Divorcing pool from pub

Imagining domestic sport of pool without a bottle of beer in sight could seem as unimaginable as thinking about Lake Malawi without chambo fish.

Visit any recreation centre and drinking joint in Malawi then the bottle of the hard stuff always has the pool table as a bed fellow.

For those who drink and play pool, patronising such pubs may seem like killing two birds with one stone. But not with Elia Phiri of Lilongwe who says as a Christian who believes beer is detestable, his passion for playing pool gives him dilemma.

“I may decide to go there and just play but my mere presence there would be in conflict with my faith. I just cannot imagine mingling with drunkards for the sake of pool. The pool authorities have to open neutral pool venues,” Phiri insisted last week.

But for Vincent Mpighu, owner of Kabinda Bottle Store at Nthukwa, Chilomoni Township in Blantyre City, pool is a blessing to his passion for the sport and beer business.

Approached on Wednesday for his opinion, Mpighu offered perspective on the inseparable affair between beer and pool.

“It is possible to host pool games where beer is not being sold. It is all about choosing a strategic market place. I operate two pool tables down town Blantyre and they are heavily patronised despite that beer is not sold there,” Mpinghu explained.

So the crux of the matter is that while pool can go about its business minus beer, the business of alcohol cannot do without pool and the appeal it brings on customers/players.

“Imbibers use pool to refresh themselves when getting drunk, in a sense, operating a pool table at a drinking joint makes business sense. Minus a pool table, a drinking joint is bound to lose a some customers,” Mpighu, who is also a pool player noted.

Even in South Africa, home to record four-time winning All Africa Pool (Aapa) champions, pool is stigmatised as a game for the pub, according to that country’s senior ladies national team player Natalie Kwong.

“There is stigma attached to pool but at the end of the day, it is all up to the individual whether to play pool while drinking beer. I do not believe it is a bar sport. For example, pool is played competitively in Cape Town, which is predominantly Muslim, and beer is not sold where the game is played,” said the ball breaker Kwong.

Her team-mate Nicole Moosmuller nodded in approval.

But Malawi Pool Association (Mapa), taking advantage of its hosting of the fifth edition of 2013 All Africa Pool Championship (Aapa) at Robin’s Park in Blantyre last week, is on the counterattack, preaching to everyone with ears that pool “is just like any other game.”

The launch of the premier continental pool championship took place where there was no beer yet participating teams Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia and defending champions, South Africa were still able to play. Of course, the music was there full blast.

“For us, the games will send a strong statement that pool should not be taken as a pub game; a game for those who drink, but like any other neutral sport that is played internationally,” Mapa vice-president Chikondi Mbewe said in his speech during the opening of the games on Wednesday night.

Johannesburg-based Kwong advised pool authorities to be vigilant in creating awareness and fight the stigma attached to the sport.

International Olympic Committee sports administration diploma course, says effective tournaments are those that eventually benefit the surrounding communities socially.

Therefore, one can only hope that the Aapa Championship which ended Saturday night, may spearhead perceptual change and accept that pool is just like any other mainstream sport.