Online Reporter
Tatenda A. Matanga
Special Correspondent
SO, the Harare Derby has come and gone and a lot of talk, for once, is not on the events on the field but on the stands and away from good old Rufaro.
With several Dynamos supporters’ chapters calling for a boycott of the teams’ home matches in protest at the alleged ineptitude of club board chairman Bernard Marriot, the debate on the streets is raging on the success or failure of the mass action.
The organisers of the boycott claim the fans heeded their call and stayed away from the match “resulting in Vietnam and Mbare Stands not achieving capacity numbers”.
The Dynamos national supporters executive, which stands in solidarity with Marriot, claimed there was a good crowd at Rufaro and the boycott call was ignored.
They also claim Marriot is still in control of the club and scored a psychological victory on Sunday.
However, on sober reflection, it is important to note that the boycott call was never about Marriot relinquishing power but about him doing “the right things” for the good of the club.
On one hand, the boycott call achieved its first success when the club executive reluctantly pegged the cheapest ticket at US$3 after it became clear many fans were threatening to stay away from Rufaro.
Bear in mind too that the Premier Soccer League committee had fixtured this big match on its own day as all other teams played on Saturday, a deliberate move to maximise on revenue.
Admittedly, a decent crowd turned up at Rufaro but, honestly, not as big as on a normal Harare Derby day.
The CAPS fans, divorced from events next door, came in droves but failed to fill up their City End Bay. Scores of Dynamos fans gathered at Joy Centre in Highfield at an event dubbed Dynamos Day where a number of musicians provided entertainment.
A big number of fans chose to stay at home, at the office or anywhere else away from Rufaro.
Eight thousand six hundred and twenty two fans paid to watch the match.It is clear this was not a normal Derby crowd and this move hit the Dynamos executive where it hurts most – the pocket.
The organisers of the boycott call can also claim success as their message surely reached its various destinations.
For once, Marriot went out of his way to plead with fans to come to a roundtable meeting a few days before the match.
The chairman of the Dynamos supporters national executive committee Benjamin Munzira also made the beeline for the national broadcaster and the mainstream media to ward off the boycott calls, clearly showing they were concerned about this surprise move by fans.
The leaders of the boycott call will also be concerned about the big numbers of fans that ignored their call and attended the match.It was always going to be difficult to have most fans staying away from an enticing fixture as the Dynamos vs CAPS match which also draws neutrals, families and observers alike, on top of the conventional football fans.
Boycott calls usually work when a big team is playing against a small team, something that Highlanders successfully did recently.
Interestingly, Dynamos host Highlanders in their next home match.
This is a fixture that will further test the resolve of the Dynamos fans who are insisting on their continued stay away from their team’s home matches.
Then the next Dynamos home match will be against Yadah and this is where chances of getting an empty stadium are higher supposing the boycott call persists by then.
However, all this can be avoided, if Marriot and his board respond to the fans and address their concerns, chief among them the failure of the executive committee led by Moses Maunganidze.
It is not healthy for Dynamos, the PSL and ZIFA for a club as big as DeMbare to be in turmoil like this with no dialogue and action in sight.
There is a problem at this club, which needs a solution, and urgently too.
Ultimately, football should be the winner and fans should be able to come together at the stadiums singing hoarse for the clubs they so much love.
− Tatenda A. Matanga is a lifelong DeMbare fan. You can also have your views published in this newspaper.
