The Sunday News
TWO WEEKS ago Airforce of Zimbabwe Premiers Soccer League side Chapungu, affectionately known as Waru Waru dismissed defending champions Dynamos at Ascot Stadium in Gweru 1 – 0 in a spirited performance by the league newcomers who returned to top flight football this season after a five year hiatus.
Troubled DeMbare, who also went on to lose by the same goal margin to newcomers Buffaloes at the National Sports Stadium last week, were recipients of deadly attacks from Waru Waru’s Farai Manase who caused problems for the Harare giants throughout the match.
Despite the host club’s undoubtedly solid show, the spotlight shifted to disturbing occurrences outside the stadium. By the time the match kicked off, hundreds of fans were still milling outside alongside journalists reportedly from the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation. Commotion reigned as some people jumped onto cars moving towards the gates in a bid to gain free entry. Scenes of confusion characterised the afternoon as people were told to stand in queues which seemingly moved at a snail’s pace.
By the time this reporter left this particular entrance, scenes on the other entrance were benign although the queues were a replica of the former. Fans stood in queues and patiently waited for their opportunities to reach the lusted entry point. 25 minutes later, Chapungu fans could be heard from outside celebrating their first goal converted by
Calisto Maheya which proved the match winner.
One fan who had come to the match with his four-year old son lamented his ordeal as he stood in the long winding queues as the match progressed.
“If it were not for my son I would have long joined the stampeding at the gate there and gotten into the stadium. My friends, who I came with, are already calling me from inside because they pushed and shoved and gained access into the arena but it’s hard for me to do now because of this boy.
“Are the authorities suggesting that we don’t bring our families, especially the minors to the stadium? This is seriously disappointing for some of us who are resident in Gweru and have only a few opportunities to watch big teams like Dynamos in the city,” whimpered the man.
Others who were not amused included an off duty journalist from a local paper who was at the stadium to watch the match.
“Mdhara zvakasunama pano (My brother, things here are tight). I am not here on duty but I now wish I had brought my Press card so that I could access the stadium. It has always been the case here at Ascot Stadium. We have always struggled to gain access to the venue whenever big teams, especially DeMbare come here,” said the scribe who preferred anonymity.
In November 2012, veteran football journalist Charles Mabika, reporter Langton Nyakwenda and a Dynamos marshal were at the receiving end of police dog bites as they tried to find their way into the same stadium when then Premier League side Hardbody hosted DeMbare.
Mabika was reported to have felt sorry for fans who found themselves at the mercy of police dogs and horses. He was quoted saying: “I fell to the ground, the dog’s teeth scratched part of my skin, and I was lucky maybe because I didn’t get the full force of the bite.”
Added the popular commentator: “For once I felt what the ordinary fans go through, week in and week out, trying to squeeze their way into the stadium and I have no bad feelings at all because I am not in any way more special than the fans that go through this all the time.”
Chapungu FC vice-chairman Acroid Moyo said such a situation as was witnessed at the Chapungu-Dynamos game was regrettable, and conveyed his apologies to the fans and media personnel who might have been affected by the goings-on on the day and said that there was a need for all stakeholders to work together when such big matches take place.
“I would like to encourage fans to also come to the stadia early. Our cashiers were at the stadium by around 9am and I am sure gates opened at around 11am too. If ever it were possible, depending on the PSL in the future there could be ways for in which people would get pre-match tickets before matches so that they just come into the match to have their tickets checked, which will save more time,” said Moyo.
Moyo’s sentiments come at a time when the Premier Soccer League has been mulling introducing pre-match ticketing systems in a bid to maintain transparency in the handling of finances and also making sure that fans were not inconvenienced in queues during matches.
PSL chief executive officer Kenny Ndebele said that PSL was working on the administrative issues that concern access to match venues, including the handling of journalists and fans in general at stadia.
“It’s all an issue of organisation and good administration and this is actually something that we have raised alarms on for all the clubs and all the venues. We need to deal with it holistically and make sure that our standards go a notch high. You would know that we are also concerned with how the clubs have handled cash during the matches – we had suggested that they at least have people handling cash who have a background in banking or any other related field but they have just employed some of their people and hence we have had a few incidents of fake notes sufficing. It is something that we are looking into in our league,” noted Ndebele.
