Andrew Muchineripi soccer
The annual pre-season Iwisa Charity Spectacular competition was a noble idea with football giving desperately needed funds to some of the many less fortunate members of our society.
There was also a novel method of choosing the four contestants with phone calls and letters from the public dictating who appeared before the traditional full house at FNB Stadium.
But there has been enough drama and intrigue surrounding the event recently to write a bestseller, beginning with the battle to replace Iwisa as sponsors of the event.
MTN were in line to take over until Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, who are sponsored by a rival cellphone firm, said they could not take part due to a conflict of interests. Fair enough, except a charity spectacular without the Amak-hosi and the Buccaneers is like eating pap and vleis without a thick, rich gravy. Totally unacceptable.
This issue was resolved only after much media mud-slinging when MTN stepped down to be replaced by Telkom and the event is now known as the Telkom Charity Cup.
Problems with the voting system emerged last year when newly formed Ajax Cape Town gathered
thousands of votes despite it being common knowledge that their support base can be counted in hundreds rather than thousands. And this year the Cape club once more had tens of thousands of votes. If they really do have so many fans, how come we never see them at matches involving the club?
Take a look at the figures of the four qualifiers this year: Sundowns (95 585), Chiefs (75 831), Moroka Swallows (75 789) and Pirates (74 789). Now that is what this humble scribe calls support. But even allowing for the fact that the calls are made from around our beautiful land, do Sundowns, whose average gate is about 3 000, seriously expect us to believe they have almost 100 000 supporters?
The system simply does not work, especially in an age when computer equipment can be used to repeatedly phone a certain number. Come to think of it, how come Mother City did not finish first?
Turning to events on the field, there are going to be a lot of early risers on Saturday with arch-rivals Chiefs and Pirates clashing in the first semifinal at 10am. Sundowns and Swallows follow at noon and I predict the 4pm final will feature the Amakhosi and the Brazilians with Chiefs getting my vote to succeed Pirates as champions.
Forecasting is a dangerous game, however, when the season is still young, so no abusive calls to Chateau Muchineripi should those great names from the past, Pirates and Swallows, prevail.
Although essentially a limb-loosener, the pressure will be very much on Pirates coach Gordon Igesund, who cannot afford a second defeat by Chiefs within three weeks.
It took a late Lucky Maselesele goal to separate the clubs after a Vodacom Challenge final in which Chiefs squandered numerous chances to put the match beyond the reach of the Buccaneers long before Lucky became lucky.
The first Charity Cup semifinal brings together the hottest strikers – Dennis Lota of Pirates and Siyabonga Nomvete of Chiefs – in South Africa, although both have looked rather jaded of late.
Surprised? I’m certainly not because Nomvete has had no close season what with club, Amaglug-glug and Bafana Bafana commitments. Even the full-time professionals in England get at least one month off.
Next week the BP Top 8 begins and Sundowns will be involved in the African Champions League with a home fixture against Africa Sports from Ivory Coast.
More BP Top 8 quarterfinal action follows the following weekend, then the semifinals, and then another marathon 34-match Castle Premiership league programme begins.
It is all very well for the television companies, sponsors, officials and treasurers, but what about the weary players
and fans with limited disposable income? We need less football, not more. We need more quality, not less.