adminTHANKS to technology, we now live in a global village in which we can even follow events happening around the globe while seated in a corner of a candle lit bar down in Filabusi, Matabeleland South.
We have electricity in Filabusi by the way, but as you go down into the districts, some areas are lagging behind, while those with electricity connection like in Gwabila where my family has some interests, half the time people find themselves in darkness, just like those in towns and cities, for one reason or another.
So much about darkness and my rural home, this is Off the ball by the way; but the connection here is that what one is able to follow while at Barbourfields Stadium, Rufaro Stadium, Ascot Stadium or Gibbo Stadium, one is able to follow while inside the thick bushes of KoGodlwayo. That is the beauty of technology and I realise one of the biggest beneficiaries and people who have accepted it with open hands are sports fans, particularly football followers.
It never used to make sense for air time vendors to try their luck inside the stadium while a match is going on, but it’s now profitable as most people run out of air time as they will be online following events in the social networks via internet on their cellphones.
When one pays to watch a match at Barbourfields, they also reserve a dollar to buy airtime so that they are kept abreast with what is happening in other parts of the country, and even the world. Gone are the days when fans will have to wait for the final whistle to rush home or to their cars to listen to some news bulletin with a round up of Premiership matches for the day.
Barring false alarm, even players on the field of play are able to follow events where fans have an interest as they will know by way of sudden celebrations, when nothing is worth celebrating on the real field of play.
It has been happening throughout the season and it was happening at Barbourfields on Sunday when Chicken Inn hosted Dynamos in a crunch league tie that would have a telling effect of the league race. Dynamos fans came in numbers to cheer up their boys and with Highlanders away in Harare for a crunch tie against another championship chasing team Harare City, Highlanders fans chose to come to Barbourfields and back Chicken Inn, who by the way, did well on their behalf to restrict Dynamos to only a point gain so that Highlanders remain alive to the title chase until the final games tomorrow.
It turned out to be a contest between Dynamos and Highlanders fans, yet it was Chicken Inn who were playing, and actually derailing Dynamos’ title aspirations with two quick goals and even though Dynamos were able to level matters later in the game, the damage had already been done. At the end of the day, it was a case of two points dropped at BF and not a point gained, unless something extra-ordinary happens tomorrow, and I know Highlanders are also praying for that miracle as for them to win the title, Harare City must lose, and Dynamos must at most get a draw while they win their final game against Shabanie Mine.
Highlanders fans were the first to celebrate on Sunday as Chicken Inn started like a house on fire with Mkhokheli Dube, Clement Matawu and Kudakwashe Mahachi getting the better of the midfield battles, resulting in two quick goals.
But before long, Dynamos fans, still down 0-2 at BF, suddenly erupted into cheers, mocking their fans at the opposite end-Highlanders – and thanks to technology, they had learnt via Facebook or Whatsup that Bosso had conceded a goal. You could see the disappointment on the opposite end, and a few minutes before halftime, Bosso fans jumped in celebration, suggesting Bosso had equalised in Harare, but it was to turn out to be a false alarm, as in fact, it was Harare City who had managed to score another goal with the last kick of the first half.
So the talk at half time in the VIP was not about the Dynamos and Chicken Inn game, it was about how Bosso had failed to carry their advantage to the last game of the season. For the remainder of the second half, most people in VIP area were glued to their cellphones, with long faces of course, as the feed continued from bad to worse, ending with a joke that Highlanders were reminded of the Harare telephone landline code (04), after falling down 0-4 to slip to third place from the apex.
Those who were backing DeMbare were no longer worried that the winning goal was proving difficult to come by, albeit until the final whistle, as they found solace in the score line in Harare, and they mocked Boss fans, rubbing in the 4-0 score line at Rufaro.
There were derogatory songs from either side, which I found very unpalatable and unsporting like and on another day, could have led to violent clashes by the way. On that note, I believe clubs have a role to counsel their fans on what to say out there because when ever things get out of hand, it is clubs that bear the brunt. As Dynamos or Highlanders chairman, you certainly can not tell a man on the Soweto stand or Vietnam stand in Rufaro how to behave, but it is certainly your duty to make him understand that there are some songs or slogans that are not suitable for the game as they might lead to violence and the end game is that everyone, including him, becomes a loser.
Who wants children and women who stay near stadiums to get trapped into the violent clashes among football fans and the police, to get teargas canisters knocking on their doors, cars smashed or burnt, people getting injured and so on? We all don’t want that and we all better not create a breeding ground for such things.
So much about the derogatory songs, like I said, the game at BF was also being played at Rufaro. Now listen to this; when it had dawned on Highlanders followers that there was no way Bosso would come back into the game in Harare, and with everyone starting to question the quality and commitment of their own players and coach Kelvin Kaindu for choosing to go to England for a coaching coarse on the hour of need, Bosso fans in the Soweto end decided to take matters into their own hands.
Each time the ball was kicked to the stand, they would hold on to it and only to throw it into the pitch when Dynamos were attacking the Chicken Inn goal area in an attempt to force the referee to stop play. I thought that was madness at another level. It was certainly not a joke.
For once, the referee fell into the trap as there were suddenly two balls inside the box, but after that, he ignored the disturbances although they continued throwing balls while the game was on. On three or so occasions, there were two balls on the field of play and that was a recipe for disaster because what happens when one ball crosses the line? I’m glad the referee noticed the machinations of the Bosso fans and decided to continue with the match with the players ignoring the “Soweto ball” and running after the “official” match ball.
And some ball boys were not to be left out of the side show. One had to be expelled by the referee for employing “delaying tactics”, I’m not sure if he was acting on behalf of Highlanders or Chicken Inn, or the young man was being bullied by the noisy guys on the Soweto stand. By the way, those guys can be very intimidating so we can not rush to demonise the youngster. The talk at the end of the day was about the Harare result, and not the Barbourfields result, thanks to technology. I’m certain it will be the same thing on Super Sunday tomorrow, but hopefully, no one will be throwing additional balls into the pitch..LOL.
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