01 March 2021
Open Letter to the Chairman of Swallows FC, Mr David Mogashoa.
When you acquired the status of Maccabi FC the objective was distinct from the club (you and Mr Lesufi in particular): To get the the buy-in from the fans. I’m being literal in the use of the word because fans had to financially contribute for the transaction to be processed. What this move actually provided for both the club and the supporters was an inextricable nexus.
You then saw the need to solidify and grow this relationship by attaining the services of influencers. That was pretty impressive on your part. The team is generally associated with old people, and the stance taken brought about a shift in culture. You finally had something that was not there in the longest of time, the attention of millennials right through to Gen-Z(ers). You further built on that when the core of your social media campaign revolved around banter. That’s a winning formula. Your engagements are practically guaranteed. Polokwane City, Cape Town City and Ajax Cape Town are testament to that, I mean they practically provided you with the blue print. You even had a theme going Mr WWE. As dowdy as that was, because you essentially had a loaded gun pointing your way at any given moment, it was a theme nonetheless.
Now this is where the problem started, your administrator had this warped idea that they are the sole custodian of banter. They are under the impression that dishing-out banter is their birthright, and everybody should keep mum and accept what’s being fed. Anyone who returns the favour, admin feels the need to block them. I do not have a problem with how you run your account because at the end of the day it is exactly that, yours. What I do find perplexing is the amount of energy one finds in gathering influencers to try and influence people who don’t have access to the product?! It is rather a futile exercise don’t you think? Another fruitless exertion is blocking the very people you are trying to associate with the brand from getting official news about the team. Yes, your official social media accounts’ mandate, beside showing us how many pieces of Portuguese chicken you’re currently having, is to share important information about the team.
I do not know who runs your account, and honestly that is none my concern, but what I together with every football follower online have noticed is that the behaviour of the person that runs the account mimics that of your personal one. The team has long justified this behaviour with an excuse that “ We can never be disgruntled by banter, we live by it. We will not however accept non football smear campaigns against us”. That myth has long been dispelled. The block button is used based on the mood of the day. Hypocrisy reigns.
I hope you have a long discussion with your staff (or yourself if need be) because this has the potential to ruin what you are trying to build. It might be chuckles today, but as a brand that is trying to regain the supporters you are doing a great job at repelling them. A lot of them already harbour resentment at your FC and you have barely been in the elite league for 6 months. This is just my advise, use it don’t use it. It is entirely in your hands.
Regards
A football loving supporter.
Leave a Reply