This month I went to watch two African Cup qualifiers in the two countries called Congo - the Republic (Brazzaville) and the Democratic Republic (Kinshasa). Republic of Congo 0-2 Nigeria Stade Municipal de Pointe-Noire Att. 13,500 (sold out) African Cup of Nations qualifier 15-11-2014 After a couple of days in Brazzaville, I embarked on a 14-hour train journey through the jungle to reach Pointe Noire by the coast, where game #1 was to be played on 15 November 2014: Republic of Congo v Nigeria. I stayed with a local contact who also managed to send someone to get us face-value tickets early in the morning. Note that theres no pre-sale and tickets only go on sale on matchday. Ticket prices range from 2,000 to 10,000 CFA. We opted for the 5,000 CFA (just under €8) seats next to the main stand, which proved to be the right choice. More about that later on. Rather than driving by himself, my host decided it was safer and easier to get a taxi as close to the ground as possible. Most streets around the Stade Municipal had been cordoned off, and virtually the whole town seemed to be on their feet - including many who wouldnt be able make it into the stadium. Taking photographs in Congo is a bit of a hassle as anyone wearing a uniform (and there are many) will try to stop you (and/or request bribes), and locals usually dont like their photo being taken. On the other side of the river in Kinshasa you would even need an official photography permit to take any snaps - and that still wont allow you to take pictures of significant buildings, train stations, bridges, the river, or anyone wearing a uniform (and there are many - oh, we had this before). Once inside the stadium, however, was the safest place to start snapping away. We took our seats next to the Nigerian away sector about two hours before kick-off, when the small ground was pretty full already. Seats are not numbered and taken on a first-come, first-served basis. Needless to say that it was scorching hot but mobile water sellers soon came to our rescue. No beer available inside, and that is for a good reason. The atmosphere was great and expectations high. By beating Nigeria, Congo could indeed qualify. And Congo could have scored three times in the first half. But they didnt. Nigeria was awarded a penalty and took the lead in the 59th minute. Soon later Congo missed a penalty and the mood of the spectators changed. With Nigeria scoring their second a few minutes before the end, all hell broke loose. Stones and bottles were thrown on the pitch and across the stands. The stadium gates were opened, and as many people started chasing outside, a lot of those hanging around outside steamed in. Mass panic ensued. The police fired some shots in the air which resulted in quite the opposite of calming things down. Meanwhile the match had been interrupted and the players sought for cover. From the top of our stand one could witness the street fights taking place outside. Being on the main stand was the only safe place at that time. We decided to stay as long as possible until after the match. The last few minutes of the game where then played in front of three empty stands. By the time it finished, things had calmed down outside and we ventured right into the next bar for a well-deserved beer and to discuss what weve just experienced with the locals. This was matchday #5 out of 6 during the final group phase. Five days later the unbelievable happened. Congo beat Sudan away 1-0, while Nigeria only drew with South Africa. Congo are qualified, and title holders Nigeria are out. The next day I flew back to the capital Brazzaville on Equatorial Congo Air (35 minutes) in order to cross the Congo river into Kinshasa. That was a way smoother affair than I expected after reading a number horror stories about delays, bribes to be paid, etc. None of that at all. Democratic Republic of Congo 3-1 Sierra Leone Stade Tata Raphaël, Kinshasa Att. 10,000 - 15,000 (rough guess) African Cup of Nations qualifier 19-11-2014 In Kinshasa I stayed with an old school friend, who has been living there for some time for work. As the match was to be played at 3pm on a Wednesday afternoon, he wasnt able to join me. But he arranged for two local friends to accompany and guide me. Again, tickets were only available on the day. And after refusing offers from the security guards to let us in for a small bribe, we got paper tickets for the main stand. Price range today: 2,000 to 20,000 Franc congolais (€1.70 to €17 for the VIP sector). We still had 3 hours until kick-off and chose to have a bottle of Primus beer in one of the shantytown bars outside but soon decided to get into the ground a bit early again as things may get crowded. They didnt. The Stade Tata Raphaël (venue of the 1974 Rumble in the Jungle between Muhammed Ali and George Foreman) was pretty empty at kick-off. More and more people came in during the match, with a quite few climbing walls and getting in without ticket. It was at best half full by the second half. DR Congo won 3-1 (and could have scored at least six) but needed Cote dIvoire to lose to Cameroon at the same time. That match ended 0-0 though. Riots broke out again, and a pitch invasion right after the final whistle was brutally fought off by the police. Later that night, after all other group matches had been completed, it turned out that DR Congo still qualified as the best third-placed team. What an experience. Not for the faint-hearted though.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 23:11:15 +0000
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