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Zaire '74: The Rise and Fall of Mobutu's Leopards
"Absoutely outstanding... this team finally gets the respect they deserve" When Saturday Comes
"A most interesting book" 11 Freunde
The first black African team to qualify for a World Cup suffered casual racism and horrific stereotyping in the western media, were accused of throwing games by opponents and learned they were being conned out of bonuses by their own countrymen mid-tournament and as a result ended with one of the worst records in the tournament's history - conceding 14 goals in three games while scoring none in reply. Nevertheless the Zaire team of 1974 lives long in the memory and not just because of THAT free-kick.
Financially backed by President Mobutu, who saw football as a way to gain popularity at home and status on the international stage, the Leopards won three African championships between 1968 and 1974 and strolled through World Cup qualifying under the management of Blagoje Vidinic, a Yugoslav who managed to unite the disparate tribes of a country the size of Europe.
Yet the World Cup campaign was dogged by controversy. When Zaire players learned that their bonuses had been syphoned off by hangers-on before the second game they threatened to strike and only the threat of violence forced them on to the pitch, where a demoralised team were hammered 9-0 by Yugoslavia.
Upon their return to their homeland players were banned from leaving the country and the most militant were never selected for Zaire again. Mobutu in turn diverted the proceeds of his 'soccer tax' to pay George Foreman and Muhammad Ali to fight in 'The Rumble in the Jungle', considering boxing a far safer bet than football.
Zaire '74 traces the fortunes of the most colourful finalists in World Cup history who blazed a trail for the likes of Cameroon, Senegal and Ghana in subsequent decades yet suffered as a result of the corruption of the Mobutu regime.
"A most interesting book" 11 Freunde
The first black African team to qualify for a World Cup suffered casual racism and horrific stereotyping in the western media, were accused of throwing games by opponents and learned they were being conned out of bonuses by their own countrymen mid-tournament and as a result ended with one of the worst records in the tournament's history - conceding 14 goals in three games while scoring none in reply. Nevertheless the Zaire team of 1974 lives long in the memory and not just because of THAT free-kick.
Financially backed by President Mobutu, who saw football as a way to gain popularity at home and status on the international stage, the Leopards won three African championships between 1968 and 1974 and strolled through World Cup qualifying under the management of Blagoje Vidinic, a Yugoslav who managed to unite the disparate tribes of a country the size of Europe.
Yet the World Cup campaign was dogged by controversy. When Zaire players learned that their bonuses had been syphoned off by hangers-on before the second game they threatened to strike and only the threat of violence forced them on to the pitch, where a demoralised team were hammered 9-0 by Yugoslavia.
Upon their return to their homeland players were banned from leaving the country and the most militant were never selected for Zaire again. Mobutu in turn diverted the proceeds of his 'soccer tax' to pay George Foreman and Muhammad Ali to fight in 'The Rumble in the Jungle', considering boxing a far safer bet than football.
Zaire '74 traces the fortunes of the most colourful finalists in World Cup history who blazed a trail for the likes of Cameroon, Senegal and Ghana in subsequent decades yet suffered as a result of the corruption of the Mobutu regime.
246 pages, Paperback
Published November 24, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 7, 2023
This book certainly lives up to its title of detailing the highs and lows of Zaire. An amazing, sad and frustrating tale of a team with great potential sadly hindered by those in power and believing they know better. Neil writes in great detail Zaires story and takes the reader through the jubilation, the hard-work, good fortune, annoyance, outrage, sadness and gives moment to ponder what might have been. A book which should be read by everyone who loves football and one which will hopefully change peoples perceptions of the team due to western media’s ignorant and racist coverage.
July 6, 2025
While the performance of the team in 1974 was used to ridicule African football, the truth, the politics and the pressure of expectation tells a different tale.
March 14, 2025
The story of more than a free-kick - or even just the World Cup - Zaire 74 looks at the rise and fall of Zairean football, particularly under the reign of the dictator Mobutu, who invested in the sport as a way of popularising his regime.
The story goes from Zaire's early international history after independence from Belgium, through their 1968 and 1974 African Cup of Nations wins, and onto the World Cup. Mobutu invests in the domestic game - TB Englebert reach four African Champions League finals in a row - and hires in a Yugoslav manager, as was the style of the time for developing countries (in fact, he nicked Morocco's manager). Players are banned from moving abroad and even recalled from Belgium to boost the domestic league standing and make it easier to arrange national team training sessions. Early on, Mobutu shows a ruthless streak, effectively ending the international career of one player who remained in Belgium and refused to Zaire-ise his name away from his (colonial) Francophone birthname.
There's unusual anecdotes too, such as the 300 tickets sold for the replayed final of the 1974 African Cup of Nations because the Egyptian organisers forgot to advise anyone of the replay time (the gates were thrown open and the crowd was lifted to 1,000), or the "Go To Zaire" ads at their World Cup game against Scotland, paid for by Mobutu but with shades of the later "Visit Rwanda" ads at Arsenal games.
