Jwaneng Galaxy head coach Morena Ramoreboli has opened up on facing ill-treatment in Tanzania and being accused of using muti in Morocco during the club’s CAF Champions League campaign.
The Botswana Premier League champions made their second appearance in the competition this season. They were booted out after the group stages, having finished ending the campaign in fourth position with four points after six games.
They will aim to make their third appearance next season as they sit on top of the league standings ahead of Township Rollers.
Galaxy’s campaign in the Champions League was marred with controversies as they were first accused of using black magic to overcome Wydad Casablanca in November last year.
Meanwhile, during their trip to Tanzania, the Botswana giants accused Simba of unsporting tactics including food poisoning, theft and being attacked by “security guards”.
Speaking to FARPost, Ramoreboli acknowledged the growth of “on-field” football in Africa. However, he feels that “off-field” issues hinder the growth somehow.
RAMOREBOLI ON ‘OFF-FIELD’ ISSUES IN AFRICAN FOOTBALL
“I think I will say on the field of play African football is growing but things that are happening off-the-field really delay football in Africa,” said Ramoreboli during the interview.
“One, you’re from a small country and you win against a [team] from the number one country on the continent. People start to accuse you of something just because they don’t want to accept that football is evolving and some of us we go as far as analysing and researching even small things to make sure that we get the results.
“You go to Tanzania to play football but it’s no longer a game of football because people will do all these other things off the field.”
Ramoreboli went on to admit that things like preparations and match results end up being affected by the aforementioned challenges.
‘THEY AFFECT THE PERFORMANCE OF THE TEAM’
“And now when you lose and make your own analysis, you don’t really concentrate on the tactical and the technical elements because there are a lot of things that happen which are not football-related but they affect the performance of the team,” added Ramoreboli.
“These are some of the things that personally I think if things can change to a point where Africans would understand…
“Look at the [UEFA] Champions League, you will never hear people in Europe complaining about bad treatment unless for these things that we don’t have a choice which is happening around like racism and everything.
“You see Man U [Manchester United] going to Spain, they lose or they win, it’s part of the game.”
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