LEAGUE leaders Red Arrows on Saturday opted to use the space between the two team buses as a ‘dressing room’ after they allegedly found a broken egg in the actual dressing room.
This was ahead of their league match against relegation-threatened Kafue Celtic at Edwin Imboela Stadium in Lusaka.
Arrows won the match 1 – 0 courtesy of a Ricky Banda strike.
It could not be proven who between a Celtic and Arrows representative smeared the egg substance on the floor as there were no eyewitness accounts available.
However, allegations of the use of witchcraft, superstition, or other unconventional mind games in football are not peculiar to Zambia; they extend to the rest of the continent, parts of South America, Asia and Europe.
Sports personalities world over have been known to be highly superstitious.
Former England goalkeeper, David James was once quoted by The Telegraphy as saying “many footballers have an obsessive routine that goes way beyond normal.”
The Telegraph further writes, “From the commonplace tendency of players to touch the ground and cross their heart as they come onto the pitch, to those players that harbour the frankly ridiculous beliefs that no harm can come to them because they wear their underwear inside out–football is full of them.”
In the stands, supporters are sometimes clad in strange attire putting up an intimidating appearance in a bid to prey on the mentality of their team’s opponents.
By Mathews Kabamba, Picture Credit: Jean Serge Mandela
