Johannesburg - Al Ahly coach Pitso Mosimane on Sunday criticised the Confederation of African Football (Caf) and Fifa, over the poor scheduling of the Club World Cup currently underway in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Al Ahly beat Mexican outfit Monterrey 1-0 in their first match of the competition on Saturday, to book their ticket to the semi-finals two days later.
Meanwhile, the final of the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) was held in Cameroon on Sunday as the two tournaments overlap. With Egypt losing to Senegal in a penalty shootout for the title, it meant the Egyptian club Al Ahly was not able to draw on its full complement of players for the Club World Cup.
With little consideration given to the scheduling of the two tournaments, Mosimane said: “If Caf and Fifa can arrange games on top of one other, it’s amazing. It’s unbelievable how this happens. It’s like nobody knew when the [Africa] Cup of Nations was, and when the Fifa Club World Cup was.”
Pitso raising genuine concerns about the treatments Africans receive. pic.twitter.com/2TThHwUwIy
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Mosimane went on to question the seeding of the Club World Cup, and wanted to know why his team had to play, and win a match, to advance to the last four where they will play Brazilian club Palmeiras on Tuesday. Palmeiras, in contrast, begin their tournament at the semi-final stage.
“Africa will always be compromised when it comes to this. We have to play Palmeiras who are rested. We have to play again. Why [do] we have to play Palmeiras in the semi-finals, why don’t they also play earlier also? What’s the criteria?”
The wily South African tactician Mosimane went on to suggest there exists a bias in world football against African teams.
“We are not politicians, we talk about football. Those are the realities that are happening. The scale is not proper [balanced] when it comes to Africa and Europe. But it’s a fact. We can hide from it, or try not to talk about it - but it’s a fact, it’s there.”