Ask Tom Saintfiet if he is assured whatever contract he is holding will be honoured? Ask Valinhos, Sunday Marimo, etc.
It will be interesting to uncover how the whole business of contracts is handled at ZIFA. First, we have a contract signed with the organisers of a match that the Presidency of the Association is unaware of. Fine, maybe we could excuse the then incoming Board as this happened during a transition, but again we will ask, aren’t there constitutional arrangements that ensure that accountability is still entrenched regardless of who is in charge? If not, then we are in trouble. Secondly, a sub committee chosen to interview candidates for a job goes ahead and gives one candidate a contract even before it before it has reported its results to the very board that appointed it. What is happening here? Who really is in charge here? What does the ZIFA constitution say? Can the Association really be bound to contracts “it is not aware of”?
One hopes that there are none amongst the current and previous boards whose feathers have been raffled by the Rushwaya case, and no one has the powers to put spanners into this process. Even for the accused herself, it is only fair that she be given an opportunity to clear her name, and the sooner this is done, the fair it will be for all. We hope that the hearing can finally be heard, for the good of the game!
The hearing, which is supposed to give the Iron Lady of Local Football a chance to respond to the allegations levelled against her, has been postponed for one reason or the other, countless times. The latest postponement is alleged to be due to the fact that the ZIFA witnesses were away. This has been the case in previous times when either Rushwaya or ZIFA’s lawyers have failed to make themselves available. Now there is doubt as to whether this case will get to its logical conclusion.
Already, Rushwaya’s lawyers argue that the ZIFA Disciplinary Committee erred in not convening her internal hearing within 30 days as required. One wonders if the current delays are not going to have the same effect, naturally or at law. It has been the case in many instances in Zimbabwe for such high profile cases to be postponed and delayed until the public has forgotten and they die a natural death.
This case must be explored to its root as it may represent a dangerous cancer bedevilling the local game. Many have argued that the game will be difficult to run for as long as the mother association itself is rotten. Here is a chance for ZIFA to exonerate itself and redeem some credibility.
The whole way in which the alleged mismanagement took place smirks of an organisation that is run on tuck shop management principles. The case puts into question governance structure not only at ZIFA but in the whole sports management framework in Zimbabwe. For instance, how could the Sports Commission authorise the release of funds to ZIFA under such unclear circumstances. Fine, as an employee of the Association, the Chief Executive runs the day to day issues but surely there must be bounds. Borrowing such substantial amounts surely requires Board approval. As the supreme sports body in the country, the SRC must require board resolutions to accompany such applications by associations affiliated to it. So, in our eyes, this case transcends individuals but shows gross ineptness in the whole sports structure of the country.
Even if we look at the issue of the National Team travelling without the approval of the Sports Commission. Yes, Zimbabwe is not the only nation to be involved in such cases, with the latest coming out of Togo where an official received a life ban over the same allegations. But what’s striking is that in most of such cases, the teams involved will not be the official national teams of the countries involved, showing that the football powers that be in that country have the control of their team. Remember the bogus Ecuadorian team that played the then Sunday Chidzambwa coached Warriors just before the AFCON Finals in Tunisia in 2004?
But, in our case, the actual Warriors team was involved.
Firstly, it’s amazing how people then turn up to profess their ignorance of what would have happened when it would have reported in the papers that the team is leaving. Surely one or a few individuals can’t be in total control of a whole nation’s football team. This should be beyond individuals. There must be a system known by everyone involved, including the players. There must be a national assurance in place before they agree to board the plane and leave the country. Let’s look beyond here, and imagine a situation where something more serious than match fixing happens. We don’t mean to be alarmist but so much happens in international travel that our players and officials must be guaranteed that the Government of Zimbabwe, through the SRC, guarantees their travel outside the country. Are there any such things in place? If so, to what extent are they being implemented, not just in soccer, but all sports?
All stakeholders need to be concerned about the blatant flouting of corporate governance principles, which we strongly believe goes beyond the ZIFA CEO’s office. We shouldn’t be surprised when club officials receive “gifts” from their opponents on behalf of their clubs. It seems common cause that after officials have signed on behalf of their clubs and agree to accept whatever decision is made regarding their participation in a competition, they can decide to go against this when the decision don’t favour them. Are we surprised when the nation’s Premier Soccer league reportedly uses two different constitutions to run its affairs? What lacks is simple constitutionalism. An understanding that governance is of laws, not men. We just can’t accept to apply the law and best practices, even where our personal interests are compromised.
All these issues show a bigger issue that goes beyond individuals. It’s a systematic problem that needs to be dealt with. What’s more disturbing is that when one man fires the board that runs his club for being AWOL, and questions why the official team band leaves the country without approval, many rush to point fingers at him and accuse him of all sorts of things. Yes, we all need to be successful at what we do, and support the national cause each time, but we must ask ourselves at what cost. In Goal setting they say it is not the result you achieve at the end of the day which is most important, but who you become in the process. We might all be happy to have played Brazil, but who did we become in the eyes of the footballing world, in the midst of the whole Kentaro dispute? How many other high profile nations will be willing to come and play the Warriors, when ZIFA is now being viewed as not able to fulfil its contractual obligations? In the eyes of the world, it doesn’t matter who was in charge of what, what is important is that there need to be systems which work to ensure that regardless of the individual in the office, all is being done in ZIFA (which in the football world is Zimbabwe itself)’s name, and is above board.
