admin
Zvishavane fans have responded by blasting Caf for controversially ordering Mandava not suitable to host the Champions League.
The Premiership moneybags spent a fortune to refurbish Mandava in Zvishavane in order for the stadium to meet international standards and even Caf acknowledged that the venue was now top notch.
Platinum then made their Champions League home debut at the venue when hosting Swaziland champions Green Mamba in a preliminary round, second leg encounter two weeks ago which they convincingly won 4-0 to complete a comprehensive 8-2 aggregate victory.
That game against Green Mamba was also historic in that it was the first time in the history of the local game that a Champions League tie had been staged outside Harare and Bulawayo with the match heralding a new era in which high-level football was being spread to other centres.
But the miners’ joy at writing their own piece of history and taking full advantage of their home ground has now been thrown into tatters ahead of the Champions League first round assignment with Caf directing that Platinum must find an alternative venue for the rest of the campaign.
Caf’s controversial order is on the basis that there are no adequate hotels in Zvishavane for Platinum to host visiting teams with the continental body arguing that it would not be proper for the 2011 Premiership runners-up to host their opponents in Masvingo.
In a letter to Zifa chief executive Jonathan Mashingaidze, Caf indicated that FC Platinum cannot continue to play at Mandava when their opponents would need to travel more than 90km to access the match venue from Masvingo.
After dispatching Green Mamba, Rahman Gumbo’s men have been bracing themselves for a much tougher first round, first leg date against Sudanese giants El Merreikh on the weekend of March 23-25 at home.
But the order from Caf, which was communicated by the continental body’s head of clubs competitions Essam Ahmed, wants Zifa to ensure that Platinum’s next assignment — the game against El Merreikh — would have to be played at a venue where there are hotels in line with their requirements.
Ahmed said Caf came up with the decision following damning reports by the referee and the match commissioner who handled the FC Platinum against Green Mamba encounter.
Reports from Khartoum also indicated that El Merreikh had already been notified of the Caf order with the Sudanese champions reportedly now keen to know where their first round match will be played.
FC Platinum fans were fuming yesterday and blasted the Caf decision.
“We have a better place here where visiting teams can sleep, for example Asbestos House. Queen Elizabeth once slept at Asbestos House and our ministers always sleep there.
“What is so special about a player coming from a war-torn country like Sudan? Caf is now confusing us and travelling a distance of 97km is not something special. FC Platinum did a great project by refurbishing Mandava Stadium and it’s high time they must be complemented. We are rivals with them in the local league but when it comes to the Champion’s League we are one and I hope Zifa will do their best because we want to watch the Champions League here,” echoed Kerifanos Chivhoyo, a staunch Shabanie Mine fan.
“It is a shock to the Zvishavane community, in particular Mandava residents where the stadium is housed. If Green Mamba came and played at Mandava Stadium in the same tournament what is so special about El Merreikh?”
Bheki Chitondo, the community relations officer for FC Platinum, said: “This is a clear picture to all Southern African teams to support each other in the next Caf elections so that we have the president coming from the southern part because it seems the central, west and northern teams in Africa have a strong backing from Caf as the president
comes from Cameroon.
“I, however, would like to thank Mashingaidze for his efforts to spread football to the small towns of Zimbabwe and I hope one day we will be the champions of the Champions League, if not the bridesmaids,” he said.
Caf took their decision after reading a report from match commissioner Kayijuka Gaspard, a Rwandan, who many now feel has a score to settle with Zimbabwe. The match commissioner seemed not well versed with the standards of football despite being a commissioner.
When Gaspard came to Mandava for the FC Platinum-Green Mamba match, he stunned match and Zifa officials, visitors and journalists when he wanted the visiting team to use the hosts’ dressing room and their technical benches which are on the left when visitors are supposed to sit on the right which is the norm at Rufaro, National Sports Stadium, Barbourfields and the world over. It was only after Joseph Mususa advised him of the football statutes that he eventually changed his mind.
The match officials were referee Baltazar Romualdo assisted by Dos Santos Jerson and Wilson Ntyamba, all from Angola.
“We are still within the range of 200km from the airport. They can be booked in Bulawayo or Gweru. When Shabanie played St Michel in 2001 were they not using the same rules? I do not support FC Platinum as my heart is with Shabanie but when it comes to the national cause we are one. I smell a rat on the issue and it’s a pity that Caf is not in our region. This is now a mind game and I think Caf is being used by some team in North Africa. What price are we paying for? Is it probably that we as a nation did not cast a vote for Issa Hayatou (Caf president)? At one point one of our teams was forced to play in Sudan when it was a war zone. We have a runway in Masvingo, they can use that one,” lamented Obert Sithole, a vendor in the town.
But it is also the double standards by Caf that have left the fans fuming. Motor Action travelled more than 100km when they played Black Leopards of South Africa in the first leg of the Confederations Cup, with Dynamos and Monomotapa having gone through the same fate.
The Zimbabwe national team was booked in a sub-standard hotel after travelling by road from Khartoum when they took part in the CHAN tournament in 2007 but Caf never raised eyebrows.
It still remains to be seen how Caf will respond to Mashingaidze’s appeal and whether Mandava will get the nod to host another Champions League match. For the 100 000 people in the small mining town hopes are still pinned on watching FC Platinum in action in the small mining town where football has turned to be a religion.
Online Reporter