Some say rugby is a game of hooligans watched by professionals while soccer is said to be the reverse. That is, a game of professionals watched by hooligans.
The statement seeks to describe how these two games operate. Rugby is a hard game where players in the game seem to be fighting a lot yet it is all part of the rules.
The same cannot be said about Zimbabwe’s most popular sport, soccer. Instead the reverse appears to be the common trend. There is peaceful competition on the pitch but a trend of hooliganism on the terraces.
This is especially so when supporters of one home team or the other refuse to accept final results that are not in their favour.
Whether your team has lost, drawn or won it is the accepted rule that supporters should just accept the result. That is the FIFA sanctioned reality of the game.
Violence will not change the complexion of the result no matter the raucous behavior of soccer fans.
Soccer is a beautiful game watched by millions of people all over the world including women and children. They go and celebrate their teams playing at the same time as it’s a form of entertainment.
However for Zimbabwean football has almost become a restricted zone for women and children who cannot feel safe especially when our most popular teams are playing and the violence is not just physical. It also takes the form of foul language and sexual abuse.
Women and children are constantly victimized at the stadium. When women go for a soccer match they have to go through their clothes to find something that will not cause commotion. For instance if they wear miniskirts or tight fitting clothes they will be victimized and shamed by some unruly men.
As a result fewer women attend soccer matches because they fear being victimized with some fans comparing women in attendance at matches prostitutes. Both in song and in physical harassment.
The problem also sometimes takes on a racial dimension where minorities fear to attend soccer matches because of wanton discrimination by the rowdy soccer supporters.
It is unfortunate that a significant portion of our local football fans in the country lack maturity. In actual fact it’s no longer supporting but it’s now a platform of victimizing other people in the name of soccer.
A good example where supporting soccer had exceeded its expectations by unbecoming behavior is the recent game between Dynamos and Highlanders at the Barbour field’s stadium.
Highlanders overreacted when they were a goal down. They started to throw missiles into the pitch to show their anger but however in a game of football the team that plays better should win and it’s up to fans to accept their fate.
What can be done?
Having attended the Zimbabwe and South Africa cricket test match it dawned on me that a lot needs to be done as far as supporting soccer in the country is concerned. Cricket brought together different races, the blacks, the whites, Indians and Muslims but which is not the same thing in a game of soccer.
For these things to be avoided it needs a lot of measures that includes educating the fans on the dangers of violence through the Zimbabwe football governing body.
Teams should be punished to play in empty stadiums to encourage discipline of the fans. By so doing it will enable fans to exercise the violence free soccer matches.
Security should do its job conscientiously and search people for dangerous weapons into the stadium. Some of these instruments range from catapults to empty glass bottles and knives.
Soccer players should start to preach discipline to their fans and not provoke other team’s fans. Some players have a tendency of celebrating a goal going to the bay of the opposite team which aggravates anger and then violence.
The game of football in the country is in stagnation not just because of administrative inefficiency but also because of the way fans behave at the matches.