It’s simply this ability to create non personal systems, that work which makes the South Africa Premiership look so many miles ahead of ours. It’s the same puzzle that Zimbabwe Cricket has been able to crack that now sees the Cricket equivalents of the Zinedane Zidane, Luis Figo or George Weah coming to be involved in Zimbabwean cricket. The Alan Donalds, Jason Gillespie’s and possibly Briand Laras of cricket can safely come to play or coach in Zimbabwe because they know that the contracts ZC and their franchises offer hold water, whether its Ozias Bvute or someone else who is in office. Ask Tom Saintfiet if he is assured whatever contract he is holding will be honoured? Ask Valinhos, Sunday Marimo, etc.
It will be interesting to uncover how the whole business of contracts is handled at ZIFA. First, we have a contract signed with the organisers of a match that the Presidency of the Association is unaware of. Fine, maybe we could excuse the then incoming Board as this happened during a transition, but again we will ask, aren’t there constitutional arrangements that ensure that accountability is still entrenched regardless of who is in charge? If not, then we are in trouble. Secondly, a sub committee chosen to interview candidates for a job goes ahead and gives one candidate a contract even before it before it has reported its results to the very board that appointed it. What is happening here? Who really is in charge here? What does the ZIFA constitution say? Can the Association really be bound to contracts “it is not aware of”?
One hopes that there are none amongst the current and previous boards whose feathers have been raffled by the Rushwaya case, and no one has the powers to put spanners into this process. Even for the accused herself, it is only fair that she be given an opportunity to clear her name, and the sooner this is done, the fair it will be for all. We hope that the hearing can finally be heard, for the good of the game!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Are Bosso Loosing The Plot?
Football powerhouse, Highlanders have come under fire after two successive matches against bitter rivals Dynamos were abandoned due to crowd trouble at their home ground Babourfields Stadium. The sports media seems very perturbed by these developments, and are blasting Bosso left right and centre. Below, we feature an article by The Herald Sport Editor Robson Sharuko.
What makes Bosso's issue interesting is that despite agreeing to follow the rules of the Banc ABC Cup, which prohibit clubs from going to court against a decision of the Arbitration Committee, the club decided to have the final between DeMbare and Caps United postponed, through a High Court order. To then have the next match against DeMbare abandoned again seems to be a testimony that those who follow the black and white outfit are not willing to accept a match result unless it is in their favour.
Enjoy the article below, and please make your comments:
By Robson Sharuko
HIGHLANDERS is an 84-year-old football institution, widely acknowledged as one of the two biggest football clubs in this country, whose appeal cuts across racial and tribal barriers and whose journey in search of greatness — pregnant with both triumph and tragedy — has captured the imagination of millions.
To some of those loyal followers, Bosso is more than just a football club.
It’s an iconic institution that fulfils their dreams and has produced a battery of stars whose talents cheered the spirits of a constituency that has always loved the beautiful game since that landmark day in 1926 when King Lobengula’s grandson Rhodes returned home, from studies at Lovedale Institute in South Africa, and formed Lions Football Club in Makokoba.
From those humble beginnings, rose the phoenix that we call Highlanders today, multiple winners of the domestic championship, a productive nursery that has produced legends like Josiah Nxumalo and Peter Ndlovu and a mean machine which, at the turn of the millennium, evolved into the best football club in the country.
In the first decade, since the turn of the millennium, Bosso have been the dominant football club in this country by winning four league titles, but the irony of it all is that classes of super Highlanders teams, which graced our fields in the ‘70s and ‘80s, never won the championship, but still left their mark and an archive of lasting memories for their fans.
To their opponents, especially the Dynamos fans, Bosso have always represented the ultimate prize that has to be captured, and subdued, in an endless turf battle for superiority in a fierce fight for the right to win the bragging rights that come with being called the nation’s best football club.
Even when Highlanders were not winning the league championships, and DeMbare dominated the landscape, the sheer size of the Bosso support base, the passion that runs deep among their fans and the blood-and-thunder battles that were fought meant their epic meetings remained the flagship clash of the domestic Premiership.
CAPS United’s evolution from a club that specialised in just winning knockout football tournaments, into a genuine championship-winning team in 1996 and the subsequent success stories of 2004 and 2005 might have added a degree of intensity to their rivalry with Dynamos, but Bosso remained the prized catch.
While DeMbare and Makepekepe’s duels can be defined in the context of a battle for the bragging rights of a city, The Battle of Harare, the Glamour Boys’ clash with Bosso carries a bigger prize and is defined in national context — The Battle of Zimbabwe.
