July 22^nd , 2003

Regression in our Football!

By Fitsum Getachew

The current Ethiopian Premier League (14 football clubs of various regions have been competing for the last nine months) just ended last Thursday, 17 July, 2003 crowning St George Football Club as the winner, with the season’s revelation Arba Minch Textiles Club placed second (56 to 55 points). Ethiopian Coffee stood third, twelve points away. Birhanena Selam and Dire Dawa Rail Clubs got relegated to the First Division. What makes this year’s premier league epilogue special is the fact that the winner of the tournament had to be awaited for, in a thrilling suspense, until the wastage time of the final match!

In a typically cool and grey winter afternoon, with the Addis Stadium full to capacity, the last game, St George vs Coffee, had every thing that made it deserve the championship decider. In fact, St. George had to win in order to be sure of grabbing the trophy, as the runners up, Arba Minch were engaged in an ‘easy’ match with Trans Ethiopia, at its home ground. As predicted, it ended up with an emphatic 3-0 victory. But it had to wait for the result of the big match in Addis to know its championship fate! Football at times looks unfair, because your personal result by itself may not suffice to put you on the winners’ bandwagon!

Hoping in a draw, Arba Minch fans were very much disappointed when they knew that the Saints had in fact won the game and the trophy. The golden winner had come by the Kenyan striker Erick Muranda, deviating into the net the low cross from the ever resistant and indomitable Dawit Mebratu from the left, coming to it after dribbling a few Coffee players! Until that final moment, Arba Minch was the premier league’s virtual champions! And indeed it would have deserved it, but....

Arba Minch has proved to be a wonderful revelation of the championship, giving provincial teams a very encouraging prospect. Competing on an equal basis with Addis giants such as St. George, Coffee and Electric teams is quite an exploit. Being a formidable power house to be reckoned with is even more surprising! Little wonder that St George won the trophy: it has every thing it takes to be the winner: a huge, passionate following of fans, an age-old organisation, a long tradition of victories, the backing of the richest (see MIDROC Owner and General Manager Sheik Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi and Entrepreneur Abinet G/Maskal; they both pledged more successes!). It should however be admired for the resolve exhibited throughout the second part of the season, when it produced an exceptional show of force, recording a chain of positive results without precedents, permitting it to recover the 9 point deficit from Arba Minch. Many Saints’ fans are fond of comparing such exploit with the Manchester United’s result versus Arsenal!

One of the keys to the victory of the Saints has been the engagement of Kenyan strikers Francis and Erick who transformed the goal realizing capacity of the club. Other clubs must learn from such experience, including the national side. We can’t win games if we do not shoot towards the adversary’s goals! Therefore Mengistu and company, the technical staff, must be complimented for such choice.

It would not be fair to talk only about the Saints-Coffee game in detail. Each game does have its own peculiar story. It would not do justice to the other 25 games that these clubs have made. The frequent complaints that fans and others forward concerning the refereeing of matches could have several grounds, at times justifiable. In any case, it would be wise to leave such discourse to the pertinent clubs’ technical staffs, to the Football Federation in general, (specially in view of coping with the various miscarriages of justice on pitches). Polemics around referees are always bound to arise, even in the most sophisticated and developed league championships, Italy, for instance, but what is more reasonable is to acknowledge that referees are human beings, (not robots!) just like you and me, with emotions and feelings, and in the heat of the moment, are susceptible of flaws. They are required to decide right away and do not have electrical devices for replays or other! What the public and the Federation should focus on, should be that they limit the errors, avoid bad intention and bad faith, and most of all refrain from submitting to corruption. Referees should be armed with sufficient technical, physical and psychological expertise and experience to be able to direct hot matches firmly and confidently. After all, directing a match such as St George vs. Coffee, in a packed, agitated stadium, is not like any other game. The stakes are high, the rivalry is ardent, fans are explosively emotional.

The Federation’s handling of the organization of the final days of the tournament, (the way schedules were fixed, tickets were sold), has raised vehement protests. It left a lot to be desired. The new Federation President Tezera Wedaje (also Vice-Minister of Revenues) has remarked that he would seek solutions, only after having inquired and studied all the issues from all perspectives. We wish him success.

Ticket distribution for the final match had problems. Fans began to line up at the stadium at six in the morning while the match was to begin at three in the afternoon, and tickets were available only starting ten. We wonder why such problems are punctually created with the incidence of a major match. We don’t know when organizers will learn from their past miscalculations and mistakes. The same problems occurred during the 12^th African Youth Football Championships two years ago! Why are tickets available only at the stadium? Why are they presented only on the day of the match? Couldn’t tickets be available at sports clubs, at major selling points, at big hotels? Often, huge and disorganized crowds are created around the stadium, exposing nearby inhabitants to the dangers of mob behaviour. Trading houses around the complex are threatened by these unruly crowds. Windows have been broken, (for instance last Thursday July 17^th, the front window of ‘Yegna Bet’, a restaurant around the stadium was shattered! Who is to pay for the damages?!). Stampedes could occur! While catering for fans would have looked attractive, on the contrary these traders live moments of nightmare. They often record losses! And yet they are required to duly pay the rent to their landlord, the inert/hesitant Sports Commission! The often inadequate security presence is one factor that exacerbates the violent behaviour of certain fans. Hooliganism is becoming a global threat in and around sport pitches, and we should nib that in the bud. ‘Indifference’/hesitation on the part of the Federation, the City Hall or the Police should be defeated by prompt action.

