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Stranger than Fiction

Suriname vice-president starts CONCACAF League Cup game

Published:Thursday | September 30, 2021 | 7:59 AMBANG Bizarre, A Digital Integration & Marketing production

The 60-year-old vice president of Suriname picked himself to start in a football match.

Ronnie Brunswijk, a former soldier turned politician, owns the Surinamese club Inter Moengotapoe and decided to wear the captain's armband for the cup tie against Honduran club Olimpia in the CONCACAF League - a knockout competition for teams from Central America and the Caribbean.

The match even took place at a stadium named in his honour.

Brunswijk played as a striker for the team but had a quiet game and substituted himself off after 54 minutes with his side 3-0 down.

As he left the pitch, one of the commentators remarked: "Now we can say we're 11 vs 11."

To make things worse, Inter Moengotapoe later missed a penalty and went on to lose 6-0.

FIFA have since banned the team because of Brunswijk's interference.

Football's governing body defends the independence of the sport from political interference fiercely.


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