Four years have now passed since Highlanders last won the league championship and, during that period, the balance of power has swung decisively into Harare’s corridors and Dynamos (2007), Monomotapa (2008) and Gunners (2009) took turns to keep the biggest prize, in domestic football, in the capital.
While Bosso were sleeping, the clubs from the capital did not only win the league championships but they also made waves on the continent with Dynamos reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League and Monoz reaching the group stages — something that Highlanders have failed to do every time they plunged into the jungles of African football flying the national flag.
There were four Zimbabwean teams in the Champions League and the Confederations Cup this season, the first time that this country has had such a huge representation on the continent, but Bosso were not part of that cast of clubs which, to rub salt into the wounds of the Highlanders’ loyalists, included lightweights Lengthens.
While little Gunners were preparing for a showdown against mighty Al-Ahly of Egypt in the Champions League, Bosso were bracing for a league match against Douglas Warriors — confined to the domestic adventures by their poor show in the previous season and searching for solutions, in a tough battle to regain greatness, which seemingly couldn’t be picked by their radar.
But even the world’s greatest teams also hit a barren pitch some of the time and their struggles do not necessarily signal the end of their days as a force to be reckoned with.
Some things are just meant to be and football throws a number of such scenarios.
While Liverpool have yet to win a league championship in 20 years, it was interesting to hear from Sir Alex Ferguson, going into the league tie at Old Trafford two weeks ago, that the Reds remain Manchester United’s ultimate enemy and the clash remains the flagship fixture of the English Premiership.
While England have never won the World Cup, since a controversial 4-2 triumph in extra-time over Germany at Wembley in 1966, and the Germans have won the title twice and been runners-up a number of times since that day, there is no question that the England/Germany clash remains European football’s flagship fixture.
The two giants met in a 2010 World Cup second round tie in Bloemfontein in June and England were soundly beaten 1-4 by a rampant Germany that went all the way to the semi-finals before settling for third place.
But that fixture will forever be remembered for that goal by Frank Lampard, which clearly crossed the line and should have given the Three Lions a deserved equaliser, had it somehow not been missed by a blundering referee and his assistant.
For all their hooliganism, the English fans didn’t turn Bloemfontein into a battle ground, even when it was clear that fate had conspired to rob their team of a goal and human error had contributed to their World Cup elimination, despite all the pain that came with losing in such cruel fashion to their biggest rivals.
Years of isolation, in the aftermath of the Heysel disaster in Belgium when 39 Italian fans died during crowd trouble torched by English fans at a European Cup final featuring Liverpool and Juventus, had long taught the English the value of sportsmanship.
Until Heysel was turned into a death cage by the rampaging Liverpool hooligans, English fans and their clubs behaved as if they were a law unto themselves and specialised in adding a terror touch to the game that the rest of mainland Europe enjoyed in tranquility.
Because it was a culture that was prevalent at home, and more often than not went unpunished, the hooligans started to believe that it was the way it should be until that dark day in Belgium when the shock of the death of the Italian fans gave the Uefa leadership the courage to stop the nonsense.
For five years, the English clubs were banned from Europe and, isolated from the world, they leant painful lessons and came back a reformed group.
Highlanders, just like Liverpool before them, carry a certain responsibility by virtue of their status as a massive football club.
In the pre-Heysel days, the Liverpool fans mistook the size of their club, and the sheer number of the people who supported to the team, as a licence that gave them the freedom to bully everyone who came their way and, if need be, use force to subdue them using their strength in numbers.
One gets a feeling that this is the same syndrome that is affecting the Highlanders fans today, their soul persecuted by their team’s failings on the pitch, that pain compounded by the success of their biggest rivals at home and on the continent and a state of confusion created by a leadership that appears helpless to lead the way during difficult times for this sleeping giant.
Neither is their case being helped by the failure by both the PSL leadership and the Zifa board to take firm decisive action, if not on the trouble causers then on the team that represents its fans, and stop the madness that has turned Barbourfields into a battle zone.
The football leadership’s failure to effectively deal with the hooliganism that is clearly rampant within the Highlanders’ ranks has been one of the glaring shortcomings of the men and women that we put into positions of authority, in sweeping changes in the corridors of power in the domestic game, at the beginning of the year.
From a distance both Zifa and the PSL leaders have watched, helplessly, as the hooligans at Barbourfields assaulted the director of a visiting Premiership team, played a big part in the abandonment of the BancABC Sup8r Cup semi-final and then forced the premature ending of the league match between Dynamos and Bosso on Sunday.
They have watched from their offices, as the Bosso leadership — who should be well versed in the Fifa regulations that outlaw the practice of taking football issues to the courts of law — dragging not only the PSL leadership but even the only sponsor who has cared to stick with a domestic game so short on corporate partners it remains on a life-support system.
Now the BancABC Sup8r Cup remains in limbo and, thanks to this circus, we are certain to hear either this week, or next week, BancABC finally telling us that they have had enough of this madness and will be taking their money to cricket.
Where is the leadership in all this nonsense?
Why are club officials being allowed to behave as if they have turned into some kind of super chiefs, in imaginary kingdoms on Mars, where they are not answerable to anyone?
