The Jagodina game - Much ado about nothing

So Kotoko’s 80th-anniversary match finally came to pass after three postponements. The Porcupines thrashed eventual opponent, FK Jagodina from Serbia 5-0 at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium on Sunday, January 3, 2016. The game was initially expected to be played on September 4, 2015 – against Petrolul of Romania. It didn’t happen.

It was moved to October 11, 2015. The opponent was Greek side, Veria FC. The Greeks were maintained but the game was moved from October 11 to November 15, 2015. That also didn’t happen. At the last minute, when many expected the November 15 kickoff, the organisers – Pacific Football Ghana Limited announced another rescheduling.

The public and media bashing were intense for days. Public confidence in the organisers and their ability to get the game played naturally waned after every postponement. That, however, didn’t see Pacific Football Ghana Limited canceling the match. Kotoko to a larger extent watched things from afar with the leadership maintaining the club’s interest in the game.

A cancellation wasn’t an option for the organisers and this is where their loud critics have to be reasonable. They had secured some bit of sponsorship for the match; they made some financial commitment to Kotoko and also incurred other unpleasant bills in their ups and downs.

Looking at things from the perspective of this unfriendly economic environment, it would have made no sense for Pacific Football Ghana Limited to stop the game. They needed to go ahead with their plans irrespective of the staggering losses they faced. After all, they weren't in it for money, they said.

Unlike a previous case, they “safely” had January 3, 2016, date approved by the Ghana Football Association (GFA). They also had Jagodina agreeing to come down. An official release on Jagodina’s website confirmed their visit to Ghana apart from their advertisement of the game.

How people (and I mean people who should know better) want us to believe that Jagodina deliberately traveled to Kumasi with that small squad and also without their luggage, confirms how some of us can be so ridiculous in our analysis of issues on media platforms in our small country.

For me, the outcry over the Jagodina match isn’t surprising. It’s typical of the usually irritating Ghanaian attitude of having both the lettered and the unlettered seizing media platforms at times to blow hot air on issues and developments they have hardly assessed, examined and roundly understood before commenting.

I won’t justify ill-planning or failure of any sort but where did Kotoko err? With the reasons earlier advanced for the organisers, what really is the justification for their crucifixion? The last minute flight arrangements? The harsh weather conditions that delayed flights from Istanbul? The downsizing of Jagodina’s team? Their luggage that didn’t arrive at the expected time? Where did the organizers get everything wrong so much that people don’t want to reason with them?

Let’s be serious in this society. We must stop slamming people by heart. It’s a very bad attitude. I know people have issues with the setup at Kotoko but that isn’t the point. The point is about a match organizer experiencing genuine difficulties. Being a first-timer and going through this stress, the best thing to offer Pacific Football Ghana Limited isn’t scathing criticism but encouragement so they can learn from whatever transpired.

Lashing them with a caustic, unforgivable tongue offers no solution. Indeed, it does little or no good at all unless your primary motive is to run down people and their establishment. Of what use is that?