Mandla Ncikazi’s weekend outburst over the treatment of Orlando Pirates in Tanzania was a reminder of just how tough conditions in African football can be and how much psychological warfare goes on off the field when you think the contest is only being decided on the field.
The Buccaneers’ coach fired off a heated outburst in the post-match press conference after Sunday’s controversial loss to Simba of Tanzania in the first leg of their African Confederation Cup quarterfinal tie, accusing the hosts of treating his side like “animals” throughout the brief trip.
Simba have built up a reputation in recent years for their gamesmanship, with Pirates not the first club to make allegations of ill-treatment against them.
But petty shenanigans designed to irritate and frustrate the opposition have been part of the African football landscape for so long now, it has come to be expected.
Some countries are a lot worse than others. In the 1990s, things got so bad in the Democratic Republic of Congo that the Confederation of African Football actually banned them for a year from entering their clubs in the continental competitions
Few places roll out the red carpet, instead ensuring frustrating waits at border check points and airport arrivals halls, taking teams on long, diverted bus rides to their hotel, offering poor training facilities and trying to throw visiting sides off kilter when they arrive at the venues by locking their change rooms and other silly diversions.
Of course some of this happens in South Africa too and, as TS Galaxy owner Tim Sukazi will tell you, Pirates are no innocents in the dark arts of irritating the opposition.
But Ncikazi’s clarion call to African countries to better treat guests looks to have been positively received – although predictably not in Tanzania – and could start to force some change.
African football’s development would be much served by moving away from the pettiness that bedevils the game. In an era where there is much talk about taking the African game to a new level, it will be interesting to see what new Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe might have in hand to curb all these trivialities.
Action now needs to be taken against those who seek to frustrate their opponents in an underhanded way. If bans are implemented, we will see a quick halt to all the tricks and nastiness.
Officials prior to @orlandopirates match in Tanzania in a verbal altercation... these may be some of the scenes that prompted Mandla Ncikazi to express such anger after the match pic.twitter.com/3yaxObKlC8
— Thomas Mlambo (@thomasmlambo) April 19, 2022