Is this still the same game that banned certain leaders, not so long ago when it was still under firm leadership, simply because they had stepped over the line?
In the English Premiership, Arsene Wenger complains to the referee about time added on in Arsenal’s game against Sunderland and he is hit with an FA charge for bringing the game into disrepute.
Here in Zimbabwe, club officials can take matters to court, and hold an entire tournament to ransom, and still no action is taken against them.
Highlanders, without a doubt, are a big club in a big crisis. For the better part of the last four years they have been trying to find a way back to the big time, to be competitive again, to win championships again, to play on the continent again, to woo their fans back to Barbourfields in large numbers.
They are a team at the cross-roads, crippled by a questionable leadership, a questionable technical team, a dwindling support base and a soul that has been torn apart by the sum total of their struggles.
But Bosso should not be allowed to drag the entire domestic game into their grave.
Their hooligans should not be allowed to turn Barbourfields into a place where nothing but a Bosso victory would be acceptable.
There might have been a number of people who sympathised with their gamesmanship, in trying to get the BancABC Sup8r Cup abandoned, because of DeMbare’s unfortunate antics — to walk away from the field in protest — earlier in the game.
But, after the wild events on Sunday, it’s hard to find those neutrals still singing the Bosso tune.
Yes, referees might be at fault here and there, even at the grand stage like the World Cup, but that isn’t a licence for teams and their fans to take the law into their hands.
The time has come for this nonsense to be stopped and the domestic football leadership has to take firm action, with tough measures, or we can finally bury the domestic game — which has been on life-support for some time now — in its grave.
What makes Bosso's issue interesting is that despite agreeing to follow the rules of the Banc ABC Cup, which prohibit clubs from going to court against a decision of the Arbitration Committee, the club decided to have the final between DeMbare and Caps United postponed, through a High Court order. To then have the next match against DeMbare abandoned again seems to be a testimony that those who follow the black and white outfit are not willing to accept a match result unless it is in their favour.
Enjoy the article below, and please make your comments:
By Robson Sharuko
HIGHLANDERS is an 84-year-old football institution, widely acknowledged as one of the two biggest football clubs in this country, whose appeal cuts across racial and tribal barriers and whose journey in search of greatness — pregnant with both triumph and tragedy — has captured the imagination of millions.
To some of those loyal followers, Bosso is more than just a football club.
It’s an iconic institution that fulfils their dreams and has produced a battery of stars whose talents cheered the spirits of a constituency that has always loved the beautiful game since that landmark day in 1926 when King Lobengula’s grandson Rhodes returned home, from studies at Lovedale Institute in South Africa, and formed Lions Football Club in Makokoba.
From those humble beginnings, rose the phoenix that we call Highlanders today, multiple winners of the domestic championship, a productive nursery that has produced legends like Josiah Nxumalo and Peter Ndlovu and a mean machine which, at the turn of the millennium, evolved into the best football club in the country.
In the first decade, since the turn of the millennium, Bosso have been the dominant football club in this country by winning four league titles, but the irony of it all is that classes of super Highlanders teams, which graced our fields in the ‘70s and ‘80s, never won the championship, but still left their mark and an archive of lasting memories for their fans.
To their opponents, especially the Dynamos fans, Bosso have always represented the ultimate prize that has to be captured, and subdued, in an endless turf battle for superiority in a fierce fight for the right to win the bragging rights that come with being called the nation’s best football club.
Even when Highlanders were not winning the league championships, and DeMbare dominated the landscape, the sheer size of the Bosso support base, the passion that runs deep among their fans and the blood-and-thunder battles that were fought meant their epic meetings remained the flagship clash of the domestic Premiership.
CAPS United’s evolution from a club that specialised in just winning knockout football tournaments, into a genuine championship-winning team in 1996 and the subsequent success stories of 2004 and 2005 might have added a degree of intensity to their rivalry with Dynamos, but Bosso remained the prized catch.
While DeMbare and Makepekepe’s duels can be defined in the context of a battle for the bragging rights of a city, The Battle of Harare, the Glamour Boys’ clash with Bosso carries a bigger prize and is defined in national context — The Battle of Zimbabwe.
Four years have now passed since Highlanders last won the league championship and, during that period, the balance of power has swung decisively into Harare’s corridors and Dynamos (2007), Monomotapa (2008) and Gunners (2009) took turns to keep the biggest prize, in domestic football, in the capital.
While Bosso were sleeping, the clubs from the capital did not only win the league championships but they also made waves on the continent with Dynamos reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League and Monoz reaching the group stages — something that Highlanders have failed to do every time they plunged into the jungles of African football flying the national flag.
There were four Zimbabwean teams in the Champions League and the Confederations Cup this season, the first time that this country has had such a huge representation on the continent, but Bosso were not part of that cast of clubs which, to rub salt into the wounds of the Highlanders’ loyalists, included lightweights Lengthens.
