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| Features |
| It’s soccer hooliganism |
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by
Mzati Nkolokosa, 20 October 2004
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13:33:44
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The ugly face of violence was in town again Saturday after the Bakili Bullets game against Enyimba of Nigeria in Caf Champions League at Kamuzu Stadium. It did not escape the watchful eye of Mzati Nkolokosa who looks back at the game and puts hooliganism in perspective.
Spectators started throwing missiles into the pitch some 10 minutes to the end of the game which ended in one-all draw; meaning that Enyimba had crossed into the semi-finals of the prestigious cup.
The violence did not end within the stadium but went out onto Masauko Chipembere Highway to Blantyre city centre, Chirimba, Ndirande and Limbe. People were manhandled. Vehicles and buildings, too, were damaged.
“Now you tend to wonder and ask yourself questions like what has a minibus operating in Chirimba got to do with a game that was played at Kamuzu Stadium?” asked BB supporters committee chair James Kalulu whose minibus was stoned in Chirimba.
Indeed, surprising but for sure an indication that violence is rising and getting out of hand because a little over two weeks ago violence was in town after the Flames drew against Tunisia.
Even BB bus was stoned and had three window panes broken. Yet this is a team that has done Malawi a lot of proud because almost nobody expected it to go as far as fighting for the semi-finals. Further, very few people anticipated that BB would defeat teams like Villa of Uganda and Orlando Pirates of South Africa.
“[Violence] has reached a very worrisome situation and something has to be done,” Fam executive member, McCollins Chibvunde told The Nation a day after the game.
Of course Chibvunde is right because in June last year a 2-all draw Carlsberg Cup final between BB and MTL Wanderers was abandoned due to hooliganism when a Nomads golden goal was disallowed.
There was nothing tangible from Fam for almost a month until, tired with the manner in which issues were handled, Carlsberg withdrew its sponsorship.
That was not all for 2003. BP Top 8, too, was dogged by violence that threatened the game loved by millions of Malawians. The league came to an end with Nomads as champions.
But BP was not amused. The bombshell came in June this year. No more BP Trophy. Reason? Violence and lack of seriousness to check the vice.
Now the country has a soccer cup famine because of hooliganism which is going almost unchecked. The worst part is that hooliganism is showing its ugly face even in international matches. The last two games being typical examples. No wonder, this once, even President Bingu wa Mutharika is concerned and wants something done.
“When the President heard of the violence, he phoned me to express his deep shock and disappointment,” said Sports Minister Henry Chimunthu Banda.
It is not the President only who is shocked. Rural people, too, are living in fear for their children’s safety at matches.
“You see we have children and relatives in town. They like soccer and everytime there is violence we are concerned about their safety,” said a woman from one of the urban centres of the country, asking not to be named.
But Mutharika should not be in deep shock, according to Polytechnic sports administrator, Kamkwamba Kalea.
“Football is for hooligans,” he said. That can be true partly because football has always been associated with hooliganism, according to former MTL player Walter Nyamilandu.
“There has been violence, always. Hooliganism is part of the game,” said Nyamilandu.
“But there has never been violence of the magnitude we are seeing today. There are no systems to check violence and people have taken advantage of soccer to express anger on subjects different from football,” he said.
Nyamilandu said it is perplexing to understand why, of all places, a person could choose to vent his anger in Chirimba when a game was at Chichiri Stadium. This, he said, confirms that soccer is being used by thugs.
Maybe because almost every crucial game, no matter the result, is ending into violence. A loss, a win, a draw — all lead to vandalism.
Nyamilandu says fingers should point at both Fam and supporters. Fam for failing to put in place structures that check violence and supporters for over reacting to situations.
“Instead of being proactive, Fam hasn’t been even reactive,” said Nyamilandu adding that Fam needs new blood.
But one source blamed BB sponsor Bakili Muluzi because by paying for everyone he is turning spectators into irresponsible individuals who bring in and drink beer while watching a game as was the case last Saturday.
There is a fair share of the blame on Fam and National Sports Council who own the stadium. How do people get into the stadium with bottles of beer, stones and all kinds of missiles? There is a problem that someone, somewhere is dodging.
And Fam, as owners of the game, should be the first to fight for adequate soccer security. Hooliganism is mere cheering and jeering and part of the game that brings fun.
But here it’s going too far, turning into violence, vandalism and thuggery thus making watching soccer no longer a pleasure for thousands, including couples and people with disabilities |
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