Clearly, one perceives a notable discrepancy between the level of quality of our football, the activities of the Federation and the thirst of fans. Fans devour eagerly and enviously (albeit in TV) the tournaments of other nations, (UK, Italy, Spain...). Their love and enthusiasm for football (including local) is immense. On the other hand, however, they lament the lack of a corresponding national side that could match their ardent hunger for glory, or even delight for a nice performance. Although Ethiopia is one of the founding members, and has once been amongst the stronger sides of African Football Confederation (CAF), (the late Yidnekachew Tessema was a prominent executive), its current position is among the weakest. Ethiopians have been waiting in vain to see their side qualify for the African Cup of Nations finals for the last twenty two years! (Any one can imagine what Yidnekachew would feel, were he alive today!) And in all these years, the closest it got to qualify was this year, when its fate was linked to the outcome of the Guinea match. A victory in Conakry would have opened the gate. Unfortunately, fans had to swallow another bitter pill of defeat: 3-0, debacle!

Here a remark should be made on how the last games were carried out. The match with Liberia in Monrovia has had a lot of polemics, first concerning whether the match was to be carried out at all, (as the place was under imminent attack by rebels). Secondly, the way the match was handled by the referees left a lot to be desired. Players attributed to the ‘scandalous’ direction the agitation and subsequent suspension of Dawit, Mamoalem, and others. Be that as it may, the fact that four Ethiopian players were involved in personal violence on the referees is unacceptable, by any standard of sportsmanship. One could face whatever injustice, even the most blatant ones, the resort to physical, savage aggression or threats on referees is absurd, and to be condemned unequivocally! To evaluate the activities of any referee, there are the competent ad hoc organs. And to protest in the pitch, there should be only the captain(who is supposed to do it in a gentle and civilized manner). It is partly due to the suspension of four key players that the Ethiopian side had to play its decisive match versus Guinea with a handicap. Players should take into account the fact that such high level competitions are major representations of the nations they play for. At such international arena, sportive and civilized behaviour is a primordial prerequisite. And we believe that clubs and fans should not tolerate such ‘adventurism’. Referees command the highest respect. Period. Emotionality and sports competitions are worlds apart!

While the national team’s journey to Tunis has been aborted at Conakry, on the other hand, however, the Olympic team is still engaged in trying to qualify for Athens. It is grouped with the best teams including Nigeria and S. Africa. Slim as the chances of qualification might appear, nonetheless, the team is there to compete. And acquire more exposure and confidence, more experience. The best way to improve is to train and play continually, with the best sides. Even qualifying for the current stage, eliminating its Zimbabwean counterpart (at the recent 2-0 victory here in Addis) has given temporary solace to Ethiopian football fans. We realize our football is really in tatters and would need a lot of rehabilitation, but even a single positive pace delights us. Good Luck to the Olympic team!

In any case, a brand new policy regarding the development and management of our football appears imperative. All youths across the nation need to be involved. Play grounds, stadiums, coaches and lots of resources should be mobilized. In a country where 14 million risk starvation and HIV/AIDS is inflicting immense damage to society, it might look farfetched to make such statements. However, we should not neglect that sports in general is fundamentally instrumental in building a better nation. It is one of the locomotives of development. Having a healthy youth means the nation can better face its future development and democratic challenges. The chances that it can avail of more responsible and committed citizens are brighter. HIV/AIDS can better be managed by cultivating healthy attitudes, values. The famous campaign for ‘behavioural change’ can only succeed through similar exercises. The Latins say: “mens sana in corpore sano”, (to have a healthy mind, we need a healthy body).

Therefore, we cannot underestimate sports, (football), nor can we focus exclusively on athletics. ‘The Great Ethiopian Run’ involved thousands inspiring many more towards a sporting tradition. In this regard, celebrated athlete Haile G/Selassie is to be praised for his efforts. Football on its part involves even more kids. Today’s children are the foundation of tomorrow’s leadership. Furthermore, victory in football could mean enhancement of our self-image. The holding of reliable and sound tournaments, at all levels, means involving millions, keeping them busy. Organizing and carrying out such events involves huge responsibility, organisation and preparation. The fact that the current premier league risked to be engulfed in a major controversy due to schedules, had created polemics and criticism. Such incident (involving St George, Electric Club, the Federation and Arba Minch, third party with vested interest in the outcome) was settled only at the final hour. A table victory for St George would have damaged the interests of cup contenders Arba Minch! The regulations were either misinterpreted or contained lacunae. We need unambiguous rules.

Any way, the Ethiopian Football Federation risked to wreck and lose its credibility altogether, paralyzed in the dilemma of what to do. Add to it the fact that many had not pardoned it for being reluctant to ‘stand for the rights of our national team regarding the Monrovia incident’, (a match that admittedly ought not to have taken place in the first place, and with some arbitral miscarriage on the pitch, eventually resulting fatal to our chances of qualification!). We don’t know whether the Federation presented a formal protest to CAF. And this added fuel to the fire for Ethiopian fans.

All in all, for our football’s future, we need a new sense of direction, at the national level, and then down the line. The Federation is now renewing its officials and that is welcome, provided it is efficient, responsible and accountable. St George’s new direction seems exemplary. We will see what the new Dutch coach Hans Van der Plium will introduce. The renewal movement should permeate all sports authorities. Our involution and regress should arrest somewhere! See nations such as Ruanda have managed to overcome sides such as Ghana and qualify for the African Cup. Neighbouring Kenya is another. How long shall our football fans be patient to see a ‘decent’, competitive national side?! How long shall a controversy and scandal-ridden Federation be tolerated? Fans hope the Ministry of Youths, Sports and Culture will soon make its grip felt. The chain of disappointment and despair should stop at some point.