While little Gunners were preparing for a showdown against mighty Al-Ahly of Egypt in the Champions League, Bosso were bracing for a league match against Douglas Warriors — confined to the domestic adventures by their poor show in the previous season and searching for solutions, in a tough battle to regain greatness, which seemingly couldn’t be picked by their radar.
But even the world’s greatest teams also hit a barren pitch some of the time and their struggles do not necessarily signal the end of their days as a force to be reckoned with.
Some things are just meant to be and football throws a number of such scenarios.
While Liverpool have yet to win a league championship in 20 years, it was interesting to hear from Sir Alex Ferguson, going into the league tie at Old Trafford two weeks ago, that the Reds remain Manchester United’s ultimate enemy and the clash remains the flagship fixture of the English Premiership.
While England have never won the World Cup, since a controversial 4-2 triumph in extra-time over Germany at Wembley in 1966, and the Germans have won the title twice and been runners-up a number of times since that day, there is no question that the England/Germany clash remains European football’s flagship fixture.
The two giants met in a 2010 World Cup second round tie in Bloemfontein in June and England were soundly beaten 1-4 by a rampant Germany that went all the way to the semi-finals before settling for third place.
But that fixture will forever be remembered for that goal by Frank Lampard, which clearly crossed the line and should have given the Three Lions a deserved equaliser, had it somehow not been missed by a blundering referee and his assistant.
For all their hooliganism, the English fans didn’t turn Bloemfontein into a battle ground, even when it was clear that fate had conspired to rob their team of a goal and human error had contributed to their World Cup elimination, despite all the pain that came with losing in such cruel fashion to their biggest rivals.
Years of isolation, in the aftermath of the Heysel disaster in Belgium when 39 Italian fans died during crowd trouble torched by English fans at a European Cup final featuring Liverpool and Juventus, had long taught the English the value of sportsmanship.
Until Heysel was turned into a death cage by the rampaging Liverpool hooligans, English fans and their clubs behaved as if they were a law unto themselves and specialised in adding a terror touch to the game that the rest of mainland Europe enjoyed in tranquility.
Because it was a culture that was prevalent at home, and more often than not went unpunished, the hooligans started to believe that it was the way it should be until that dark day in Belgium when the shock of the death of the Italian fans gave the Uefa leadership the courage to stop the nonsense.
For five years, the English clubs were banned from Europe and, isolated from the world, they leant painful lessons and came back a reformed group.
Highlanders, just like Liverpool before them, carry a certain responsibility by virtue of their status as a massive football club.
In the pre-Heysel days, the Liverpool fans mistook the size of their club, and the sheer number of the people who supported to the team, as a licence that gave them the freedom to bully everyone who came their way and, if need be, use force to subdue them using their strength in numbers.
One gets a feeling that this is the same syndrome that is affecting the Highlanders fans today, their soul persecuted by their team’s failings on the pitch, that pain compounded by the success of their biggest rivals at home and on the continent and a state of confusion created by a leadership that appears helpless to lead the way during difficult times for this sleeping giant.
Neither is their case being helped by the failure by both the PSL leadership and the Zifa board to take firm decisive action, if not on the trouble causers then on the team that represents its fans, and stop the madness that has turned Barbourfields into a battle zone.
The football leadership’s failure to effectively deal with the hooliganism that is clearly rampant within the Highlanders’ ranks has been one of the glaring shortcomings of the men and women that we put into positions of authority, in sweeping changes in the corridors of power in the domestic game, at the beginning of the year.
From a distance both Zifa and the PSL leaders have watched, helplessly, as the hooligans at Barbourfields assaulted the director of a visiting Premiership team, played a big part in the abandonment of the BancABC Sup8r Cup semi-final and then forced the premature ending of the league match between Dynamos and Bosso on Sunday.
They have watched from their offices, as the Bosso leadership — who should be well versed in the Fifa regulations that outlaw the practice of taking football issues to the courts of law — dragging not only the PSL leadership but even the only sponsor who has cared to stick with a domestic game so short on corporate partners it remains on a life-support system.
Now the BancABC Sup8r Cup remains in limbo and, thanks to this circus, we are certain to hear either this week, or next week, BancABC finally telling us that they have had enough of this madness and will be taking their money to cricket.
Where is the leadership in all this nonsense?
Why are club officials being allowed to behave as if they have turned into some kind of super chiefs, in imaginary kingdoms on Mars, where they are not answerable to anyone?
Is this still the same game that banned certain leaders, not so long ago when it was still under firm leadership, simply because they had stepped over the line?
In the English Premiership, Arsene Wenger complains to the referee about time added on in Arsenal’s game against Sunderland and he is hit with an FA charge for bringing the game into disrepute.
Here in Zimbabwe, club officials can take matters to court, and hold an entire tournament to ransom, and still no action is taken against them.
Highlanders, without a doubt, are a big club in a big crisis. For the better part of the last four years they have been trying to find a way back to the big time, to be competitive again, to win championships again, to play on the continent again, to woo their fans back to Barbourfields in large numbers.
They are a team at the cross-roads, crippled by a questionable leadership, a questionable technical team, a dwindling support base and a soul that has been torn apart by the sum total of their struggles.
