Many reasons to travel for Cosafa

Legend . . . Godfrey Chitalu

Lusaka, Ndola, Kabwe and Kitwe have been confirmed as host cities for the Cosafa Cup playing in Zambia from July 6-21. The tournament this year will have Cecafa guests in Kenya and Tanzania.

The two east African nations will join Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, Mauritius and Seychelles in the group phase.

Hosts Zambia and higher ranked South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi have been given a bye to the knockout round.

All group phase matches which will be played from July 6-11 will be hosted in Lusaka and Kabwe. The two cities will also host matches at the quarterfinal knockout stage which will be played as double headers at Nkoloma (Lusaka) and Godfrey Chitalu (Kabwe) stadiums on July 13 and 14.

Copperbelt towns of Kitwe and Ndola will only host knockout matches from the quarterfinal and semifinal stages, from July 16.

Why I am writing this? Well, apart from the fact draw for the 2013 Cosafa Cup takes place tomorrow (May 3) in Lusaka on Friday, I want to travel to the tournament. This especially so for the matches in Kitwe and Ndola.

The Copperbelt has fabled stories about football in the southern region. Apart from historically providing Zambia with its finest talent since the 1960s, the region has more legends in other spheres of life which one would need to supple in ones lifetime.  

It is for this reason that the trip to Zambia will not be about the beautiful game alone but all that is beautiful about the beauty of that country – and the flow of the most urban river in Africa, the Kafue River. Apart from the copper, this majestic river is like a thread holding the Copperbelt together, linking  its major towns as if it were a highway!

Footballwise, no name rises higher than that of Godfrey Chitalu. Though Kabwe has renamed its main stadium after this legend, Chitalu was however born in the Copperbelt town of Luanshya. It is also the home town of Orlando Pirates striker and Zambian international Collins Mbesuma.

Chitalu holds his Zambian national team scoring record and was voted footballer of the year in that country five times. He was just 45 when he died in the infamous air crash off Gabon in April 27, 1993. He had just been named national coach that year, after retiring from an 11-year spell as a Kabwe Warriors player, which included a highly disputed but widely acclaimed 107 goals in one season in 1972.

This and many other stories about Zambia are already giving me sleepless nights thinking about July.  

Am I going to resign or take unpaid leave to realize the dream? Time will tell, but this is one trip that cannot be missed for all good reasons imaginable!

An inspirational story of Boston

Inspirational. . . The defending champions of the Boston Marathon Wesley Korir (30) and Sharon Jemutai Cherop (29) are a shining example of Kenya never-ending story of domination in distance running, especially the standard marathon (42.2km). On Monday the pair will line up to try defend their titles at the 117th edition of the world’s oldest annual marathon. Both athletes, after a poor start in life back home in Kenya, are living comfortable lives as professional athletes. It will therefore be not so much about the $806,000 (R7m) on offer as the first prize in both the men’s and women’s races, but an extension of a legacy for them as individuals and for Kenya. If Korir doesn’t win, another Kenyan runner will most likely take the men’s race. In the women’s race the upsurge of Ethiopian women is posing a real threat, as seen last week in Paris, when Tadese Tola took the honours. Korir, who is a permanent resident in the US, proved his popularity back home when he was elected as MP to the Kenyan national assembly last month. A biology graduate of University of Louisville, Korir is also a fierce campaigner for food security and anti-poverty programmes. He is known to celebrate finishing races by giving away his post-match sandwich to a homeless person. He and his Canadian wife are the directors of the Kenyan Kids Foundation, to improve education and healthcare in his homeland, more so in his hometown of Kitale.
 Cherop on the other hand took up running to subdue the boredom of rural existence for girls. But even more significant, she was inspired and also encouraged by two of Kenya’s best known runners, Catherine Ndereba (four-time Boston winner) and Evans Rutto, who lived in her area in Marakwet. Whatever happens on Monday, Korir and Cherop have already won their toughest races of life. 

CAR threat to Bafana is mindboggling

Way of life. . . Central African Republic's refugees in neighbouring Cameroon while away time with a game of footie. Conditions in CAR are similar or worse.

