The use of black magic commonly known as juju to gain favourable results is widespread in domestic football and drains resources from clubs while results are hard to come by, Malawi News Sport can reveal.
Our investigations show that most teams publicly juju use is being abandoned.
“In the past at both club and national level, we were using charms. Surprisingly, we ended up suffering defeats with huge margins.
“It is different now. We are raising a different generation—God fearing players. We now have morning devotions and inspirational talks. Modern players are civilised; they go to church and mosque for prayers,” the former FCB Nyasa Big Bullets and Flames midfielder said.
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He blamed supporters for fuelling juju usage.
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“If supporters are not well guided, they mislead the team. If money spent on juju was channelled towards motivating players or uplifting team’s structures or welfare, most teams would have progressed,” the ex-Mamelodi Sundowns player said.
Former Flames forward Zicco Mkanda feels the use of black magic does not have any effect nowadays.
“Juju used to have an impact in soccer, especially on the psychosocial side, but not anymore. In modern football, teams now depend more on training than superstitions,” Mkanda, who had a stellar career in Mozambique, said.
Another former Flames player Chimango Kayira believes juju is promoted by lazy people.
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Kayira says black magic has no impact on football.
“These are just rituals practised by lazy sportsmen. There are no shortcuts to success in football. Everyone will have to go through all the stages to reach the top.
“Juju has been fuelled a lot mostly by football administrators. Most of them take positions at clubs because of being rich but lack proper understanding of the game,” Kayira said.
Interestingly, officials from most top teams condone black magic use.
However, Bullets Chief Administration Officer Albert Chigoga said the Peoples Team does not use juju.
“We cannot even formulate a code of conduct for something we do not believe in. The modern game of football is a game of tactics not of fetish beliefs,” Chigoga said.
Similarly, at Wanderers the use of juju is not recognised, according to the club’s board secretary Chancy Gondwe.
“We unequivocally do not condone or believe in the use of juju or any other form of superstitious practices in our matches. Our club operates with integrity, fair play and respect for the rules of the game.
“We have a strict code of conduct in place that explicitly prohibits the use of juju or any other unethical practices by our players or staff. Any individual found to be involved in such activities is immediately summoned before a disciplinary hearing, where appropriate action is taken in accordance with our club’s policies and values,” Gondwe said.
He added that Wanderers are committed to upholding the principles of sportsmanship, fairness and respect for the game of football.
“While our club does not have a specific written code of conduct regarding the use of juju, we strictly observe a policy that unequivocally prohibits the use of juju or any other superstitious practices during our matches,” Gondwe said.
Silver Chief Executive Officer Patrick Chimimba and Football Association of Malawi General Secretary Alfred Gunda had not responded to our questionnaire by press time.
Meanwhile, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences General Manager George Chitunga, whose institution runs Sports Complex High Performance Centre, encouraged associations, teams and players to embrace sports science and ignore juju use.
“If a team uses juju, they put their belief in charm but if the team prepares well, they put their faith in preparation. A lot of sport science is about optimising health through diet, mobility and physical development. This is the direction which we need to take as a country,” Chitunga said.
