By Confidence Musariri
The Democratic Republic of Congo national soccer team was locked in a meeting on Tuesday which stretched into late midnight as the squad and the football officials sought to iron out outstanding differences before their clash with the Brave Warriors of Namibia.
Already, the expected visitors have failed to honour the FIFA/CAF rule which stipulates that a visiting country should submit to its host information on its travelling programmes and envoy, ten days before the match. Namibia Football Association Acting Secretary-General Barry Rukoro was also in closed meetings with Congolese Ambassador Anastas Kaboba Wa-Kimba to try and establish whether the team was still coming to Namibia.
“The team is coming. The Simbas (Leopards) will be landing on a private aircraft on Thursday. It’s a pity not much information could be presented as they are locked in a meeting in Kinshasa to try and establish who will be coming as players and who will be coming as supporters,” said Wa-Kimba on Tuesday evening.
Wa-Kimba said later that the visitors would now be arriving anytime on Friday, as everything had been ironed out.
DR Congo’s Sports Minister Pardonne Kaliba, who has had public confrontations with coach Henri Depireux, was also believed to be part of the no-holds barred meeting where the team had threatened not to come if their demands were not met. Depireux has been maintaining for the last seven days that he will not be travelling to Namibia with the squad if he is not paid his eleven months’ salary.
As a result, fears had been high that travelling documents of players such as Portsmouth-based Lomana Lua Lua, who could not make it in the team’s 0-1 loss in Ethiopia last week, could as well be in a shambles.
According to Wa-Kimba, Depireux is now on the travelling list and “so are some of the players who missed the Ethiopia match two weeks ago.”
The NFA maintains that they have been kept in the dark by the Group 10 African Nations Cup log leaders who have seven points, one ahead of the Brave Warriors.
“Who knows, the Congolese may be playing mind games with us? We must prepare our team properly and do the job properly without concentrating on their problems as that might create problems for us,” said Rukoro after meeting Wa-Kimba.
As it was, late on Tuesday an unconvinced NFA issued a communiqu??????’??