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TO the chairpersons of Chicken Inn and How Mine as well as their handlers.  Lifa Ncube heads the Chicken Inn executive while Mlondolozi Nkomo is the How Mine chairman. Your clubs seem to be ignorant of the role of the media when it comes to match coverage.  If you think you know better how to run our newsrooms and studios, why don’t  you change your professions and become newspaper editors and be able to assign journalists, instead of being told by some overzealous chap that “matowandisa” (you are now too many).

On Friday, our photographer and other journalists were denied entry while on official duty for the Chicken Inn and Shabanie Mine league match. They were rudely told that they were not known, despite the poor scribes carrying their tools of trade. Efforts to engage chairman Ncube by some of our colleagues were in vain.

As if that was not enough, on Saturday, a group of about nine journalists from the print and electronic media were made to look like fools by How Mine gate marshals who refused them entry saying there were now too many journalists inside the stadium. It was at Luveve Stadium where How Mine were taking on Dynamos.

There was pushing and shoving as the officials would have none of it, arrogantly telling the now impatient scribes, who all had their press cards, that they should go somewhere else.

What nonsense is that!
Everyone thought the suffering was over when club chairman Nkomo pitched up with three other people as we all thought as the club boss he would instruct the gate marshals to let us in but alas he just asked us to make way for him and his crew to get in.

Without even formally greeting us, the new boys’ chairman just walked through as if all was in order. It took one sane chap, who probably wanted to show that our entry was at his mercy, to eventually open the gate for us to go in, already the match was five minutes old.

The big question then is, who determines the number of journalists to cover a match? Some of us have even covered the two teams’ matches where the total number of players and technical staff far outnumbered the number of spectators in the stadium.

League sponsors, Castle Lager obviously want to get as much mileage as possible but with such kind of archaic behaviour from these two clubs, there might be need for the league to take action once and for all.

What makes it sad is that this kind of behaviour or misbehaviour looks to be habitual and coming from ‘little’ clubs like How Mine and Chicken Inn it’s legendary.

Right at the beginning of the season in their first match against Tripple B at White City Stadium, a How Mine official at the gate boldly told a security guard that “ava andivazivi” (I don’t know them), as we produced our accreditation cards. We however eventually got in.

As for Chicken Inn, Chronicle Sports Editor Lovemore Dube was at one time made to pay as gate marshals would not hear anything to do with his case despite having his accreditation cards.

While personally I have not had much trouble getting into Chicken Inn matches, it is common cause that an injury to one is injury to all. When these journalists do match build-ups during the week it’s always “all too good” because the match will be marketed to a bigger audience but come match day, we are treated like thugs.

No Ncube and Nkomo, we shall not allow that. It is no excuse to say you won’t be there at the gates because those guys work under your instructions, there is no way that they can do otherwise.

Nkomo, your people must and should know that when we go into a match, it will not only be for match coverage but other reasons as well. It’s the very same journalists who group at the end of the year to select what you know as the soccer stars of the year (pity you guys are new in the league, you might not know of that procedure).

It’s a fact that you need the coverage, meaning you need us and we certainly need you as well but please Chicken Inn and How Mine try and improve on your treatment of journalists at the gates.

While not implying that it would be fine, one would understand if it was always a hassle to get into the Highlanders matches, but the opposite is quite true. The club has improved their management of the gates and I must say it’s one of the best, if not the best. The man in charge of the entry gate for media and other dignitaries Stanley Dube has a personal touch with people and if not sure, he immediately consults either club committee member Charles Moyo or secretary Andrew Tapela. Take a leaf from there!

Yours in Soccer,
Sikhumbuzo Moyo