African powerhouse TP Mazembe suffered early elimination from the 2022–23 CAF Confederations Cup, a thing which has irked the club owner, Moïse Katumbi.
Their defeat came on Sunday after a 0-1 defeat to Tanzania’s Young Africans FC. That was their fifth consecutive loss across all competitions.
The five-time CAF Champions League winners finished last in their group with five defeats in six matches. They scored only three goals in all six matches with Zambia’s Alex Ngo’nga emerging as the club’s top scorer with two goals in the group stage.
Club president, Katumbi has explained the reason behind the team’s early exit from the competition, attributing it to a lack of football activities as the Congolese Ligue is inactive since December 2022.
Katumbi says this led to all three Congolese clubs in the Champions League and the Confederation Cup, failing to qualify for the quarterfinals.
All Congolese clubs; AS Vita Club, St. Eloi Lupopo, and TP Mazembe finished last in their respective groups.
“I accept that we were organized but we were eliminated. I think we should attack the real problem which is the lack of a championship in the country,” Katumbi said.
“The players have not had time to play together, they have lost the automatisms. What result can we expect when all the teams in the DRC do not have a championship?” he wondered.
Katumbi also refuted claims that the Lubumbashi side is having financial difficulties as they were able to fulfill their CAF fixtures with no issues.
“The club does not have a money problem,” he said. “Mazembe does not have a problem of financial means. Have you been told that Mazembe has lowered the salaries of players? Are the players of Mazembe in arrears?”
Katumbi insists Mazembe is still attractive to foreign players
He adds that the club is still attractive to top foreign players because of its financial pedigree in DR Congo.
“The foreign players are still in the team and they are numerous. Don’t let anyone fool you, in the DRC, there is no club that puts the means like us. We will address the problems identified so that the future of the club is better,” Katumbi concluded.
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The Congolese League 1 was halted on December 21, 2022, due to financial issues experienced by LINAFOOT, the country’s top-flight league.
TP Mazembe currently occupies fourth place in the 2022/23 season, 16 points behind leaders, AS Vita Club.
