Following the resounding victory of Tout-Puissant Mazembe (3-0) against Pyramids FC with Fiston Kalala Mayele, Moïse Katumbi is already considering the final match against South Africa's Mamelodi Sundowns. He plans to have the Ravens travel this Monday to acclimatize to Nelson Mandela’s country. However, in an interview after this victory that has already qualified them for the quarter-finals of the Champions League, the chairman of this Congolese club denounced an injustice by the government, which has still not allocated subsidies to Tout-Puissant Mazembe as is customary for Congolese clubs engaged in African interclub competitions.
In an open letter sent at the end of the week to the Prime Minister, Tout-Puissant Mazembe condemned the injustice it has been suffering from the Congolese Government for nearly three years.
“For almost three years, no financial support has been allocated to our team despite our permanent presence on the African stage. We do not appear anywhere in the country's public expenditure chain. Other Congolese clubs receive subsidies from the State,” wrote the club's sports secretary, Fréderic Kitengie Kikumba, on February 23rd.
This nearly century-old club from Lubumbashi points out several other facts to support its claim of injustice. Besides the lack of financial support, Mazembe cites the absence of administrative assistance, with prohibitions on exit authorizations and overflight by the ANR for the private plane transporting a club delegation or its president, while their opponents can land with their private planes.
Dido Nsapu