The ManicaPost
EVENTS witnessed at Barbourfields Stadium in Bulawayo during a Castle Lager Premiership match pitting Highlanders and Dynamos last Sunday must be condemned in the strongest terms possible as they do not reflect the culture, values and principles of what Zimbabweans are known for.
Barbourfields Stadium was turned into a hard-hat area when the blockbuster Castle Lager Premier Soccer League encounter was abandoned as chaos reigned supreme in the biggest match in local football circles.
The tense encounter was halted twice, with the second stoppage coming in injury time after Washington Navaya’s controversial goal for Highlanders which resulted in the home fans invading the pitch in celebration.
The initial interruption lasted 15 minutes as the home team threatened to invade the pitch after Bill Antonio’s tackle left Andrew Tandi with a broken ankle.
Antonio was shown a straight red card for the tackle which resulted in clashes between players and officials from both sides.
However, this is just not football!
Violence has no place in religious, political and social spheres of the country.
By its nature, violence is retrogressive, counter developmental, dehumanising and costly as well.
Even toddlers in our midst can tell that the state of our football – from the administration of the game to the performance on the field of play and the conduct of fans in the terraces – is in a mess.
Surely, it is time we start doing the right thing and let football in Zimbabwe, with all its huge potential, rise again.
No doubt, we are a football loving nation, but cricket and many minority sports like pool, for example, are now proving to be better managed and entertaining than football.
Some might remember with nostalgia when the likes of Laughter Chilembe, Keegan Mumba, Joseph Kamwendo, Ian Bakala and Kevin Kaindu, among many Zambians and Malawians, who used to flock here to play for local teams because of the attractiveness of the local premiership.
Now it is the other way round.
No wonder social football matches and tournaments are attracting huge crowds than competitive leagues running under the auspices of Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) administration.
We hear there will be an all stakeholders’ indaba today (Friday) in Harare and it is our fervent hope that when they meet this time around, they will come up with a totally different approach in the management of football in the country.
There is need to rid the game of corrupt officials across the board, from top to the bottom, from national level to area zone football administration structures.
Rogue and unruly players getting unnecessary cards and inciting crowd trouble have to be fined and heavily punished for bringing the country’s most loved game into disrepute.
In the aftermath of what transpired at Barbourfields Stadium, home clubs need to be reminded that they are responsible for the safety of the visitors, and unruly home team marshals must be held to account.
Hooligans must be named and shamed and banned from all football activities.
There should be no sacred cows in the road back to normalcy in our football.
For the record, this is a game desperately yearning for sponsorship and one wonders how sponsors can partner a game full of confusion and violence.
What is ideally supposed to be a family outing is now a no go area for children as well-meaning parents fear to expose their children to obscene songs from the terraces as well as violent scenes.
Surely, something has to be done to bring back sanity into the country’s most loved game.
