SOCCER IN AFRICA (part 1) MAMADOU Gaye is known as the Assassin of Abidjan, a no-holds-barred football analyst who has made a big name for himself as a pundit after a low-level playing career that ended in the amateur ranks. He is a lifelong fan of ASEC Mimosas, the team that controversially beat Dynamos to be crowned champions of Africa 15 years ago, and works as a consultant in South Africa with vast interests in football. His frank, and often controversial, criticism of African football has won him as many friends as enemies and, as a member of SuperSport’s panel of experts, he has a huge medium to preach his gospel. He has been a regular feature on the weekly magazine programme,Soccer Africa, alongside Thomas Mlambo, Thomas Kwenaite and Idah Peterside, the Nigerian footballer-turned-pundit who wasseated in our enclosure as we watched Sunday’s Nations Cup final at Soccer City. Mamadou told SuperSport’s onlinereaders, in an online discussion with his fans on SuperSport two years ago, that he met a Zimbabwean nurse in England and they got engaged and he comes here, quite often, to visit his fiancée’s relatives. A number of Zimbabweans say they like Mamadou because he appears to have a soft side for their nation, and that is probably explained by his romantic link to this country, but he is not so well liked in West Africa. He is considered a lunatic, in the part of the continent, who doesn’tsee anything positive in football, beyond the borders of his native Cote d’Ivoire, and he has been a subject of some savage attacks in newspaper and online editorials and blogs in Ghana and Nigeria. Mamadou is unapologetic about his stance, on age-cheating in the junior national teams of Ghana and Nigeria, who seemingly do very well in world youth championships but the players never grow out of their youth to make formidable teams that can make a big impression in the World Cup. The reason, Mamadou says, is because the men that the Ghanaians and Nigerians send to the World Under-17 and World Under-20 championships, disguised as teenagers, would already be at the peak of their careers and cannot develop any further after that. “I am an African, I feel sad when I see people taking pride of winning Under-age tournaments. Africa won all the Under-age tournaments in various categoriesbut failed to ever make it the semi-final of the World Cup whereage counts for nothing,” Mamadou said in that SuperSport online chat with his fans. “We know that all those Under-age trophies were won with age-cheating. If you can beat Germany, Brazil at Under-20 and Under-23, why not at senior level where there is no age limit? Stop age-cheating in our football and let be proud about genuine achievement.” He is a fierce critic of Caf presidentIssa Hayatou and says the Cameroonian strongman has done nothing to help uplift African football in his lengthy termin charge of the game. Mamadou believes the rot will continue, because it will be business as usual at Caf, since African football is full of cowards who don’t have the strength to challenge Hayatou and would rather join the bandwagon and enjoy the luxury of the gravy train. “Under the 23 years of Hayatou presidency, there are more negatives than positives,” Mamadou says in that online chat on SuperSport. “Caf, under the 23 years of Hayatou presidency, is a cartel. You look at the executive committee of Caf, there is no former player. Most football federations in Africa are biased towards Hayatou and receive instructions from him who to votein or out. “Africa must get rid of this cartel. I’m critical of Caf and Hayatou because they have failed Africa. Ask your national television what is Caf doing with the TV rights money of each African Nations Cup? “Unfortunately, African football is full of cowards, nobody dares challenge Hayatou but the first one to come out will became the next president of Caf. Unless we effect changes in the management, no African country will win the World Cup. Get rid of the cartel, then Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire or Senegal will win the World Cup. “Let’s bring in new administratorsand Africa will shine. The disease is Caf. Africa must unite to get rid of the dictatorship of Caf. Not longago we were better than the Asians. Today we occupy the bottom seat in world football under 23 years of the football dictatorship of Issa Hayatou. “Caf is a mess, they are not concerned about developing the game but about what he (Hayatou) and his cronies can make out of the game. That’s why we need a change.” Mamadou also believes there is something significantly wrong about African football and Caf andits leaders have to be held accountable. “Caf is the only continental body where our countries spend millions of dollars to qualify and play in the Nations Cup. At the endof the tournament you win the Cup and there is no incentive, no prize money,” he says in the sameonline SuperSport conversation.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Jun 2013 07:41:44 +0000
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