A peaceful afternoon in the Congo basin.A common incident by Mother Nature back in 1998 turns a common soccer game into a not-so-common disaster and freak of nature when all 11 members of a soccer team dies when the ground they were playing on was struck by lightning killing all 11 team members yet unharming any members of the opposing side.
Even today, it is still talked about. Talks of sorcery and witchcraft is always accompanied with the story as they are often blamed throughout west and central Africa to explain natural phenomenons and illnesses.
The Story Goes...
It was your average soccer game on a cloudy afternoon (as can be seen in the video below), between the home team, Bena Tshadi and visiting team, Basanga, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The two sides were drawing 1-1 in the match in eastern Kasai Province when the lightning struck. Shortly after, members of the home team started falling to the turf one by one, leaving the other team unscathed by this catastrophe. 11 young people aged between 20 and 35 years eventually died and 30 other people received burns.
Kinshasa daily newspaper L'Avenir, (Kinshasa is the capital and the largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo), said local opinion - known to believe in charms and spells - was divided over whether someone had cursed the team.
Even today, it is still talked about. Talks of sorcery and witchcraft is always accompanied with the story as they are often blamed throughout west and central Africa to explain natural phenomenons and illnesses.
The Story Goes...
It was your average soccer game on a cloudy afternoon (as can be seen in the video below), between the home team, Bena Tshadi and visiting team, Basanga, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The two sides were drawing 1-1 in the match in eastern Kasai Province when the lightning struck. Shortly after, members of the home team started falling to the turf one by one, leaving the other team unscathed by this catastrophe. 11 young people aged between 20 and 35 years eventually died and 30 other people received burns.
Kinshasa daily newspaper L'Avenir, (Kinshasa is the capital and the largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo), said local opinion - known to believe in charms and spells - was divided over whether someone had cursed the team.
It is said, sorcery and witchcraft is often used in the region in an attempt to influence soccer games.
The suspicion that the black arts might be involved arose firstly because the opposing team emerged unharmed and then again because the score at the time was a delicately balanced one all.
“The exact nature of the lightning has divided the population in this region which is known for its use of fetishes in football,” the newspaper commented.
Witchcraft is often blamed for adverse natural phenomena throughout western and central Africa. It is relatively frequent for football teams to hire witchdoctors to place hexes on their opponents.
Although this story is claimed to be true, at the time of the disaster, much of the detail about the match remained obscured as the Congo – officially known as the Democratic Republic of Congo – remained stricken by civil war between the government of Laurent Kabila and rebel forces, backed by neighbouring Rwanda, in the east of the country.
The tragic case of Bena Tshadi in the Democratic Republic of Congo apparently holds the record of the largest number of game-ending injuries to have occurred to a single team during a match. A very unfortunate record, after a truly freak blast of lightning wiped them out mid-game. Back in October 1998, Bena Tshadi were drawing 1-1 with visitors Basanga in the eastern province of Kasai when a true bolt from the blue struck. “Lightning killed at a stroke 11 young people aged between 20 and 35 years during a football match,’ reported the daily newspaper L’Avenir in Kinshasa. The account added that while 30 other people received burns, “the athletes from Basanga curiously came out of this catastrophe unscathed.”
Immediately, accusations of witchcraft arose; many teams across central and western Africa are known to employ the services of witchdoctors to put curses on their opponents. “The exact nature of the lightning has divided the population in this region which is known for its use of fetishes in football,” added the newspaper. However, there has never been any official confirmation of L’Avenir’s report as much of the area was stricken by civil war.
This isn’t the sole instance of lightning striking a football match, however. Just days before the Bena Tshadi incident, a South African Premier League game was abandoned after seven players and the referee were sent sprawling to the turf. As a Guardian report from the time explained: “Two players from Moroko Swallows were kept in hospital but the coach of opposition Jomo Cosmos hinted that some Swallows players had faked injury. ‘Our observation was that only two players were seriously injured but more fell down,’ he said. The Swallows were 2-0 down with 12 minutes to go.”
Was it black arts? Think about this:As quoted from a source:
This definitely happened. It was featured on the Urban Legends TV series and was confirmed as true. It was because one team had steel cleats and the others had plastic cleats.
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