MOGAMAD ALLIE: Our football culture lacks the noisy passion of fans in other parts of Africa

The long-standing debate around how strong football culture is among SA fans was again ignited this weekend following Mamelodi Sundowns’ exit from the Confederation of African Football’s (Caf) Champions League. 

Though The Brazilians and three-time champions Wydad Casablanca finished level at 2-2 on aggregate, the Moroccan side progressed by virtue of the away-goals rule after the first leg in Casablanca ended goalless.     

It was the third time Sundowns were eliminated from the competition by Wydad, who also did the trick in 2017, 2019 and again last season.

Having prevented Sundowns from scoring an all-important away goal in the first leg, the defending champions had the advantage knowing that any score draw would see them progress to the final. It basically meant that for every goal Wydad scored Sundowns would have to net one more than their opponents if they were to progress to their first Champions League final since lifting the trophy in 2016. 

Even though Sundowns twice held the lead, they were pegged back on each occasion by the visitors who boxed cleverly using their experience to strike when the opportunity presented itself. 

Crucially, as Wydad’s well-travelled Belgian coach Sven Vandenbroeck remarked after the game, the absence of vocal support from the home fans when it was needed most helped his team to come back into the game at a time when they seemed to be heading out of the competition.

Vandenbroeck noted that the intimidating atmosphere created by passionate and noisy fans, often bordering on hostility in North and sometimes West Africa, was noticeably absent when it was needed most on an occasion as big as it was at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

In fact, the Belgian, who took over from Spaniard Juan Carlos Garrido after he was sacked just a week before the first leg, wasn’t far off the mark when suggesting that football culture in this country falls short of that in North Africa and, in fact, most of the continent.

“I think it’s culture, maybe because football in the northern [African] countries is the number one sport. Here I think there are other sports that are a little bit bigger than football,” Vandenbroeck said.  

“And then you see ‘ah we’re 1-0 up, we have what we want’, so they [the Sundowns fans] go quiet, I think it’s a massive difference. I think it’s culture maybe a little bit, but I can’t talk about it too much because our fans are great and they have to stay great. There will be 60,000 or 70,000 in Casablanca for the second leg in the final to support us.” 

Wydad’s victory has set up a repeat of last year’s final against 10-time champions Al Ahly. This time, instead of a single encounter as was the case for the past three editions, Caf has reverted to a two-legged affair with the Egyptian giants at home in the first leg on June 4. 

The role of the home crowd as the vital 12th player can’t be overstated. Their vocal encouragement at crucial stages of the game has the potential to give their team a boost when it’s needed and also to ask questions of their opponents’ mental toughness. It’s akin to legitimate doping while the game is in progress. Just ask any SA footballer who has ever played an important game elsewhere in Africa, whether an international or club game.

Having had the privilege of attending many big matches elsewhere in Africa, the passion of the local fans who often fill up the ground several hours before kickoff is something to behold. Unfortunately this is absent in SA. 

The experience of watching the 2010 World Cup qualifier between Egypt and Algeria in November 2009, as part of an almost manic 75,000 crowd that had crammed into the Cairo International Stadium, is one that will remain forever etched in my mind.

It was no surprise then that the Pharaohs won the game 2-0, a scoreline that earned them a play-off with the Algerians at the neutral venue of Omdurman in Sudan a few days later. With no home crowd to spur them on, Egypt lost 1-0 as the Desert Foxes qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1986. 

There’s no doubt that football is the biggest sport in SA in terms of player numbers and fans watching big games such as the Soweto derby between Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates which inevitably fills FNB Stadium to its 94,000 capacity.

The problem though is that this fixture these days has also become something of a social gathering, with a good percentage of the crowd simply there to experience the occasion rather than passionately supporting their team. 

It contrasts with the passion displayed at rugby matches, for example. In recent weeks the Stormers have been carried through tough periods on the field by their passionate fans, who will no doubt again play the role of the vital extra player in Saturday’s United Rugby Championship final against Munster at Cape Town’s DHL Stadium.   

Hopefully Sundowns and Orlando Pirates fans will have the opportunity in next season’s Champions League to raise their game and carry their team home at times when they need it most.