DR Congo’s victory over Mali is a slap on the face for those who have ceaselessly written about the negative impact of foreign players in our domestic league. A week hardly passes without a column being written about how foreigners influence is halting progress of game as it limits opportunities for domestic players.
An increasing number of football stakeholders believe reducing the number of foreign players in the league will be a step towards forging Taifa Stars into remarkable show on the continent. Does that argument hold water in the face of DR Congo becoming the first side to lift the African Nations Championship twice?
The top sides in the DR Congo league are free to register unlimited number of foreigners. A side like TP Mazembe has 18 foreign players in the first team.
The first eleven of the reigning CAF Champions League winners only contains three Congolese, the legendary goalkeeper, Joseph Kidiaba, Joel Kimwaki and one Kasusula.
The unlimited number of foreign players in the Congolese league has not hindered the progress of their national team. Qualifying for the African Nations Cup is demanded, missing out is a big exception. In the last AFCON, DR Congo went all the way to the semi-final.
In CAF club competitions, DR Congo has four slots due to their good performance. We should not forget we are talking of a country that has not fully enjoyed peace since independence.
This is a war-torn country that has a league without sponsor. Some league matches are played in muddy pitches without grass cover.
The lessons of yet another good performance from Congo at the 2016 CHAN are glaring; good structure on the ground can stand a lot of stressful factor. In war and peace, sun and shadows, Congolese have kept on playing football at the grassroots level.
Their talent belt, despite the endless wars, has not stopped producing football stars who have excelled abroad.
The foreign versus local players’ debate will go on forever but DR Congo’s CHAN victory offers another window of opportunity to look at this matter critically. Restrictions in foreign players are not going to solve our problems at all.
We still need foreign players in our clubs to make our league more competitive. As said before, let us cast a glance at the TP Mazembe team and see how many international players they have and how strong their league and the national team are.
On the other side we also have to allow our local players a chance to play because these are the players who are eligible to feature for our national teams.
As suggested by Congo triumph, the important thing is to have a competitive football league without undermining foreign players.
If we cannot get at least twenty local players who can represent us in the national team, then the issue is about them as individuals. If our players compete with quality foreigners then we should expect them to gain.
If they fail to gain and get exposure from rubbing shoulders with their foreign counterparts, then it boils down to their mentality and work ethics.
With sponsors ready to inject resource, the potentials in the Mainland premier league are so much; it is only that we are not doing enough to tap into it.
The DRC has become the first side to lift the African Nations Championship twice not because of undermining foreign players but simply because they have a competitive league.
The likes of Mbwana Samatta and Thomas Ulimwengu have raised the bar for domestic Congolese players like Elia Mechak and one Bolingi. The latter have responded positively and raised their game as seen in CHAN. So what is so hard for the likes of Malimi Busungu and Mcha Khamis to raise their game when faced with competition from Amissi Tambwe and Kipre Tcheche?
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