ASG Faces Difficult Times Ahead of Championship Return
The ASG is going through a very tough period, and the situation is not looking good. The first spark that ignited the fire at the Zliza was the crushing 4-0 defeat against ST at the Bardo on Sunday, November 23. On that day, coach Skander Kasri truly measured the extent of the damage. The first phase ended on a not-so-pleasant note, prolonging the series of very poor results. Eight defeats, six draws, and only one victory in 15 matches - the statistics are indeed terrible. With such a heavy handicap, and sitting in last place with a meager 9 points, can the "Red and Black" of Gabès consider a gradual comeback from this difficult slope? Nothing is less certain.
The President's Sudden Resignation
The first to jump ship was the president of the Directing Committee, Mongi Hassine, who submitted his resignation. Whether it was a false alarm or not, the news fell like a guillotine. No one had envisioned that the man elected three months ago, with the announced goal of "with drum and trumpet" working in the long term to bring ASG back to its mid-table status, would throw in the towel so quickly.
A False Pretext
The reason for his hasty departure, which he invoked, backfired on him. "I didn't know that a new management team elected after the resignation of a committee before the end of its term could only finish the remaining period of the exercise and therefore had to call for a new elective assembly at the end of this period," he declared to justify his decision, before specifying that he "came not to fill gaps, but with a real project of renovation and restructuring of the club that extends over more than a year".
A Deeper Crisis
But the real reason behind this "every man for himself" of the leaders could only be a financial crisis that has reached its peak, making the situation totally unmanageable. No income during the winter break, and the club's treasury is empty. Not even enough to pay for the plane tickets of foreign players who wanted to spend a few days with their families. Not even a derisory amount of 10,000 dinars to give a small breath of oxygen to the young categories that train and travel in very difficult conditions. The five or six coaches of these categories went on a week-long strike, which led to a "historic" forfeit at home of the young teams against the teams of ESZ and CA. To avoid two consecutive forfeits of these categories, parents and sympathizers would have covered the costs of their last trip to Tunis. There is no worse working atmosphere in a professional club. The resumption of senior team training has been set for the beginning of the week in an unfavorable atmosphere that will affect the entire work program of Skander Kasri.
Uncertain Future
In what state of mind, with what squad, and what objective for a group whose morale is at an all-time low, and for which the dice of a bad destiny this season in Ligue 1 are almost cast? Whatever the difficulties, a Directing Committee, even if left alone in managing a deep crisis, must assume its responsibilities. It's not a game to run for a position with full knowledge of the cause for a mission as important as the administrative and financial management of a professional club, only to throw in the towel three months later. Mongi Hassine and his committee would do well to understand this to avoid a very dark future for the Zliza.
