OPINION: Ban SaMamoe and every unruly element like him
There is no place for reckless delinquents at football stadia. At Barbourfields Stadium, there is a man who has made the advertising boards above the terraces his personal seat, the field of play his pre-match ritual ground, and security personnel’s instructions his personal inconvenience.
His name, in football circles, is SaMamoe. Photographs from multiple Highlanders matches show him perched atop hoardings above packed standing sections — elevated, unsecured, and directly above other spectators.
Earlier images from the Highlanders versus FC Hunters fixture show him on the Barbourfields pitch performing rituals before kick-off. When security details have attempted to intervene, he has resisted.
This is not a one-off lapse in judgement. It is a pattern. And it demands a clear, formal response: SaMamoe must be ejected from Barbourfields and issued a stadium ban.
This is not a matter of opinion. Article 61 of the FIFA Stadium Safety and Security Regulations states that the relevant authorities retain the right to impose a stadium ban or other sanctions on any identified person whose behaviour poses a threat to the safety and security of the event or to other people.
SaMamoe’s conduct — occupying an undesignated elevated zone above other spectators, invading the field of play, and resisting stewards — perfectly matches that description.
It is also not SaMamoe’s call to declare his perch above the terraces safe because he hasn’t fallen yet. Safety regulations exist precisely to protect everyone present, not just those willing to take personal risks.
Every time he climbs that hoarding unchallenged, he signals to every other would-be rule-breaker that Barbourfields is ungoverned space.
That signal is dangerous, and it compounds with each ignored incident.
His case does not stand alone either. Glass bottles — prohibited at any properly managed venue — are making it past entry searches and later thrown onto the pitch.
If dangerous items are getting through, searches are either not being conducted rigorously or those conducting them lack the authority to enforce compliance. Both possibilities are equally unacceptable.
BOSSO MUST STOP THIS UNRULY BEHAVIOUR
Highlanders FC must publish and visibly display a clear stadium code of conduct, with explicit prohibition signs at all undesignated zones — advertising boards, the field perimeter, any area not ticketed for spectator use.
The stadium security management team must identify and act on risks proactively, not reactively. SaMamoe must be formally banned under Article 61, and where his conduct — particularly pitch invasion — constitutes a criminal offence under Zimbabwean law, law enforcement must be engaged.
ZIFA and the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) must treat this not as a merecclub-level nuisance but as a national compliance matter.
The implicarions extend well beyond Barbourfields. Zimbabwe is actively repositioning itself as a credible host of regional and continental football events, rebuilding its reputation post the 2022 FIFA suspension.
Every image of a man balanced on an advertising board above packed terraces, or roaming the pitch before kick-off, is a counter-argument to that ambition — and those images travel. CAF and FIFA do not grant hosting rights to associations that cannot demonstrate basic spectator safety governance.
SaMamoe is the named example of a wider problem: those who occupy undesignated zones, invade the pitch, and throw missiles from the stands. All of them must be removed from the game — decisively, visibly, and with the full force of the law.
Eject SaMamoe. Ban him. And make it clear that Barbourfields is governed space.
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