The Congolese club Mazembe has been notified by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) that its match against Esperance Tunisienne in the 1/8th-final first leg of the African League has been moved to Tanzania. The date has also been changed from October 21 to October 22. The reason for this is the difficulties encountered by CAF officials and their broadcasting equipment in entering Congo. The club accuses the Congolese government of orchestrating this sabotage.
As a result, TP Mzembe will host ES Tunis (first leg and second leg) at the Benjamin Mkapa Stadium in Tanzania, the same stadium that will also host the match between Tanzanian side Simba and Al-Ahly in the same round. A regrettable decision which the Congolese club blames on the actions of the central government. In response, the club issued a scathing statement attacking the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo. "Before the start of the first edition of the African League Championship, in which the continent's 8 most prestigious clubs are taking part, including Mazembe, who will face Esperance of Tunisia, the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo is preventing the match from taking place", the club says.
Political sabotage
The press release goes on to detail the sabotage with factual elements: "Guests of the African Union are forbidden to enter Congo. Video equipment seized by customs authorities, and visas to enter the country have not been issued to CAF officials. These are positions that cannot be explained by the government authorities, who are depriving the only Congolese team selected to take part in the tournament of play and exposing it to danger."Shameful exclusion".
President Moise Katumbi's club also deplores the political interference in sport and the unfortunate consequences for young people. "By mixing sport and politics, the Congolese government is on the wrong track, and it should be noted that this is not only a punishment for Moise Katumbi, the club's president, but also for Congolese youth, whose star should be shining in world soccer, and all this stubbornness has non-sporting reasons".
TP Mazembe's communications unit concludes its vitriolic statement by revealing that the club has been subjected to these unfair practices for several years: "For several years, the Mazembe club has been the victim of real discrimination on the part of the government. The proof of this is that the Corbeaux team is the only Congolese club that has not benefited from government support, and this unfair treatment ultimately leads to the conviction that the money from the public treasury will go to the village of the Minister of Finance, who will dispose of it as he pleases". The return leg is scheduled for October 25 in Rades.
Foot - CAF : La réaction du gouvernement à l'affaire TP Mazembe pic.twitter.com/WmPkoTfI1D
— 7SUR7.CD (@7sur7_cd) October 16, 2023