But Bosso should not be allowed to drag the entire domestic game into their grave.
Their hooligans should not be allowed to turn Barbourfields into a place where nothing but a Bosso victory would be acceptable.
There might have been a number of people who sympathised with their gamesmanship, in trying to get the BancABC Sup8r Cup abandoned, because of DeMbare’s unfortunate antics — to walk away from the field in protest — earlier in the game.
But, after the wild events on Sunday, it’s hard to find those neutrals still singing the Bosso tune.
Yes, referees might be at fault here and there, even at the grand stage like the World Cup, but that isn’t a licence for teams and their fans to take the law into their hands.
The time has come for this nonsense to be stopped and the domestic football leadership has to take firm action, with tough measures, or we can finally bury the domestic game — which has been on life-support for some time now — in its grave.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
ZIFA and the Rule of Law
By
It feels good to side with the crowd the temptation is great that I blast Zifa and support Norman after all he is of my own flesh and blood above all his skin is as dark as mine. It feels good to have a brother a young one for that matter having a chance to lead our warriors especially when the brother has led it before as a player.
But is it the right thing always to side with the crowd and succumb to mobocracy? NO! My communication skills lecturer used to say even if 100 people agree on something which is wrong it will never make the thing right!
I think Zimbos should respect institutions and systems the new Zifa Board is trying to set up.Rule of law .... lol! Before Saintfiet was there any technical committee set up to select a coach? Before Saintfiet was there any interviews held in Zim for a coach? Before Saintfiet was there a job description of the national coach ever known to the fans? we used to know that a national team coach is a coach fullstop! Before this process did we know that a coach needs five o levels! did we know that the coach draws up the team 4 year plan and drafts concise reports for national development of the game? I think the Zifa board is trying to get us in the right direction and as fans hapana chedu pakusarudzwa kwa coach! Its our money but so what? we dont get fired, insulted or wont win the next election if things go wrong!It is the board that we jeer and sometimes burn and stone their cars kuRufaro Let Zifa do their job lets support the team ndopedu ipapo! If Zifa wanted our opinion vangadai vakaenda kuZEC yoconducter run off between Saintfiet and Saint Mapeza!
Maradona was appointed national team coach weArgies with some of the best players in the world. This was a hugely popular decision in Argentina but for all the stars Argentina fell like a deck of cards when it mattered most... Now Maradona is jobless and even Aston Villa made fun of his application to be the team manager! The moral lets not overburden vaMapeza nebasa remaWarriors groom him sent him for training in Europe make him in charge of U23 make him qualify for the Olympics let him go through the mill and then make him coach wemaWarriors!
So I hate Mapeza? So I hate local coaches? So I am obssesed with foreigners... in someone`s word ndirimutengesi a sell out or even a turn coat? Bush once said if u are not with us then u are our enemy! This is the same with Zimbos if u think differently then u are a mercenary and an enemy! I am not! I am just the guy next door who loves footie like.... hameno! I am the guy who actually idolises Mapeza and believe Zimbabwe can polish him into an internationally renowned coach!
By the way Mhofu is back in Zim taking a break from footie... interesting times.
Lets debate this pa www.soccerzim.co.zw go to categories and go to forums
Yours for Mapeza, Football and the bright future we are setting up for our football!
By Tsungai Albert Mavambe
www.soccerzim.co.zw
It feels good to side with the crowd the temptation is great that I blast Zifa and support Norman after all he is of my own flesh and blood above all his skin is as dark as mine. It feels good to have a brother a young one for that matter having a chance to lead our warriors especially when the brother has led it before as a player.
But is it the right thing always to side with the crowd and succumb to mobocracy? NO! My communication skills lecturer used to say even if 100 people agree on something which is wrong it will never make the thing right!
I think Zimbos should respect institutions and systems the new Zifa Board is trying to set up.Rule of law .... lol! Before Saintfiet was there any technical committee set up to select a coach? Before Saintfiet was there any interviews held in Zim for a coach? Before Saintfiet was there a job description of the national coach ever known to the fans? we used to know that a national team coach is a coach fullstop! Before this process did we know that a coach needs five o levels! did we know that the coach draws up the team 4 year plan and drafts concise reports for national development of the game? I think the Zifa board is trying to get us in the right direction and as fans hapana chedu pakusarudzwa kwa coach! Its our money but so what? we dont get fired, insulted or wont win the next election if things go wrong!It is the board that we jeer and sometimes burn and stone their cars kuRufaro Let Zifa do their job lets support the team ndopedu ipapo! If Zifa wanted our opinion vangadai vakaenda kuZEC yoconducter run off between Saintfiet and Saint Mapeza!
Maradona was appointed national team coach weArgies with some of the best players in the world. This was a hugely popular decision in Argentina but for all the stars Argentina fell like a deck of cards when it mattered most... Now Maradona is jobless and even Aston Villa made fun of his application to be the team manager! The moral lets not overburden vaMapeza nebasa remaWarriors groom him sent him for training in Europe make him in charge of U23 make him qualify for the Olympics let him go through the mill and then make him coach wemaWarriors!
