Hopeless politics killing Rayon Sport

Whatever happens at Rayon Sport, good or bad is reflected on the face of Rwandan football in general—inevitably, the national team, the epitome of local football, is worst affected. What I am talking about here may not be everyone’s cup of tea, especially the Rayon managers but it’s my God damn opinion. Rayon may be the country’s most supported and second most successful after APR but it’s also the most chaotic and worst run—their fans and administrators are the worst bunch with no class to run a credible football club. When you put all these factors and a few more facts others together, you end up with the sort of situation like the one happening there at the minute—it’s a very sorry state of affairs but one least surprising given the club’s history in management terms. This month, fans are supposed to be celebrating 41 years of the club’s existence but instead they are locked in the uncertainly of whether their beloved club would even be able to raise a full team for Sunday’s (today) league clash with the champions and table leaders Atraco Fc. Since its formation, Rayon has won six league title; 1975, 1981, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2004, eight Rwandan Cup (Peace Cup) titles; 1976, 1979, 1982, 1989, 1993, 1995, 1998, 2005 as well as one CECAFA Clubs Cup in 1998. On the continent, the Blues have never gone beyond the second round of any major continental competition. Since making their continental debut in the Africa Cup of Champions Clubs in 1982, the club has gone on to make five appearances in the Champions League. Estimates put Rayon Sport’s fans base in the country at over four millions faithful followers yet the club continues to disintegrate dreadfully on and off the field at an alarming rate—without the money to pay players and coaches’ wages! God made man; man made money and …… The root cause of the club’s demise is money or the hope to make a quick buck for whoever comes in at the top end of the club management level. There has been a long standing debate about whether indeed all Rayon Sport managers, past and present come into the club (management) with the intention of taking ‘their’ club forward or simply looking to for a quick way of getting rich(er). Granted, Rayon has the biggest fans base—actually they enjoy the kind of supports that dwarfs all the other 11 first division clubs put together but what more? Nothing, if you asked me and what next? More chaos, more internal fighting, more hopes for a quick buck but most importantly further degeneration into deep mediocrity unless the so-called ‘original’ fans changed their mind-set. Each of the Rayon administrators I’ve known of in the last seven years (past and present) think they can come in disguising as the messiah in hope that they in return will milk a quick buck out of a club that has no side income to supplement the gate collections. Most, if not all come in and invest a few millions in the first days but the minute they realize they’re not getting any returns on their ‘investment’, they run away, leaving the club in a mess. Yet, coming in with a view to getting rich quickly wouldn’t be a such a big issue because whoever comes in, comes well aware of the situation, so whether they make losses or profits, that’s their business but the biggest problem is when one comes and goes soon after, they leave behind circumstances that call for fresh start for the new investor-fan and the vicious circle continues. Paul Muvunyi tried the best he could to bring success back to the club during his time as president; including bringing back the ‘real messiah’ Raoul Shungu, but his efforts were frustrated by his comrades, who didn’t like him in the first place because, like they claim, ‘he’s not from Nyanza’. That he’s from Kibuye! This is utter nonsense. No matter what’s said of him or done, Shungu is the messiah in the eyes of Rayon fans and believe me, no one is ever going to change that or take it away from him. He might have been sacked for insubordination and an endless list of other crimes but there was no mention of the word incompetence. That’s worthy mentioning. As a result, the club management and interim coach Jean Baptiste Kayiranga are going to find it very hard to get the fans behind them for the remaining part of the season. Rayon’s so-called ‘original’ fans, those from Nyanza, where the club has its roots, are not only their club’s number one enemies but they’re also the killer disease to the development of Rwandan football with their hopeless politicking. Drogba a disgrace to Africa How best could you describe a top professional like Chelsea and Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba when he races on to the pitch, launches into a finger-jabbing rant at a match official and hurl insult directly into a television camera? Norwegian referee, Tom Henning Ovrebo had to be hustled away from the ground under guard, moved from his London hotel to another location and then smuggled back home to Oslo, where he is currently in hiding after receiving death threats from Chelsea fans. This is now the second time in less than four years that Chelsea fans threaten a referee with death because they are not happy with the way he refereed their team. Ovrebo’s situation has worrying echoes of the bullying of Swedish referee Anders Frisk, who retired from the game in 2005 after receiving death threats in the wake of another ill-tempered meeting between Chelsea and Barcelona. Frisk had sent Drogba off in the first-leg of a second round match and was accused by Chelsea’s then-boss Jose Mourinho of having invited Frank Rijkaard, the Barca coach at the time, into his room at half-time. Drogba is an international captain, so is Michael Ballack and John Terry but for them to behave the way they did on Wednesday is unacceptable and the least they deserve is a strong reprimand from Uefa. Drogba called the Norwegian referee a disgrace in-front a live television camera but his actions were more disgraceful than the referee glaring mistakes. Over the two semi-final legs, Barcelona were the better team and deserved their passage to the Champions League final where they face Manchester United on May 27 in Rome. Contact: nku78@yahoo.com