Who are Central African Republic? Well, as a country the mysterious nation is never in the news unless there is a coup or rebel activity threatening a regime change. Today (21 March) for example, the only news from CAR came from the statement by the SELEKA rebel group, who said the concessions President Francois Bozize is currently frantically making are too late for his survival in power.

 "All we ask is for him to now leave power," SELEKA spokesman Colonel Sylvain Bordas told international media. "If he does not do so, we will force him out."

The feint memory of CAR by most of the world’s adult population is the chaotic reign from the 1960s to the 1970s by Jean-Bedel Bokassa, who after forcing his way into power, declared himself Emperor Bokassa I. Apart from helping himself from the meager state coffers, Bokassa amused himself with big projects named after himself.

So, in the absence of war talk what happens there when it is “normal”? The usual struggles for survival by the poverty-stricken population, I suppose, because nothing bright about the society ever makes news, and that includes football. Well, on that score I could be mistaken because the Wild Beasts, as CAR national team is nicknamed, are in Africa’s top 10 according to current Fifa rankings – and South Africa is not.

Now that’s another mystery about CAR, because the Beasts have never played in the Africa Cup of Nations, let alone the World Cup. Their effort in qualifying competitions for both events over the decades include: “did not enter”, “withdrew”, “disqualified” or “did not qualify”.   

The Wild Beasts are in Cape Town, to show South Africa why they are ahead of them in both Fifa rankings and the 2014 World Cup qualifying group. This is the biggest test coming Bafana Bafana’s way in recent years because if they fail against a team with so many odds stacked against it, then where on earth are Bafana Bafana going to achieve the kind of success they enjoyed in the now distant past.

There’s no professional league in CAR, and the national stadium in Bangui carries a capacity of just 30 000 – about the size of Rand Stadium in Johannesburg. Its players are spread out in African countries and some in Europe, including captain Foxi Kéthévoama, who is based in Kazakhstan.

It does not matter who the coach or captain of South Africa are, failure against the likes of the Central African Republic will not be justified, given the resources we enjoy. Failure in Cape Town on Saturday will be failure of South African in its entirety. That will mark the death blow to the little that is left of what once was a proud footballing nation.

I am not going to say “come on Bafana, make us proud”. The team knows the basic thing required of them; achieving on that they would have done themselves proud.

   

Mission conquer Africa begins

Winning feeling. . . Thabiso Nkoana scored the only goal as SuperSport United stopped Don Bosco in Lubumbashi, DR Congo on Sunday. Well done Matsatsantsa!

JUST when I was thinking to myself how much the South African soccer public, usually obnoxious towards African football, had learnt from the recently ended Africa Cup of Nations, the chairman of SuperSport United gave some hope.

According to a newspaper report, Mr Khulu Sibiya this week gave United coach Gavin Hunt a revised mandate: forget the (local) league, win the CAF Confederation Cup.  Today Hunt and the boys leave for DR Congo for their CAF fixture with Den Bosco.

Before I dwell on their trip, I want to commend Sibiya for making a clean break from the general attitude by South African club bosses. In his statement, Sibiya asks a simple but crucial question: “If we can’t do well in CAF competitions how can we expect to conquer the world?” He has a point: if Hunt wins the domestic league again, for the fourth time in the last six years, it will be another local victory, again. But should the Pretoria team win the Confederation, their prestige and respect in Africa and internationally will be enhanced.

In the past local clubs contrived to send weakened team to CAF competitions, saving their stronger teams for local competition. In many instances their hand was forced by the league authorities, who refused to postpone domestic fixtures to afford clubs in CAF contests enough time to prepare thoroughly for their Africa assignments. Even this week, in my opinion, the SuperSport United away game to Orlando Pirates on Wednesday Feb 13 should have been postponed so that United could focus on their DRC trip, and Pirates on their Champions League fixture on the weekend.

The combined attitude of the clubs, league, media and the fans in South Africa has conspired to weaken the country’s chances on the continent. The media give CAF competitions scant reports, if they are mentioned at all. In December the 2012 Champions League came to a conclusion with Al Ahly and Esperance of Tunis in the final. This is news the soccer public in South Africa must know, to be informed and to appreciate the progress of other countries on the continent.

