Black and white, Red and white was the mix of colours with thunderous applause and sounds buzzing from the spacious Bar Okoro Stadium in Paidha Town Council Zombo District in the west Nile sub-region, as two Paidha Town based movers and shakers in the West regional league football locked horns on Saturday 6 January 2024.
Hundreds of thousands of football fans across westnile Sub-region and some Eastern part of DR Congo, thronged Bar Okoro Stadium to watch the much anticipated well advertised football game between Table leaders Paidha Black angels SC and Paidha United FC.
A journalist from Arua had initially called the whispereye news reporter based in Zombo two days prior to the game inquiring about the ambiance and atmosphere further asking of possibilities of violence which was pretty hard to predict then .
He christened it to an incident that happened in the last season derby between Paidha Black angels SC and Paidha United that ended prematurely due to violence.
Days to the much anticipated game, Administrators of both clubs were called upon by the clan chief of Omua ( Paidha chiefdom ), to ensure peace reign amongst the fans putting into account that both clubs are town based.
Messages of peace were all over radio sports hour in the area , and various social media platforms of both clubs, all calling for love, peace and unity in the lead up to, or in the aftermath of the neck and neck thriller between the two Paidha based football giants.
The Game that was televised by Westnile Television witnessed no indiscipline cases exhibited but only classes on the grass.
Right from the word go when center referee Robert Atiku blew the whistle for the showdown to begin, the intensity of the game was easier said than done as thousands of fans from both sides fill the Unique wooden Pavilions at Bar okoro stadium to cheer up their favorite teams.
The Director of information , youth and sports in Alur Kingdom Sam Kumakech had earlier called for peace prior to the game.
“It’s a Derby in my home town paidha where football is made , it must be as peaceful and a fair play as much as possible” Kumakech said.
With security well packed, every one was surefooted that their would be no further violence.
Just a minute into the game, visitors Paidha united SC got their first goal through their Midfielder Emmanuel Ocen alias Nuel, and before dust could settle, The visitors added another goal to make it 2-0 just six minutes into the tense and tricky tie.
The game tempo twisted Abit when The Host and the Nyagak table leaders Paidha Black angels fc got a goal through a penalty spot thanks to a foul on their player in the 18 yard box, bringing a feeling of hope and possibility of a come back amongst the fans.
The First half of the tricky tie ended 2-1 with the host pushing for goals and the visitors opting for defense as they had 2 goals in the bag.
Second half of the greatest Paidha derby resumed with more intensity than before. But the most peculiar scenario was the few yellow cards and no red card dished to the players unlike in other derbies, where dishing of yellow and red cards are the order of the day given the tackles and physiques exhibited during the displays.
The few cards dished by the center referee, point out to the fact of sportsmanlike attitude exhibited between the two Zombo based football giants occupying the same territory of Paidha Town Council.
When the encounter was reaching the bend side , alot of breaks came in with team doctors making runs on the pitch to attend to players, who were after every minutes getting knocks onto the pitch.
The constant delays and breaks as a result of players staying on the ground for long, made center referee Robert Atiku to give 10 additional minutes to compensate for the lost minutes in the normal play.
The 10 minutes didn’t favour either side as they couldn’t make any difference infront of goals in the entire second half of the game.
Paidha united went away with the bragging rights after emerging victorious at Bar Okoro Stadium for the second time since they stepped their foot in the regional league last season.
What more often springboard violence in football all over the country is poor officiation. Center Referee Robert Atiku and his colleagues left Paidha Town Council without much complains as fans themselves praised the officials balanced officiation.
After math
Many fans in most cases follow what the club leaders and administrators do or say. Any statement either posted on social media or said by a club administrator on the media is taken by fans serious.
What both football clubs did was to use local radios and social media platforms to call out further violence notwithstanding the outcomes of the game.
What the clubs posted on their social media handles
Paidha Black angels fc posted on their official Facebook page after the game
“Our unbeaten run comes to an end today at the fortress.
I want to thank our fans in a special way for exhibiting the kinda discipline they showed today. This is truly a good sign of moving forward. We were as calm as ever. Kudos guys and hard luck”.
Paidha united Sc equally posted peaceful message on their Facebook page
“U just gotta do the job yourself when others aren’t up to it! Congratulations comrades. Thank you PBA for the atmosphere and hospitality. That’s why it’s called the beautiful game.. it’s football. It’s official, Paidha is #redandwhite “
The messages were all calling for discipline amongst the followers, a sportsmanlike message that advocate for peace and unity notwithstanding.
This year’s regional league especially for Nyagak Zone is more tense than tense can be.
Out of the 12 Clubs taking part in the ongoing westnile regional league season for Nyagak Zone, all the 9 clubs hails from Alur subregion with only three Clubs outside. This therefore means the derbies are almost weekly with all the clubs not taking things for granted and in derbies, any thing can happen.
Many clubs across the region are trying as much as they can to tame their fans against further violent escalations prior to or after football matches given the costs that follow suit.
Last year, President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni signed an act that regulates football activities on and off the pitch that include myriad of harsh penalties for the perpetrators of violence.
According to The national sports act 2023 signed by President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni last year, Hooligans if found guilty may face up to 10-years in jail.The intended purpose of this law is to curb chaos and hooliganism at sports events across the country.
Many sport followers and local leaders in Zombo have praised both Paidha United and Paidha Black angels FC for maintaining peace during and after the game.