It's at the World Cup where things really get interesting though. A typically hard Scotland bully Zaire off the ball - the author criticises Scotland for this, but Zaire were well able to dish it out based on earlier games in the book - but Zaire rally and make a proper game of it, as Scotland acknowledge. But then things erupt the night before the second game against Yugoslavia - bonuses are still unpaid, presumed stolen by the same government officials who then keep the manager away from the team and select the team themselves. The players are up until 3am debating whether to even play the game, and FIFA have to step in to persuade enough players change their minds to even get 11 on the pitch. Eventually Zaire do agree to play - but in the dressing room before the match,
Not an ideal way to prepare for a game - and things got even worse when the government stooges subbed off their keeper when Yugoslavia were lining up a free-kick on the edge of the box; the new keeper was immediately picking the ball out of the net, and on the way back to the centre-circle, a Zaire player player kicked the ref up the hole (though the ref sent the wrong player off). All this contrives to let Yugoslavia run up that 9-0 scoreline.
Mobutu's response is severe. Before the final game, against world champions Brazil, he sends a message to the squad. "You have all brought shame on the country of Zaire. You are scum, and sons of whores. The great leader says that if you concede more than three goals against Brazil in the final match, you will never see Zaire of your families again. Your leader is disgusted in all of you." The government officials delivering the message then go off an a half-hour rant along similar lines. Zaire manage to keep the score to 3-0.
On their return, national radio broadcast the news that the players were being summonsed to explain themselves to Mobutu in person - the first the players had heard of this. They are imprisoned for four days before being let go, though not being allowed leave the country. Mobutu bored of football after that, turning instead to boxing. Using the proceeds from a collection among Zaireans for a bonus for the World Cup heroes, he arranges the Rumble in the Jungle between Foreman and Ali instead. Zaire withdrew from 1978 World Cup qualifying when Mobutu refused to stump up for a trip to play Nigeria.
The story ends with a look at what happened the players later in life - and most of it is bad. Despite being given homes in a new area of Kinshasa as a result of World Cup qualification, more than one of the players dies homeless and destitute. Ndaye Mulamba, top scorer in the 1974 African Cup of Nations win, is recognised 20 years later with an CAF Order of Merit - but when he then refuses to give Mobutu his award, four armed men broke into his house, beat and shot him leaving him in hospital for eight months, and killed his 11-year-old son with a blow to the head. A minute's silence was held in his memory before an African Cup of Nations game in 1998, but actually he lived until 2019, albeit in poverty in South Africa. There's not many good luck stories among the squad, who had set off for the 1974 World Cup as continental champions and with the sole aim of bringing joy to their country.
There are problems with the book though. The matches are told in needless detail - it doesn't add to the story to know why the line-up in an African Cup of Nations game was changed, or that the producer at a World Cup game decided to focus in on a player tying his boots. The World Cup games take around 10 pages each to narrate, but it's the couple of pages in between that are far more revealing. And the writing is often stiff, sometimes confusing and with a few too many typos -
And though the blurb leads with how the team suffered "casual racism and horrific stereotyping in the western media", they really didn't. True, Billy Bremner is accused of making racist comments in the Scotland game (more than one Zaire player suggests they threw the Brazil game as revenge), but that's about it. Andrews tries to pass other items off as racism or offensive stereotyping, but his analysis is at complete odds with the quotes he uses. So for example, about the media reaction to the 9-0 defeat to Yugoslavia,
The reality is Zaire were adopted by the local area they were staying in and also by the vast majority of the neutrals at the games, who were more than happy to see them upset their higher-profile opponents. It's a pity, as this twisting of the truth - too common in modern times - spoils what's otherwise a fascinating and little-known tale.
The story goes from Zaire's early international history after independence from Belgium, through their 1968 and 1974 African Cup of Nations wins, and onto the World Cup. Mobutu invests in the domestic game - TB Englebert reach four African Champions League finals in a row - and hires in a Yugoslav manager, as was the style of the time for developing countries (in fact, he nicked Morocco's manager). Players are banned from moving abroad and even recalled from Belgium to boost the domestic league standing and make it easier to arrange national team training sessions. Early on, Mobutu shows a ruthless streak, effectively ending the international career of one player who remained in Belgium and refused to Zaire-ise his name away from his (colonial) Francophone birthname.
There's unusual anecdotes too, such as the 300 tickets sold for the replayed final of the 1974 African Cup of Nations because the Egyptian organisers forgot to advise anyone of the replay time (the gates were thrown open and the crowd was lifted to 1,000), or the "Go To Zaire" ads at their World Cup game against Scotland, paid for by Mobutu but with shades of the later "Visit Rwanda" ads at Arsenal games.
