For every South African team, representing the country in continental competitions is a privilege and honour as you're not just playing for yourselves or your supporters but waving the country's flag high. Those games mean so much more because of the national pride attached to them. They supersede the domestic league and that's why even some opposition supporters rally behind the team representing the country, something they would never do under normal circumstances.
Not many get to experience the thrills and spills that come with flying out of the country on national duty and the expectations are much higher than at club level. If the playing fields were levelled, this would be every DStv Premiership team's ambition before the start of the season, to see themselves in the top two on the log or reaching the final of the Nedbank Cup so that they can stand a chance to go out there and represent the country in continental football. To do that, one needs to take care of business at home, which is your bread and butter. The DStv Premiership is your number one priority before even thinking of dominating the continent. When you go out there to represent the country, at what cost are you prepared to do so? What is there for you, as a club, in return? What do you stand to gain other than just representing the country and "making us proud"? This question emanates from the position the relegation-threatened Marumo Gallants find themselves in. By virtue of finishing as runners-up in the Nedbank Cup after falling 2-1 short against Mamelodi Sundowns in the final, Bahlabane Ba Ntwa booked themselves a spot in the CAF Confederation Cup, which has proved to be a huge success especially for a team that was sitting rock-bottom on the log standings, for the better part of the campaign. Sundowns and Cape Town City, after finishing first and second on the log respectively, with Gallants and Royal AM who finished third, all booked their places in the CAF Champions League and Confederation Cup respectively. It is now history that the Citizens and Thwihli Thwahla have long 'left their respective WhatsApp groups', with Downs and Gallants remaining the only SA representatives in the continent.
They are both in the quarterfinals of their respective tournaments and look set to reach the semi-finals, if their form is anything to go by. South Africa couldn't have sent better soldiers to 'war' and both teams have done tremendously well to keep our flag flying high. You can't help but worry about Gallants' log position on the domestic front, notwithstanding the great form they've shown so far in their continental campaign. Take their last three impressive league results away, where they recorded seven out of nine points with 3-1 wins against Royal AM and Chippa United and a 1-1 draw against Kaizer Chiefs, and you will have them rooted at the bottom of the log. Until recently, they've been playing catch-up for the better part of the season due to their inter-club commitments, which saw them with games in hand, while other teams have been collecting points. This was not an ideal position for anyone fighting relegation, but it is what it is. Just recently, because of financial constraints – which is one of the biggest stumbling blocks in the attempts to navigate your way through these kinds of competitions – Chairman Abram Sello's club found themselves in what can only be termed as an 'underhand' deal that saw two of their staff members 'held hostage' in Libya over unpaid hotel bills due to 'insufficient funds'. The club recently issued a statement on the matter, without revealing much, suffice to say they were in contact with the "relevant officials to resolve the situation in Libya involving two of the club's key employees". Why it even got to the agreement of leaving two employees as collateral is beyond imagination, especially for a team that went to Libya to "fly the South African flag high and make us all proud!" What assistance is given to these clubs representing the country at continental level, other than just managing their fixtures to accommodate their hectic schedule?
With four games to go at the time of writing, before Tuesday's game against SuperSport United, on 27 points, there are 12 points still to play for where they may need more than just 30 points to secure their safety, depending on other results. Should their fairy-tale run continue in the Confederation Cup and they get relegated from the DStv Premiership, how is that going to help them? At the end of the day, their ticket to the Confed Cup is their good league performance or a good Nedbank Cup run as it was the case last season. Relegation would deal their chances of making it back to the campaign again next season with a huge blow that would have been influenced by them extending themselves to represent the country and fly the SA flag high. Are they getting anything from the very same country that they are representing with flying colours out there? Is there any form of assistance from the government to ensure that their journey continues and they get all the necessary support they need, be it emotional or financial, since their success will be South Africa's success as well? It is one thing for the League to manage Gallants' schedule and accommodate their travels, but it is another to subsidise them and ensure the players remain fresh, the team has everything they need to ensure their prolonged stay in the competition.
At the end of the day, not every football club is like Mamelodi Sundowns, who can afford to charter a flight and go directly to their destination, without wasting hours on end catching connecting flights. Not everyone is as experienced in these games as Sundowns, therefore moral support is always of utmost importance. Naturally, it is easy for us to blame teams when they don't seem to prioritise continental football and choosing to rather focus their energy on their bread and butter, the domestic league. We question their patriotism, we question their commitment to the bigger picture of the Beautiful Game and also blame them for Bafana Bafana's disappointing performances because their 'lack of interest' in continental football short-changes the senior national team from maximising the experience gained in these continental games. However, without proper support, there's really no national pride for some teams to speak of. Because of the extra expenses, gruelling schedule and the impact it has on the players, some teams would rather take a rain check from continental football because it is super expensive and taxing. Not having enough financial muscle is one of the biggest challenges for our teams participating in continental football and this is something that needs urgent attention, so that teams don't shoot themselves in the foot by over-extending themselves in an attempt to represent the country with pride, at the expense of their DStv Premiership status. Also, the sponsorship disparity doesn't help the cause at all because those who have will always outshine the have-nots and that's just the nature of the game. Yes, there are those who have enough in their arsenal but still don't put enough effort, at least in our eyes, in the continent, and those are teams that should be taken to task.
Cheers,
VeeJay
