Tche Irene Morikang
13 October 2008
Football is a great game. Quite entertaining! But a lot of bizarre things are said about those who practice the sport to the extent that one begins to wonder if an outside force is not involved in every kick of the ball. Those who grew up in the villages are certainly used to rumours of how players of school teams were said to sleep in the grave yards on the eve of crucial matches. Or how people "tied" the legs of their opponents or "locked" them up in calabashes which they shock mercilessly outside the pitch as the encounter unfolded. And what about these international athletes who insist of "going to their villages for the last blessings" before taking off for a great expedition? Don't ask me what they go to do in the villages.
Well, whether or not such acts yield the expected outcome, is another story. But what is certain is that such bizarre practices are widespread in Africa, and even beyond. What more? Some people do believe in them to an extent that they are ready to take risks. If this were not the case, how would players of a football team accept to dive into a crocodile-infested river as part of a ritual to "cleanse their team" of bad spirits before a match? Well, it happened in Zimbabwe the other day. About 16 players of a second division team were forced, by their technical team, to swim in the Zambezi River in the resort town of Victoria Falls to deliver their team from evil. This time, the consequence was grave. One player didn't come out of the water. Terrible. But we hear he was the "sacrifice" for the juju. What a price! Too bad that some people are reducing sports to this...
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