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IN a rare display of pure showiness, cash-rich Egyptian club Al Ahly are coming with a 46-men delegation for their African Champions League tie against Gunners with the hosts footing the expenses of only 25 of them at a five-star hotel.
According to the Confederation of African Football (CAF) regulations, the hosts are required to meet the hotel expenses of 25 people, which includes 18 players and seven officials.
The Red Devils have demanded to be housed at the five-star Rainbow Towers Hotel because “other hotels in Harare do not meet their security standards”.
For a non-Zimbabwean resident to stay at the trendy hotel, it costs exactly US$140 per night for bed and breakfast. If you do the maths it is a lot of money to pay for those extra members of the delegation for the three nights they would be staying in Harare.
The aristocrats of African football — Al Ahly — will touch down at the Harare International Airport aboard a South African Airways jet on Thursday afternoon.
The six-time CAF Champions League winners play a first- round clash against Gunners at Rufaro on Saturday.
The Egyptians are treated like royalty; among that delegation would be the club’s dietician Dr Hany Wahba and four masseurs. A masseur is a man who gives massages.
They pay particular attention to detail and to confirm their super-club status, Al Ahly have made some requests for this trip that might seem out of this world for most local clubs.
The super-rich Egyptian champions have given Gunners team manager Wellington Mpandare sleepless nights for the past two weeks.
Mpandare has been attending meeting after meeting with the officials from the Egyptian embassy in Harare on a daily basis in preparation for this big match.
“They requested to be booked into the five-star Rainbow Towers because they said the other hotels in Harare do not meet their security standards,” Mpandare said.
“We are going to be catering for 25 people in their delegation and while they will have to pay for the extra 21 members they are bringing here.”
The Red Devils have also requested to be driven around in a luxurious coach once they touch down in Harare.
“From the airport they have asked to be picked up by a 50-seater air-conditioned bus, which must be inspected and approved by the Egyptian embassy officials,” Mpandare said.
Professionalism is the order of the day at the club and according to their itinerary they have a training session scheduled shortly before they fly out of Harare on Sunday, a day after the match — something unheard of in local football.
When Zimbabwean teams find extra time after playing their matches in a foreign land rarely do they think of holding a training session.
The players would rather go on shopping sprees or spend that time lying around on their hotel beds.
The lavish travel arrangements by the Red Devils are in sharp contrast to those of local teams.
Zimbabwean teams usually have botched-up itineraries when participating in the continental club competitions.
CAPS United flew to Johannesburg and completed the journey to Swaziland by road when they travelled to play Mbabane Highlanders in the Confederations Cup two weeks ago.
That same week Lengthens learned the hard way how other countries treat foreign teams when they went to Madagascar to play AS Adema in the same competition.
The Happy People were not so happy after they were given sub-standard accommodation by the Madagascan side.
Lengthens cried bitterly about this treatment, but it all could have been avoided if they had done their homework like Al Ahly.
BY NIGEL MATONGORERE
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