Zebras' triple crossing
Mqondisi Dube | Monday March 28, 2022 16:00
Instead it was a triple crossing as Tanzania invited three guests for a football romp. When it became apparent Tanzania could only take to the field with two and not three partners, the action starved Zebras were the first to be dumped.
Central Africa Republic (CAR) and Sudan were the preferred match-ups. FIFA laws do not allow a national team to play more than two friendly matches during an international window. This would have seen the Zebras, Tanzania tie relegated to a dead rubber with no bearing on the FIFA rankings. Tanzania told the Zebras to board the plane for some practice match, more as a wash down after their proper international friendly matches against CAR and Sudan. The BFA turned down the opportunity of being a bridesmaid in a mock wedding.
How Tanzania had gone out on an invitation spree boggles the mind. The East Africans were indeed in the mood for a threesome. They thought it would be awesome. But the angry Zebras were not amused. They didn’t take kindly to the triple crossing. In the end, the Zebras were left feeling used, even without taking to the pitch. The Zebras had wanted to devour the East Africans in their own backyard, and in the process move up the FIFA rankings.
Mogomotsi 'Teenage' Mpote's team is ranked as one of the bottom 12 sides in Africa, and the Zebras thought their flirting with Tanzania could tilt the scales. In the world, there are 147 national teams ranked better than the Zebras but now, the encounter to turn the rankings around did not happen. After the failed trip, what was left were packed bags of disappointment, the missed flight and an association throwing toys out of the pram. The team and BFA were nursing the wounds of the last minute cancellation of an appointment. BFA is stilling wailing endlessly, but should Tanzania really care? For a start, it was the East Africans who had organised the match anywhere.
They held the longer end of the stick while BFA were the proverbial beggars who couldn’t be choosers. However, the beggars refused the option of a practice match. It is a harsh lesson that organising your own gives you the license to spell out the terms and conditions. Tanzania were in pole position, hence they could pick and choose.
That’s why they could afford to engage the Botswana Football Association (BFA) ‘in bad faith’ as chief executive officer, Mfolo Mfolo put it. BFA’s anger is understandable considering the lengthy period of inaction. There is a lot of stress and anxiety. Ukraine had banked on NATO and other forces’ resources, not much on their armoury. BFA should learn to organise their own friendly matches and not rely on the benevolence of others. It can go wrong and leave them high and dry as it happened on Wednesday.