Jomo Sono has shared his views on the use of muti in South African football. The legendary coach took a ‘Special Projects’ team, as part of his technical committe, to the FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan in 2002. This team, which was responsible for overseeing muti rituals for the team, was made up of two members, Joe Nkosi and Lawrence Ngubane. Teams openly used muti in bygone eras, but it has always been a practice shrouded in secrecy. When asked by the Siya crew about whether muti still exists in football, Sono responded, “You know, let me tell you... people have been ducking and diving. "It’s an African thing. It’s there. It’s there. Sometimes it helps psychologically. It is there. Even some top players from Brazil play with belts on the left arm and some of us were very fortunate to play with them." He went on, "I don’t know if it works but I believe a lot in fitness. I don’t want to undermine it because it’s not good to undermine African culture. Whether it worked in a particular game or it didn’t, it is there. I’m not one to judge. Only the sangomas can judge.” To read more on ‘Mjomana’, get your copy of this week’s Soccer-Laduma and read the Still In Touch with Sono.
Posted on: Wed, 25 Sep 2013 12:57:29 +0000