CAF dismiss FCP protest
FC PLATINUM have lost their bid to have their Champions League opponents Clube Desportivo Primero de Agosto sanctioned by the Confederation of Africa Football and will now have to bank on overturning their huge deficit against the Angolans at Mandava tomorrow.
FC Platinum fell 0-3 in the preliminary round, first leg tie in Luanda, but not before the domestic Premiership champions had, through head of delegation Naboth Magwizi, protested a decision by their hosts not to produce their players’ passports during a teams’ check.
Magwizi lodged his protest through match commissioner Mangaliso Jabulani Langwenya of Swaziland, who noted the FC Platinum objection, but allowed the match to go on under protest
But CAF ruled that Clube Desportivo Primero de Agosto had not violated any of their inter-club competition rules when they did not produce player passports at the match venue in Luanda.
CAF, in communication sent to both ZIFA and FC Platinum by the continental body’s manager for national teams and inter-club competitions Mohamed El Shawarby, noted that clubs were not compelled to bring copies of player passports on match day.
“We would like to inform your esteemed office that CAF was notified of a protest made by FC Platinum (during the first leg match) as the players of the opponent club De Agosto did not show their passports during the team check.
“We would hence like to draw your attention to the fact that in CAF inter-club competitions, there is no need to present the passport copies for the team check, however, only the lists/licences provided by CAF must be presented to the match officials for the team check,’’ Shawarby wrote.
But away from boardroom attempts to have Agosto’s first leg win reviewed, FC Platinum coach Norman Mapeza has cast a defiant note and yesterday insisted his team has the capacity to overhaul that loss tomorrow. Mapeza said although he was aware of the tough task awaiting his champions, he believed it was not insurmountable, with the former Warriors coach arguing that the first leg result was not a true reflection of the kind of shift that his charges had put on in Luanda.
“Our preparations have gone quite well. We are all positive that we will get a good result come Wednesday and I am happy with the confidence levels in the squad.
“I still believe we played very well and of course the issue of experience also did come in to play when you consider the mistakes that we made, which contributed to their goals and our failure to convert the chances that came our way.
“In games of this nature, you need as many as four to eight players who have experience and who play regularly in the national team and if you look at our team, we don’t have such people, so it’s also a learning curve,’’ Mapeza said.
Mapeza also defended his strikers Rodwell Chinyengetere and Mkhokheli Dube - who fired blanks in the first leg and maintained that the onus to provide goals was not on the duo alone.
“The burden of scoring does not only come to the strikers, it’s about everybody in the team, all players should be able to score, in football these days it’s about attacking and defending as a team
“You can still win a game without any of the strikers being on the score sheet and the goals coming from the midfielders and the defenders. We have been encouraging the players to take their chances if an opportunity comes their way, whether you are defender or midfielder.’’
Mapeza cited the example of Real Madrid centreback and captain Sergio Ramos, who has often chipped in with crucial goals for his side in both the La Liga and Champions League competitions.
Taking into account all the competitions, Ramos totals 71 goals for Real Madrid. This is despite the Spanish giants having a galaxy of stars in their attack that is headlined by Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.
“During our preparations, we have not only tried to rectify our mistakes, but we have also talked a lot about everyone taking responsibility and the fact that while we need goals, we cannot afford any more mistakes again because it will just make the job even more difficult.
“On paper, it might seem a huge task, but I think if we play to our potential and do the right things on the day, we are capable of scoring the goals that we ned to take us through,’’ Mapeza said.
Despite taking a healthy first leg lead, the Angolans have not left anything to chance.
They have been camped in Zimbabwe a week ahead of the reverse fixture hoping to acclimatise to local weather conditions and be fully ready for the duel in which their defensive qualities will no doubt be put to the test.