The winner there, which eventually was Al Ahly of Cairo, was to move on to represent Africa in the Fifa Club World Cup. Now that is something affecting us; we need to know who is representing us, and be up to date with their progress until the end of the world event. But South African media does not think that is important, and that extends to the masses who support the game. The latter swear by their local heroes only, and they are blank if you seek their opinion on TP Mazembe or Sunshine Stars or Wydad Casablanca.

The ignorance in South Africa about the game on the continent is self-inflicted and we are paying a heavy price for it. The bubble we have created so that we can comfortably believe, on our own, that we are the best has burst long time ago but only people like Mr Sibiya see that. Others take our aimless floating in the air as being buoyant and tops! Last week a newspaper reporter described the resumption of the local league after Afcon-enforced break as the restart of the “biggest league in Africa”. Really?

As SuperSport  United travel to DR Congo, to meet little known opposition in Don Bosco, accompanying write ups in South African would often say the SA team is meeting “unknowns”. Unknown to who? Isn’t it a journalist’s duty to research and provide information, to avoid clumsy generilisations like “unknown”. If a club is unknown then how did it reach CAF competition, duh!

 Don Bosco is based in Lubumbashi, Katanga province, just like FC Lupopo and TP Mazembe. Like Mazembe, Bosco is owned by the Katumbi family, whose head, 48-year-old Moise Katumbi Chapwe, owns TP Mazembe. His son, Champion, owns Bosco.

They can afford two clubs because Katumbi, who is also the governor of mineral-rich Katanga, is a wealthy businessman whose interests include shareholding in copper mines. His net worth is estimated at US$60 million.

Bosco is starting new life in DRC’s top flight this year after their promotion from the lower league, from where they won the Congolese cup, which qualified them for the Confed Cup. Like more fancied TP Mazembe, Don Bosco also has a strong Zambian connection in its playing and technical staff, including head coach Fordson Kabole.  It also has three Zimbabweans in Carrington Gomba, who signed in January, and Chris Semekwari and Darryl Nyandoro, who helped Don Bosco gain promotion.

Last weekend they fine-tuned for the SuperSport United game by beating Konkola Blades from Zambia 2-0. That’s the bit about Don Bosco, more on them SuperSport United will find out for themselves at the Kenya Stadium in Lubumbashi on the weekend.

For the record, Orlando Pirates host Djabal from Comoros in the first leg of the preliminary round of the Champions League at Orlando Pirates. Good lucks Bucs and United.

The usual vibe. . . at the Kenya Stadium, Lubumbashi, when TP Mazembe are in action. SuperSport United are scheduled to play here this weekend. 

Afcon finally heads for climatic finale

Real deal. . . Jonathan Pitroipa will be the man to watch for Burkina Faso in the 2013 Afcon final today.

THE 2013 Orange Africa Cup of Nations tournament is heading to a potentially exciting finale today after a stuttering start which fed on the apathy of the local fans. After a low-key opening ceremony and two goalless draws on the first day - and another draw in Group B fixtures the second day, before Mali finally cracked it against Niger later that day - it appeared the tournament was heading for disaster.

The referees also got into the act for all the wrong reasons, deciding outcomes through bizarre decisions. Strangely enough, pre-tournament favourites Ghana and defending champions Zambia were the biggest beneficiaries of refereeing shenanigans. Though some argue CAF is the mastermind behind the questionable decisions, the controlling body to their credit took decisive action. They expelled three referees from the tournament, including South Africa’s Daniel Bennett. Even bigger, the decision by Tunisian referee Slim Jdidi to red-card star Burkina Faso winger Jonathan Pitroipa was reversed.

Earlier on the tournament was rescued by Bafana Bafana’s 2-0 win over a strangely weak Angola, and high voltage 4-0 victory by a 10-man Burkina Faso over Ethiopia, changed everything. After this the tournament finally had a home in South Africa, with the action on the pitch also picking up on this mood. The Burkina Faso game against Ethiopia also revealed the star of tournament: Jonathan Pitroipa, the slightly-built forward with the looks of a model.

It was going to be a great shame for the game and the tournament had the final proceeded without Pitroipa, all because of a careless refereeing mistake. The official, Jdidi was supposed to award Pitroipa and his team the penalty after the latter was felled in the box while he was on attack.

