The grass is always greener on the other side

Ray Bande recently in BEIRA, Mozambique
‘THE grass is greener on the other side’ is a proverb meaning that people tend to think other people’s situations or lives are better than their own, even when this is not necessarily true.
It suggests a human tendency to be dissatisfied with what they have, and to idealise what others possess, serving as a reminder to appreciate one’s own circumstances.
But a cursory analysis of the administration and day-to-day operations of football clubs in Zimbabwe, compared to counterparts in neighbouring Mozambique, seems to suggest that indeed, the grass is greener on the Mozambican side.
While some Castle Lager Premiership football clubs in Zimbabwe such as Manica Diamonds, Bikita Minerals and many others do not have a stadium, or perhaps a sports ground of their own, a mere Division Two in Mozambique owns a fully equipped sports complex of its own.
Most clubs in the country’s top-flight league, let alone in lower leagues such as Division One and Division Two, depend on rented stadia as they use municipality owned match venues for their league matches.
Only recently, new ZIFA Eastern Region – Pacific Storm Cigarette Company – had to intervene to spruce up some of the match venues that are being used by clubs affiliated to the league, most of which barely meet minimum competitive league status.
The prevailing trend speaks to underfunding of the country’s most loved sport of football due to lack of corporate partnership, evidenced by lack of standard football match venues, no wonder at national level, the flagship football team is also hosting its home matches away from home.
Thus a recent visit to Mozambique’s second biggest city of Beira in the Sofala Province revealed that a Division Two team has a fully equipped sports complex of its own located on the shores of the Indian Ocean, that houses their gym, field of play, a five-a-side ground, a bar – all in a vast precast walled yard.
Kelvin Mapangisana said: “This is the existing reality of underfunding of our football. The painful thing is that football has the potential to change lives only if the requisite infrastructure is put in place.
Those running the affairs of the game must ensure that they do all they can to attract meaningful corporate partnership so that these clubs can be able to have their own sports complexes.”
Mathias Madakadze said: “When we saw a good number of company owned clubs coming into the Premiership such as Manica Diamonds and Bikita Minerals, we thought this will translate into more match venues and sports complexes for these clubs.
“I think the companies owning these teams must make a deliberate decision to have such infrastructure for their teams, if they are really serious about their football projects.”
Shamiso Simango said: “Local authorities and Government must give a chance to corporates and clubs to have space or land to construct such infrastructure on agreed and conducive terms.
“This is the only way we can develop our game. How can you have a team in the Premiership without a place to call home? It is unheard of in serious football playing nations.”