So I hate Mapeza? So I hate local coaches? So I am obssesed with foreigners... in someone`s word ndirimutengesi a sell out or even a turn coat? Bush once said if u are not with us then u are our enemy! This is the same with Zimbos if u think differently then u are a mercenary and an enemy! I am not! I am just the guy next door who loves footie like.... hameno! I am the guy who actually idolises Mapeza and believe Zimbabwe can polish him into an internationally renowned coach!
By the way Mhofu is back in Zim taking a break from footie... interesting times.
Lets debate this pa www.soccerzim.co.zw go to categories and go to forums
Yours for Mapeza, Football and the bright future we are setting up for our football!
By Tsungai Albert Mavambe
www.soccerzim.co.zw
Friday, September 24, 2010
Pick of the Week: Hopefully No High Court This Time
Every Friday, Zimsoccerfan previews what we consider to be the weekend’s major attraction in terms of local football.
They don’t come any bigger than this! Highlanders vs. Dynamos is a big issue and this weekend’s affair will be no different. The two sides are the bitterest of rivals and will be happy to renew the rivalry come 3 O’clock Sunday afternoon. This is the kind of game that sets brother against brother, husband Vs. Wife and drive wedges between friends, if only for 90 minutes.
The Setting
Bosso have been having a season to forget this season. They lost part one of the battle easily, and were also on a losing cause when the Banc ABC Super Cup Semi final between the two sides was abandoned at the same venue some few weeks ago. The incident filled game was abandoned in the second half due to many reasons, among them walks off the field by both sets of players at different intervals of the game as the ref awarded dubious penalties. A disciplinary committee set up by the Premier Soccer League management committee found Bosso on the wrong and awarded the game to De Mbare, but the Bulawayo giants have taken the case to the High court, stopping the epic final that was to pit De Mbare against bitter rivals Caps United.
One hopes that events of the last match will not fuel further tension in the terraces on Sunday. The match needs to run its full course and may the best side win.
It’s an understatement to say Highlanders have been disappointing this season. They problems seem to compound each week with news of player revolt due to unpaid salaries. Despite the fact that Dynamos have somehow become comfortable playing Highlanders at B/F, the stadium no longer had the intimidating Lions’ Den atmosphere of previous years.
Although they have been going through rebuilding exercise, many Highlanders fans will not take lightly to losing against their erstwhile Harare rivals, more so at B/F, so the team will be under pressure to raise their game. Fans will be hoping Captain Gilbert Banda will forget the horror of missing a penalty in the ill fated Cup game, and will be hoping youngsters Protrasia Kabwe and Bruce Kangwa will raise their game. In the reverse fixture at Rufaro, veterans Stephen Alimenda and Joe Luphalha were outstanding for Mantengwane, but both have been lured by the green side of the capital, Caps United.
Dynamos, although not very convincing in their play, find themselves lying second on the PSL log, 10 points behind Motor Action and with 3 games in hand. They will be hard pressed to get a result at B/F to keep pressure on the Might Bulls, who themselves have a tricky assignment against former Champions Monomotapa at Rufaro 24 hours earlier. If the Might Bulls win, pressure will be on Elvis “Chuchu” Chiweshe’s men to also chalk up 3 points, else they can start kissing the Championship good bye.
DeMbare’s problem, ever since the departure of Cuthbert Malajila has been scoring. This saw them manage only 2 goals in the group stages of the Orange CAF Champions league group stages. The fans in Blue and White will be looking to the likes of Benjamin Marere, Evans Gwekwerere, Wonder Sithole and Dylan Chivandire to provide the sucker puches. Marere has been playing well either on the wing, or a s a cntral striker, but cant complement his dribbling skills and trickery with the goal scoring touch. Gwekwerere has had his moments at B/F, especially in the 2006 season when he broke many Bosso hearts with a hat trick against Zimbabwe Saints which saw him peep then Bosso wonderboy Ralph Mathema to that month’s top scorer award. Given the pathetic shows he has been givng since returning from an ill fated sojourn down south, we doubt if he will have such an enigma again on Sunday.
The Difference Makers
One thing that has really been lacking for Highlanders this season has been that Adam or Peter Ndlovu or Zenzo Moyo kind of player they used to have. The match winners. The one player who no matter how much the chips appear to be down, will pick the game and almost out of thin air, conjure up something that bags the points. Its hard to pick such a player in the current line up. Yes, you would expect captain Banda to lead from the back, but to really expect one of their youngsters to conjure up something special upfront, especially against the rock solid defence of Guthrie Zhokinyu and George Magariro, seems to be asking for too much.
Ironically, De Mbare also not expected to have much fire power upfront. They might have the names, but that’s all they have. Names. Gwekwerere has totally failed to find the touch of 2006 which made him a household name in an unforgettable 3 or 4 month period donning the famous blue and white. Dylan Chivandire at Dynamos is miles apart from the same player at Sundowns.
