The ugly side of the beautiful game

So, we made it after all! After starting the return leg away in Chad in the most disastrous manner possible, the Flames held their own in the second half and managed to get the all-important away goal that has ensured our not-so-safe passage to the next round of the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. The first thing to do, therefore, is to congratulate coach Young Chimodzi and the rest of the team for this feat.

I will not lie that I watched the match, there seems to be unanimity among those that did in the suggestion that apart from the fact that we managed to go through there was very little else to savour, especially in the first half when the Flames tamely gave in to their hosts, something that is illustrated by the fact that we went 3-0 down within the opening half hour of the match. A real drubbing seemed on the cards.

It is understandable, therefore, that many fans watching the match became agitated and started hurling invectives on the team. Those with access to the Football Association of Malawi (FAM) Facebook page had their feelings published and the association was clearly shocked. It responded with its own posting that condemned the fans behind the insults and even went further to threaten to take the page off.

Now, understanding does not mean supporting those that were attacking the coaching panel and their players. It is simply not necessary especially as most of the abuse was coming while the match was still on and we had the chance to achieve our aim. But for FAM to appear so shocked with that is itself shocking because there was nothing particularly surprising for anyone who has ever been to a football match.

Your typical fan is the most irrational being who opens the mouth first and thinks later and anyone opening up to public feedback should have known that at the very outset. You just have to go to any fan page or discussion forum while a match is on and see what fans say when the team is not doing well. There was nothing strange on the FAM page and that is the ugly side of being part of this otherwise beautiful game.

You will see this when the World Cup starts next Thursday in Brazil. It is that time again when 32 of the world’s nations do battle for the right to be called world champions. With Flames nowhere near South America, Malawian fans are, as usual, picking teams to support during football feast and from the experience of previous tournaments most of that is influenced to some extent by club loyalties.

I have been behind Spain from the European Championships in 2008, World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012. I was served well in all these competitions as La Furia Roja emerged champions on all occasions. Although the team’s links to my Liverpool have considerably weakened I owe the team a measure of loyalty for one more tournament at least. I don’t necessarily expect similar success but will hang in there.