Another great shame for the event was the pitch at the Mbombela Stadium. How the tournament was allowed to continue on that dump is curious and downright scandalous. Someone’s head has to roll for the national disgrace. If it’s not the mayor the Mbombela municipality, under whose watch this mess happened, then his immediate boss – the provincial minister for local government – must resign on the mayor’s behalf.

Back to Burkina Faso; what a turnaround of fortune for the small landlocked nation with paltry resources. It has been a curious factor that BF had been a regular feature in the Afcon, since their hosting of the 1998 edition, when they finished fourth. Despite qualifying consistently ever since, the Stallions had been failing to go past the first round.  Now, they are not only in the final match but they are dishing out the most exciting show in the 2013 tourney.

This has come as bitter pill to swallow for fancied Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana to see their poor northern neighbour progress with so much aplomb. An added pain to the Ghanaians was to see the beloved Black Stars, hugely assisted by the referee, falling in the wake of hardworking Stallions.

I bet many Ghanaians are going through sleepless nights, thanks to recurring nightmares featuring the spiky blond hair of Aristide Bance! A TV footage a day after Ghana’s defeat showed a woman in Ghana colours weeping openly in the streets, not so much for the pain of losing a football match but for the shock and humiliation of losing to the Burkinabe, the people who have always looked up to them for inspiration and hope.

And what a comeback by Nigeria – the Super Eagles are soaring high where they belong, thanks to Stephen Keshi. Isn’t ironic that Nigeria is on the brink of its first title since 1994, when Keshi himself was the captain? Larger than life Keshi has a way of provoking emotions hanging precariously at the edges: Keshi the stubborn, the brave, the clumsy, the hero. . . no half measures when coming to the “Big Boss”. Whether you love or despise him, Keshi will surge ahead governed by his own rules.

He successfully helped Togo qualify for 2006 Fifa World Cup – the biggest footballing achievement by the tiny west African country. But because still the Togo authorities found easier to fire Keshi , ahead of the world cup, just because he didn’t take Emmanuel Adebayor’s crap. The Togolese realized their error and appointed Keshi again in 2011, but that’s then the Super Eagles also became vacant and Big Boss moved on to where he is today.

He found a messed up camp at the Super Eagles and took risks to make them a well-oiled machine that they are today. Keshi had to take risks – and duck insults – to achieve that. He showed Odemwigie and many other peacocks the door, and rebuilt the Super Eagles from scratch. Nigeria had 17 Afcon debutants this tournbament, including six home-based players. That was never heard of in Nigerian football in almost two decades, and Keshi’s head was on the block.

Win or lose later today the Big Boss is having the last laugh: Nigerians are now singing the praises of Elderson Echiejile, Sunday Mba and Emanuel Emenike. The latter has come a long way since playing in the lower division of South Africa in 2008-09, for Mpumalanga Black Aces and later FC Cape Town. Enjoy a triumphant return to South Africa, Emenike is 2013 Afcon top scorer with four goals. The man from Otuocha, Anambra, is also a strong contender for player of the tournament.

Nigeria or Burkina Faso? I love them both, so let the best team win. And Mr Ref, please step out of the way!

Who's the boss. . . Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi

Cross country surges on

In the mix. . . South African cross country champion Elroy Gelant.

IT WAS a record field on Saturday when the SA cross country trials were held at the Boksburg Stadium. Favourite and SA Cross Country champion Elroy Gelant duling won the men’s 12km race, just he did in 2011 trials before he went on to win the national title at the SA championships.

Unfortunately, this news remains unknown to most people in the country as the whole focus of the nation is in the ongoing 2013 Afcon tournament. There is nothing wrong with the focus being on the soccer tournament; it’s Africa’s major championship and it’s happening here in South Africa. The “minor” sports in South Africa always struggle for attention in mainstream media but a total blackout that was it last week ahead of the cross country trials is just not on.

Cross country is an essential component of athletics; literally the grassroots. The code is the bedrock of Kenya’s supremacy in middle distance running. The trainers and athletics authorities in that country will not back a career of someone who did not go through the grind of cross country. The reason is not hard to find: cross country running gives athletes all-round qualities, while it strengthens their minds and resolve to overcome obstacles. It has a humbling effect on the athletes, something which works in the favour of the Kenyans and Ethiopians who will kill you with a smile on the road and track.

