Andrew Muchineripi soccer
If ever a community scored an own goal it was Vosloorus last weekend when a bunch of barbarians brought shame to the East Rand, Gauteng and South Africa.
Unless I have been reading the mind of President Thabo Mbeki upside down, what had been happening in the East Rand township was exactly what he had in mind when speaking about an “African renaissance”.
More and more football matches were being staged at Vosloorus stadium, with Amaglug-glug and Banyana Banyana proving virtually unbeatable at the compact and lively venue.
But the impact on a depressed area of the province, with mass unemployment and many more people struggling to make a living, stretched far beyond football.
While one feels no sympathy for the mentally challenged brigade who flung bricks, stones and bottles at match officials and the Nigerian team during the final of the Women’s African Nations Cup, my sympathy goes to those Vosloorus residents whose lives had been transformed.
Hawkers spring immediately to mind. Business has never been better than during the African women’s championship, a wonderful two-week festival of football until the lunatics fled the asylum and gatecrashed the party.
With many hungry football supporters to feed, business was booming for those for whom every rand counts and the Vosloorus “economy” was getting a desperately needed boost.
This, surely, is the practical side of the “renaissance”, when all the grand-sounding words are cast aside … communities helping to uplift themselves with football the catalyst.
The financial loss to Vosloorus has already been felt with the African junior championship match between South Africa and Mozambique being transferred to FNB stadium at the last minute.
So instead of running on to a pitch cheered by a 20 000-plus crowd, the best young footballers in the land were greeted by a deafening silence at a virtually deserted home of South African football.
My belief is we would have had a much better chance of qualifying for the finals for the first time if the match had been staged in Vosloorus. So the community and the country lose out.
Before leaving the juniors, I must express my amazement at the comments of coach Boebie Williams that he must look to the future and plan for the 2003 championship. Not a word of regret or an apology for letting down the country. South Africa could not have received a kinder draw Equatorial Guinea and Mozambique but still flopped.
I do not want to hear excuses because there are none. West African minnows like Mali and Burkina Faso are going to Seychelles in February while we are not. I trust Williams will do the sensible thing and resign.
Vosloorus has also lost out on the Rothmans Cup semifinal, second-leg clash between Orlando Pirates and Moroka Swallows this Sunday, which has been switched to the latest flavour of the month, Rustenburg.
The East Rand ground was also earmarked to stage more than half the matches in the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations youth championship, which begins on Sunday and lasts eight days.
In the aftermath of the sad ending to the women’s tournament, it is pleasing to read that South African Football Association vice-president Irvin Khoza will head a three-man probe into the crowd violence. The “Iron Duke” is a man of action, and he will need to be as a 14-day deadline has been set for a full report on incidents that may return to haunt this country come 2010 World Cup bid time.
Khoza will hardly need the wisdom of Solomon to know that a major factor was the lack of security as a strong presence of law enforcers would almost certainly have nipped the problem in the bud.
From my position in the main stand, it seemed that a small group of thugs on the far side of the ground started flinging objects at Kenyan assistant referee Pamela Ochieng.
Not satisfied with halting a match the Super Falcons were clearly going to win, they then gave another exhibition of South African xenophobia by hurling missiles at Nigerian supporters.
While Nigerian officials initially seemed to accept the apologies of South African politicians and match officials, their stance has hardened considerably since arriving home.
They are now urging African governing body CAF to take action against South Africa although one believes Minister of Sport and Recreation Ngconde Balfour was closer to a solution when he called for the prosecution of thugs using TV evidence.