If anything is to be expected from De Mbare, it might come from midfield, where Marere and skipper Desmond Maringwa (if he starts) will be patrolling. If he maintain his head, Ashley “Compressor” Rambanepasi will be Chuchu’s trump card, and might just be the difference maker De Mbare will need.
At the end of the day...
Like we have written elsewhere, we do not think that this match will produce a winner. It may live up to the billing, but we think it will just have too much tension for any side to allow the other to play. The two coaches will emphasize on defence, which happen to be the two sides’ strengths anyway, and will be a goalless affair.
They don’t come any bigger than this! Highlanders vs. Dynamos is a big issue and this weekend’s affair will be no different. The two sides are the bitterest of rivals and will be happy to renew the rivalry come 3 O’clock Sunday afternoon. This is the kind of game that sets brother against brother, husband Vs. Wife and drive wedges between friends, if only for 90 minutes.
The Setting
Bosso have been having a season to forget this season. They lost part one of the battle easily, and were also on a losing cause when the Banc ABC Super Cup Semi final between the two sides was abandoned at the same venue some few weeks ago. The incident filled game was abandoned in the second half due to many reasons, among them walks off the field by both sets of players at different intervals of the game as the ref awarded dubious penalties. A disciplinary committee set up by the Premier Soccer League management committee found Bosso on the wrong and awarded the game to De Mbare, but the Bulawayo giants have taken the case to the High court, stopping the epic final that was to pit De Mbare against bitter rivals Caps United.
One hopes that events of the last match will not fuel further tension in the terraces on Sunday. The match needs to run its full course and may the best side win.
It’s an understatement to say Highlanders have been disappointing this season. They problems seem to compound each week with news of player revolt due to unpaid salaries. Despite the fact that Dynamos have somehow become comfortable playing Highlanders at B/F, the stadium no longer had the intimidating Lions’ Den atmosphere of previous years.
Although they have been going through rebuilding exercise, many Highlanders fans will not take lightly to losing against their erstwhile Harare rivals, more so at B/F, so the team will be under pressure to raise their game. Fans will be hoping Captain Gilbert Banda will forget the horror of missing a penalty in the ill fated Cup game, and will be hoping youngsters Protrasia Kabwe and Bruce Kangwa will raise their game. In the reverse fixture at Rufaro, veterans Stephen Alimenda and Joe Luphalha were outstanding for Mantengwane, but both have been lured by the green side of the capital, Caps United.
Dynamos, although not very convincing in their play, find themselves lying second on the PSL log, 10 points behind Motor Action and with 3 games in hand. They will be hard pressed to get a result at B/F to keep pressure on the Might Bulls, who themselves have a tricky assignment against former Champions Monomotapa at Rufaro 24 hours earlier. If the Might Bulls win, pressure will be on Elvis “Chuchu” Chiweshe’s men to also chalk up 3 points, else they can start kissing the Championship good bye.
DeMbare’s problem, ever since the departure of Cuthbert Malajila has been scoring. This saw them manage only 2 goals in the group stages of the Orange CAF Champions league group stages. The fans in Blue and White will be looking to the likes of Benjamin Marere, Evans Gwekwerere, Wonder Sithole and Dylan Chivandire to provide the sucker puches. Marere has been playing well either on the wing, or a s a cntral striker, but cant complement his dribbling skills and trickery with the goal scoring touch. Gwekwerere has had his moments at B/F, especially in the 2006 season when he broke many Bosso hearts with a hat trick against Zimbabwe Saints which saw him peep then Bosso wonderboy Ralph Mathema to that month’s top scorer award. Given the pathetic shows he has been givng since returning from an ill fated sojourn down south, we doubt if he will have such an enigma again on Sunday.
The Difference Makers
One thing that has really been lacking for Highlanders this season has been that Adam or Peter Ndlovu or Zenzo Moyo kind of player they used to have. The match winners. The one player who no matter how much the chips appear to be down, will pick the game and almost out of thin air, conjure up something that bags the points. Its hard to pick such a player in the current line up. Yes, you would expect captain Banda to lead from the back, but to really expect one of their youngsters to conjure up something special upfront, especially against the rock solid defence of Guthrie Zhokinyu and George Magariro, seems to be asking for too much.
Ironically, De Mbare also not expected to have much fire power upfront. They might have the names, but that’s all they have. Names. Gwekwerere has totally failed to find the touch of 2006 which made him a household name in an unforgettable 3 or 4 month period donning the famous blue and white. Dylan Chivandire at Dynamos is miles apart from the same player at Sundowns.
If anything is to be expected from De Mbare, it might come from midfield, where Marere and skipper Desmond Maringwa (if he starts) will be patrolling. If he maintain his head, Ashley “Compressor” Rambanepasi will be Chuchu’s trump card, and might just be the difference maker De Mbare will need.
At the end of the day...
Like we have written elsewhere, we do not think that this match will produce a winner. It may live up to the billing, but we think it will just have too much tension for any side to allow the other to play. The two coaches will emphasize on defence, which happen to be the two sides’ strengths anyway, and will be a goalless affair.
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