The ManicaPost
ESTEEMED followers of the game of football, thank you for finding time for interaction. After his team limped to a detrimental away draw to Harare City, FC Platinum coach, Norman Mapeza’s thinly veiled insinuation was that the playing field, going into last Friday’s match, was not level in this riveting race for the championship.
With all four of FC Platinum, Dynamos, Ngezi Platinum Stars and Chicken Inn involved in a cut-throat contest vying for the league crown and virtually treating each of their remaining games as a cup final, it would have made perfect sense to get the quartet play all their fixtures on the same day and at the same time. However, the former Warriors captain felt that it gave an unfair advantage to the other three to have his Zvishavane miners play a day earlier.
To him, it gave his competitors a head-start of sorts to be in action a day later because they would already know in advance the result from Pure Platinum Pay’s clash and, therefore, help them (the other contestants) secure a required outcome from their own games.
“You know that question, I don’t want to be in trouble and I am not going to answer it. Let’s be honest with each other, what do you want our club to do? If you were the FC Platinum president, what where you going to say if PSL say your game is on tomorrow?” retorted Mapeza rhetorically, after The Herald quizzed him about the irregular match kick-offs involving all the title aspirants.
Now, that is not warped wisdom. The gaffer makes a legitimate point here. He is talking sense and that should not be mistaken as a shallow or lame excuse, an empty explanation to attempt justifying his team’s dropping points in the gruelling and intriguing battle for the top honour.
His submission is merely informed by the tenets of the spirit of Fair Play, which, as vouched by FIFA in their preceding motto, “for the good of the game.”
The Ngezi Platinum Stars-Dynamos clash kicked off at 2pm, while the ZPC Kariba-Chicken Inn contest was slated for 3pm of the same Saturday; only to be rescheduled to Sunday morning at 10 due to the unplayable conditions of Nyamhunga Stadium.
The landscape of our Premiership has always been a rugged terrain owing to the twists and turns as well as the ups and downs that characterise the marathon, and to further undulate it with no uniformity to kick-offs among the teams with vested interest is just not on point. In order to give it some semblance of balance, it should never be uneven. It will be unfair if the playing field was lop-sided against some teams.
With the state of affairs currently reflected at both the top and tail ends of the log standings, it would be utterly remiss to allow disparities in match kick-offs. At this point of the marathon every match result will carry different prospects and hold even differing significances in pursuit of the championship or survival for the respective teams.
This season’s campaign is not a company of only two, like it had whittled down to last season at this juncture, but a crowd of four and, therefore, fairness of all manner has to prevail. Not only with kick-offs, but match officiating as well. Good sportsmanship should also be upheld among the competing teams and players themselves. This can all help keep the competition alive and retain its essence.
Feedback:
Judging by the look of things, the water meniscus in Dynamos’ glass is half empty and not full! They are losing direction.
As the common ChiShona sayings go, “changova churu chakapinda nyoka” or “dehwe rakambodyiwa nyama”-CTM.
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