A game of the haves and the have nots
Mqondisi Dube | Saturday October 23, 2021 06:00
Peter Butler’s Liberia has not played a home game at home for more than two years due to a CAF stadium ban. It is the same situation with 19 other countries that are forced to fly out of their bases to play their home matches away.
Malawi has been a frequent visitor to Johannesburg, South Africa (SA) while neighbours Namibia have also found refuge in SA. Several other African nations are in this predicament as their facilities have been deemed unfit to host international matches. It is an African problem, unheard of in affluent Europe or North America. Football, a sport of the masses, is witnessing a widening wealth divide, likely to sustain poor Africa’s peripheral role in the global game.
Those without facilities are already bearing the brunt, and both CAF and FIFA are turning the screws.
Club licensing requirements recently saw five clubs thrown out of the Botswana Football League. The licensing requirements are another rich folks’ tool to alienate the have nots. The intended benefits of club licensing cannot be disputed, but it is well documented that Africa is a continent with little financial resources.
Football was played as a pastime, and the transition into a professional set-up in most African countries has been fraught with challenges. Top football nations like Ivory Coast are also on the stadium black list, a reflection of how behind Africa is in terms of resources.
Patrice Motsepe, who became CAF president early this year, has put improving facilities in Africa at the core of his rule. FIFA also announced an ambitious project to see each nation build a state-of-the-art stadium, although that project has quietened in recent months. Africa has its unique challenges, with governments channelling funds into other more pressing national projects. This leaves building a football stadium at the back-end of the queue of development priorities. Zimbabwe, which had a thriving economy until the late 1990s, is still struggling to put bucket seats at the stadiums.
Fans are forced to endure 90 minutes on concrete seats. The dire situation is echoed across the continent, with some clubs forced to withdraw from CAF competitions due to lack of funds.
The hosting of CAF’s flagship competition, the Africa Cup of Nations has rotated among the elite few, with South Africa and Angola the only two southern African countries to organise the tournament. In more than one instance, hosting rights have been taken away due to lack of preparedness.
Playing international games away from home has taken the shine off national team matches. Interest is dwindling unlike in the 1990s when the stadium would be packed to the brim when a national team was in action.
FIFA’s one-size-fits-all approach to international dates has compounded the problem. Air travel is a nightmare in Africa, with some teams forced to fly into Asia or Europe before landing at their destination. The quick turnaround in fixtures has made the situation worse. Most of the teams play two games during a FIFA window, an arrangement made with probably the European nations in mind. Travel in Europe, either by air or rail is efficient, but not so in Africa. Recently, Zimbabwe flew to Ghana for a World Cup qualifier.
The two played on Saturday and the reverse fixture was on Tuesday. Ghana arrived in Zimbabwe ahead of their hosts, due to flight challenges the Warriors faced.
Playing midweek international games has never been ideal for African members. Africa needs to tailor-make programmes that suit its situation, although there should be a synchronised global approach. What is good for the geese in this case is not good for the gander.
Africa is FIFA’s biggest constituency but has continually held the shorter end of the stick.
The vastness of the continent is still not reflected through World Cup spots, but when its campaign time, Africa becomes the darling as it is a crucial voting bloc. With COVID-19 turning into a massive game spoiler, international matches have been reduced to a damp squib.
In Europe, stadiums are teeming with boisterous supporters. The fans are fully vaccinated while Africa battles to jab at least 10% of the population. Only 15 African countries had vaccinated at least 10% of the population by World Health Organisation’s September 30 deadline.
The uneven distribution of vaccines will see African fans return late to the stadiums, further hitting the national association’s bottom lines. The increasing commercial nature of the game leaves Africa playing a daunting catch-up game.