South African athletics have long identified the importance of cross country but the simple run around method still battles to develop into a culture in this country. The big numbers in Boksburg on the weekend are encouraging but it is at very lower levels that we must see kids running during weekend organised events at their local parks or grounds.

Overall the picture is not entirely bleak for cross country running for South Africa as the senior men’s and junior men’s teams finished overall fifth and six in the previous IAAF world championships in Punta Umbria, Spain, in 2011. The SA women’s teams finished ninth (senior) and tenth (10^th), not a shabby effort at all.
This week Athletics SA is expected to announce the national team going to the Southern Region Championships, to be held on March 3 in Lesotho. From the team going to the world champs three weks later will be announced. Judging by spirited effort in Boksburg on the weekend, at altitude to boot, one can confidently hope for a better showing in Bydgoszcz, Poland. 

For the record, Kgosi Tsosane finished second followed by Desmond Mokgobu and Lucky Mohale in the senior men in Boksburg. This trio and winner Gelant are most likely to be joined by David Manja (5^th) and Lungisa Mdedelwa (6^th) in the team going to Lesotho.
Lebo Phalula won the senior women’s race (8km), ahead of fellow old campaigner Mapaseka Makhanya and
Nolene Conrad. Mpho Mabuza and Christine Kalmer would complete the team to southern region event. The rest of the squad will include the following:

Junior men (8km): Namakoe Nkhasi, Creel Chavalala and Rantso Mekopane
Junior women (6km): Nonhlanhla Dlamini, Glenrose Xaba and Annie Bothma

Omens augur well for Bafana

The way it was. . . One of the stars of 1996 Phil Masinga doing what he did best, celebrating a goal!

TWO days ahead of the 2013 Orange Africa Cup of Nations the mood in the host nation remains of despondency and dejection. Majority of South Africans still do not feel the tournament, not because they think is not worth supporting. The poor form of Bafana Bafana, the national team, is not inspiring.

Not because the current coach appointed six months ago, Gordon Igesund, is doing badly. Curiously, people have more faith in him than his players. The football fans in South Africa are shocked by the rapid decline of Bafana, which gained momentum after the 2000 Afcon which was co-hosted by Ghana and Nigeria. South Africa finished third in that tournament, and what happened to the former winners at first attempt in 1996 afterwards is a storybook of disastrous planning and preparation.

Bafana are in the tournament courtesy of their host status, this after failing to qualify for the last two editions. The jury is out what would have happened if hosts were also obliged to qualify, just as defending champions are!

The team selected for the tournament starting on Saturday at the National Stadium has not scored in its last friendlies ahead of the tournament. This has added to the paralysis of the national psyche as the big kickoff approaches.

South Africans however have 10 reasons to cheer up; the omens are on our side. Comparisons between the conditions the victorious 1996 team faced are curiously similar with what it is in the plate for the class of 2013. Here goes:

·         In 1996 we qualified as hosts, just as 2013

·         Opening match is against debutants, Cape Verde; in 1996 it was Angola

·         Both Cape Verde and Angola are also Portuguese-speaking countries

·         We have Angola again in Group A, just as was the case in 1996

·         In 1996 Group A had one north African team, Algeria; this time it’s Morocco

·         In 1996 the opening match was at a sold-out FNB Stadium; the same stadium is sold out for Saturday

·         While South Africa was making its debut in 1996, this time the country ushers in new Afcon era as the tournament switches from even to odd numbers, to avoid clash with the World Cup

·         Victorious SA coach in 1996, Clive Barker, was Durban-born; so is Gordon Igesund for 2013

·         We have Lions in our group, the Atlas Lions (Morocco), just as in 1996 there were Indomitable Lions (Cameroon)

·         In Dec 1995, a month ahead of the tournament, Ivory Coast were the No. 1 ranked team in Africa. The Mighty Elephants are similarly No.1 as at Dec 2012.

With so many similarities between 1996 and 2013, the only thing missing is the high spirits on the part of South Africans. The team of 1996 was lifted by all – from toddlers to grannies. This time around some people do not even know we have such a big tournament on our shores, my mother included.

I don’t know about the soccer gods, but the omens are good. Victory over Cape Verde will send everybody out on the streets, as was the case in 1996. Then my mother will know it’s game on!