TOUCHLINE is of the opinion that as Africans, we hate each other so much that we don’t even bother to hide it. What happened with Pitso Mosimane over the weekend has showed how much we can openly hate each other as Africans. The mere fact that one of our own had to be humiliated through taunts at his former home ground by the same supporters that used to be happy while he was still coaching Mamelodi Sundowns shows how low we are. This is the same man who spent seven years at Sundowns, but those with selective memories chose to humiliate him in front of his players when Al Ahly’s bus arrived at the stadium to play their second leg CAF quarterfinal against Mamelodi Sundowns in Pretoria. Mosimane was welcomed with by insults, with a faction of the supporters carrying posters saying swear words much to the embarrassment of the visitors. This is the same man who helped Mamelodi Sundowns to garner five Premiership League titles, a first in history for South African football, before he went to Egypt to join Al Ahly. I say, this was unnecessary and whoever is behind this must be held accountable for this barbaric behaviour. This had nothing to do with football but was a personal attack on Mosimane. TOUCHLINE must emphasise that as Africans we don’t respect our own and our local coaches regardless of their success on the African continent. For those with short memories, this is not the first time Sundowns fans have showed disrespect to Mosimane. I remember clearly, his first season at Sundowns when the club was fighting relegation, the club supporters wanted him out but that was not to be, thanks to the club President, Patrice Motsepe who sticked with the coach. Motsepe’s faith in Mosimane paid off when Sundowns won the Premiership League titles and CAF Championship. Mosimane went on to achieve a lot with the club before he left for Egypt. But the supporters with selective memories chose to humiliate the same man who made history with the club. How so? The hate runs so strong among us as Africans, or should I rather say amongst South Africans because it was South Africans fighting a South African. Back home, here in Sedibeng, the same can be said about us, there is so much hate among ourselves when it comes to football. We don’t accept the fact that others are better than us. No, we will never accept that ‘Moketekete’ is better than us even though the ‘writing is on the wall’. For example, just go and witness when SAFA Sedibeng SAB and Emfuleni Local Football Association Leagues (ELFA) teams play and witness the extent of hate between local coaches. It is about winning at all costs to some and ‘to Hell’ with the development of young players which are stakeholders of this beautiful game. Week-in-and-week-out there are fights because some people believe that they must win games at all cost by going to the boardroom and not in the field of play. There becomes a problem when we accept each and every ‘Tom, Dick and Harry’ in football. They want to see themselves as Irvin Khoza, Kaizer Motaung and Patrice Motsepe of this world without any effort. Hatred is the sad reality in football nowadays.

• This is Zacharia Nale’s (Sedibeng Ster, Sports Journalist) opinion piece which is in the sports pages of Sedibeng Ster.