The dilemma of supporters

BOITUMELO KHUTSAFALO
Staff Writer | Friday February 19, 2010 00:00

 

It was billed as the biggest clash so far this year. It was the first time in many years a local club faced the South African giants in a competitive match.

Thousands of fans trooped to the UB Stadium to watch the big match. Some locals were clad in Orlando Pirates' colours. This brought an interesting debate as to whether it is right for one to support a foreign club against a local side. To many, it was seen as unpatriotic.

After the match, one Township Rollers' supporter nearly landed himself in trouble with commuters in a taxi when he tried to defend his decision to support Pirates against GU. He said he supported Pirates because he does not like the Reds. As a Rollers' supporter, he has always seen GU as rivals and therefore he had no choice but to side with his second favourite team, Pirates.

To the other commuters, it was unpatriotic for the supporter to show allegiance to a foreign team over a local side. 'I do not see anything wrong with donning an Orlando Pirates' jersey. The last time I checked, everyone in this country was allowed to choose whichever team he or she wants to support,' he said to the disbelief of other commuters.

The argument nearly turned into a physical fight when the Rollers' supporter accused one of the commuters of claiming to be a supporter of GU when he was in fact wearing a Liverpool jersey. 'You cannot tell me that it is wrong to wear a Pirates jersey when they play GU when you are wearing a Liverpool shirt,' charged the Rollers supporter. But they kept accusing him of being a South African wannabe and advised him that even though he is not a big fan of GU, he should have at least shown an element of patriotism for the 90 minutes of the match against Pirates.

It can be argued that since no Botswana team has ever won a CAF competition or even reached the group stages, the success of a local club translates to achievement for Botswana football.

But again, one cannot dismiss the reasons stated by those who followed their hearts and rallied behind Pirates. Some of them only started following local football in recent times after years of watching the South African Premier Soccer League. There is no doubt about the role the media plays in influencing the support for a certain team or league. South African media played a major role in familiarising the local football supporters with the South African league and its clubs. Before the establishment of Botswana Television (Btv), the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) TV and radio were the in-thing in Botswana. Many Batswana grew up watching the likes of Marks Maponyane, Doctor Khumalo, Jomo Sono and other South African stars while exploits of local heroes like Terrence Mophuthing and Oris Radipotsane could only be heard on radio.

Perhaps part of obsession with South African football has to do with how Botswana markets its game. Until a few seasons ago, it was always difficult to find a replica jersey of a Botswana club. But there was no such problem in Botswana with replica jerseys of South African clubs like Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates.

What happened to the Rollers' supporter and many others who backed Pirates is not new in the continent or the world. It has happened before that whenever a foreign club travels to say Egypt to play Al Ahly in a CAF competition, it could count on the support of fans of bitter rivals Zamalek and vice versa.