The Cascais 2024 Tournament, designed to celebrate football among Portuguese-speaking countries, was marred by a regrettable incident: the postponement of the Mozambique-Brazil match at the request of the Federal University of Lisbon (UFLP). This decision, made without prior notice and to the detriment of the Mozambican team, raises serious concerns about the organization of the event and its impact on the sport.
"Four of our players who were originally supposed to be starting are arriving today. They brought our game forward to 4:00 PM, when they could have played at the previous time (6:00 PM), but anyway, that's what we have," the Mozambican coach expressed his frustration.
Mozambican coach Luís Guerreiro's indignation is understandable. Bringing the game forward an hour caused several disruptions for the team, including the unavailability of four starting players who were only scheduled to arrive on the day of the match. This lack of planning hampered the team's preparation, team spirit, and chances of success.
In addition to the technical damage, the UFFLP's attitude demonstrates disrespect for Mozambique and a lack of professionalism in the tournament's organization. The schedule change without prior notice creates an atmosphere of distrust and inequality among the participants, favoring Brazil, which was already full and focused.
This situation jeopardizes the harmony between the federations and the competitive atmosphere. The lack of transparency and dialogue on the part of the UFFLP sets a negative precedent for future competitions organized by the organization.