It's at the World Cup where things really get interesting though. A typically hard Scotland bully Zaire off the ball - the author criticises Scotland for this, but Zaire were well able to dish it out based on earlier games in the book - but Zaire rally and make a proper game of it, as Scotland acknowledge. But then things erupt the night before the second game against Yugoslavia - bonuses are still unpaid, presumed stolen by the same government officials who then keep the manager away from the team and select the team themselves. The players are up until 3am debating whether to even play the game, and FIFA have to step in to persuade enough players change their minds to even get 11 on the pitch. Eventually Zaire do agree to play - but in the dressing room before the match,
Not an ideal way to prepare for a game - and things got even worse when the government stooges subbed off their keeper when Yugoslavia were lining up a free-kick on the edge of the box; the new keeper was immediately picking the ball out of the net, and on the way back to the centre-circle, a Zaire player player kicked the ref up the hole (though the ref sent the wrong player off). All this contrives to let Yugoslavia run up that 9-0 scoreline.
Mobutu's response is severe. Before the final game, against world champions Brazil, he sends a message to the squad. "You have all brought shame on the country of Zaire. You are scum, and sons of whores. The great leader says that if you concede more than three goals against Brazil in the final match, you will never see Zaire of your families again. Your leader is disgusted in all of you." The government officials delivering the message then go off an a half-hour rant along similar lines. Zaire manage to keep the score to 3-0.
On their return, national radio broadcast the news that the players were being summonsed to explain themselves to Mobutu in person - the first the players had heard of this. They are imprisoned for four days before being let go, though not being allowed leave the country. Mobutu bored of football after that, turning instead to boxing. Using the proceeds from a collection among Zaireans for a bonus for the World Cup heroes, he arranges the Rumble in the Jungle between Foreman and Ali instead. Zaire withdrew from 1978 World Cup qualifying when Mobutu refused to stump up for a trip to play Nigeria.
The story ends with a look at what happened the players later in life - and most of it is bad. Despite being given homes in a new area of Kinshasa as a result of World Cup qualification, more than one of the players dies homeless and destitute. Ndaye Mulamba, top scorer in the 1974 African Cup of Nations win, is recognised 20 years later with an CAF Order of Merit - but when he then refuses to give Mobutu his award, four armed men broke into his house, beat and shot him leaving him in hospital for eight months, and killed his 11-year-old son with a blow to the head. A minute's silence was held in his memory before an African Cup of Nations game in 1998, but actually he lived until 2019, albeit in poverty in South Africa. There's not many good luck stories among the squad, who had set off for the 1974 World Cup as continental champions and with the sole aim of bringing joy to their country.
There are problems with the book though. The matches are told in needless detail - it doesn't add to the story to know why the line-up in an African Cup of Nations game was changed, or that the producer at a World Cup game decided to focus in on a player tying his boots. The World Cup games take around 10 pages each to narrate, but it's the couple of pages in between that are far more revealing. And the writing is often stiff, sometimes confusing and with a few too many typos -
As if to satisfying [sic] the baying mob, Mwanza Mukombo played his goalkeeper into trouble unnecessarily with an under hit backpass that Ivica Surjak seized upon, looking to take advantage, but despite hie height advantage, the Yugoslav came off worse when the two collided in the box and was sent sprawling to the ground. As he clambered to his feet, still feeling the after effects of the challenge, he was clearly in an offside position but the referee allowed play to continue as Bajevic collected a return pass and sprinted through on goal. Remarkably, with only the goalkeeper to beat, Bajevic fluffed his chance for a fourth, blasting the ball straight at Tubilandu.It's too wordy, it doesn't sit right that an underhit backpass suddenly leads to an aerial challenge, it's not clear why Surjak would be offside from a Zaire pass, and then Bajevic gets a return pass - but from whom?
And though the blurb leads with how the team suffered "casual racism and horrific stereotyping in the western media", they really didn't. True, Billy Bremner is accused of making racist comments in the Scotland game (more than one Zaire player suggests they threw the Brazil game as revenge), but that's about it. Andrews tries to pass other items off as racism or offensive stereotyping, but his analysis is at complete odds with the quotes he uses. So for example, about the media reaction to the 9-0 defeat to Yugoslavia,
The British press in particular seemed to take great delight in the Leopards' sobering defeat. "The immaturity of Zaire was embarrassing", wrote Henry Miller in the Daily Mirror. "It was impossible not to feel sorry for these World Cup upstarts as Yugoslavia exposed and exploited every weakness." The Guardian took a similar churlish tone in a report headlined "No mercy shown to hapless Zaire", while The Times' back pages led with "Yugoslavia emphasise abyss in standards."- but these are all perfectly reasonable comments. Similarly, John Motson is criticised in the very first paragraph for describing the infamous free-kick incident as a "bizarre moment of African ignorance", but Mwepu's own teammates express similar emotions - "I have no idea why he did that"; "he made us look like monkeys"; "It was stupid. Une absurdite. He just lost the plot."
The reality is Zaire were adopted by the local area they were staying in and also by the vast majority of the neutrals at the games, who were more than happy to see them upset their higher-profile opponents. It's a pity, as this twisting of the truth - too common in modern times - spoils what's otherwise a fascinating and little-known tale.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews