Púngue University visits Vila do Conde to award “Honorous Causes to Chiquinho” - A symbolic advertisement?

Paulo Vilanculo"

Púnguè University announced its intention to award an Honorary Degree to Chiquinho Conde, the current coach of the Mambas and a symbol of Mozambicanism in the Portuguese-speaking world. Between individual inspiration and collective oblivion, the tribute to Conde is as symbolic as it is controversial, revealing the tension between national self-esteem, selective memory, and cultural diplomacy. The initiative is not without its challenges. The distinction also raises uncomfortable questions: is he the only hero worthy of academia, when the collective memory preserves names like Tico-Tico, Dominguez, the eternal Coluna, among others? In a comparative perspective, wouldn't Lurdes Mutola, the Olympic champion and undisputed world figure, be the most natural fit for such academic recognition? To what extent does the awarding of honorary degrees to public figures translate into a real gain for the country's scientific and academic development? To what extent do such distinctions run the risk of becoming rituals of momentary prestige, rather than constituting solid platforms for inspiration and social transformation?

Keywords:Púngue University, Chiquinho Conde, Honoris Causa, patriotism, collective memory.

The choice of title is both curious and bold. By scaling the "village of the Count," as the metaphor suggests, the institution also seeks to establish itself on the national map as a university that values ​​not only formal and scientific knowledge, but also the cultural and sporting achievements that inspire youth. It is a bridge between academia and sport, between thought and practice, in a country where these universes often run parallel without intersecting.

Púngue University, through its Rector, Emília Nhalevilo, announced on Rádio Moçambique's Café da Manhã program its intention to award the title of Honoris Causa to the coach of the National Football Team, Chiquinho Conde. The gesture, still in the preparatory phase, sparks divergent opinions in recognition of Conde's contribution to promoting Mozambique's image on the international sports stage, but it also opens the way for debate on the criteria, merits, and symbolic function of these titles in the Mozambican academic context.

Chiquinho Conde, who emerged from the mud of Chiveve and trained in Portugal, built his career as a footballer and coach between two worlds: Mozambique and the Afro-Portuguese diaspora. In Mozambique, his playing career was short and unimpressive, as he soon left for Europe. Chiquinho Conde's commitment to Portuguese football was greater, primarily for Portuguese clubs such as Belenenses, Vitória de Setúbal, and Sporting da Covilhã. He played for several years in the Portuguese league, earning a respected reputation for his consistency. As a coach/national team manager, his greatest commitment was to Mozambican football. He led the "Mambas" at various times, facing financial difficulties, a lack of infrastructure, and internal crises within the national football team. Despite the adverse conditions, it was under him that Mozambique returned to the final stage of the African Cup of Nations (ANC), rekindling the hopes of fans. His work goes beyond results: he is seen as someone who strives to create a competitive identity for the national team.

Will Chiquinho Conde be the only icon?Is this the mamba worthy of occupying the academic altar of Púngue University, or simply the most appropriate for the current times? By exalting only Chiquinho Conde, doesn't the university run the risk of erasing the collective memory of other Mozambican football heroes who also made Mozambique famous?

Chiquinho Conde is not the only icon.Although Chiquinho Conde is one of the strongest and most visible names today, before and alongside him, we have others who left profound marks: Nuro, who marked different eras and served as references during more difficult times for national football; Tico-Tico, still considered by many to be the greatest legend of Mozambican football, with goal records and leadership on the pitch; "Coluna," remains the ultimate symbol of Mozambican football in the diaspora, captain of Benfica and the Portuguese national team, who gave prestige to the name Mozambique in the football world. In recent football, Dominguez has also become synonymous with dedication and technique. And so many others. To this end, Chiquinho Conde exposes the differences between careers built inside and outside Mozambique, and how the national memory where he is chosen is selective and not entirely balanced.

Therefore, the choice of Conde as the recipient of an honorary title can be seen in two ways: a recognition of the present, given that he is currently leading the Mambas in a phase of competitive resurgence, carrying with him the symbolic weight of uniting a nation in crisis through football. But on the other hand, given that the choice appears to be a gesture of symbolic opportunism, centered on the figure who, at the moment, represents victories and hope, but who could become oblivion when the ball no longer rolls in their favor. It fosters a selective oblivion of the past that feels like historical neglect of other names who, without honorary titles, shaped Mozambican football identity. It creates ambiguous images and criticisms of exclusivity and stardom that can convey the idea that only one name has value, erasing others who contributed greatly to national football, a moralization of patriotism where the distinction can feel like implicit censure to young people who dream of playing abroad, potentially read as a message "if you leave Mozambique, you won't be remembered."

But should academia celebrate contextual symbols like Chiquinho Conde while leaving aside universal heroes like Mutola, or will there be a way to find space for both?

We have figures who, with discipline and commitment, can be a reference. Comparing the two personalities of Mutola and Conde, Chiquinho Conde has his merits: current leader of the Mambas, a symbol of resilience, an Afro-Portuguese icon who returned to serve the country as coach, but he has limitations as a player, his career unfolding almost entirely in Portugal. Only now, as a coach, does he gain greater patriotic weight, and his "honorable" recognition would be a tribute more linked to contemporary inspiration, a recognition "of the moment," because it symbolizes the rebirth of national football. Conde, however, represents a legacy under construction, more symbolic than consecrated. If the criterion is contextual and symbolic, then Chiquinho Conde can perhaps justify recognition for his current role in trying to galvanize national self-esteem, embodying rare qualities and controversies of citizenship in a context where young talents opt for other nationalities or approach Mozambican football for prestige and performance.

Lurdes Mutola has merit ofWorld and Olympic champion in the 800 meters, the only Mozambican athlete to win an Olympic gold medal (Sydney 2000); a global impact: she propelled Mozambique onto the world athletics stage, carrying the national flag to the highest podium, and her lasting legacy: she remains to this day the country's greatest sporting figure and a direct inspiration for entire generations, both within and outside of athletics. If the criterion were historical and universal, Lurdes Mutola represents a consolidated, universal, and historic legacy; she is the figure most naturally identified with and resoundingly and overwhelmingly qualified to receive an Honorary Doctorate. And her honorary recognition would be a tribute of historical merit, linked to glory and an undeniable international legacy.

On the other hand, there are reasons for distrust that raise several questions: to what extent should academia enter the field of sport as a legitimizer of icons?

Making possible the gesture of Púnguè University in choosing Chiquinho can be interpreted in two complementary ways of ambiguity. On the one hand, the recognition only of the trajectory of Chiquinho Conde, a Mozambican-Portuguese, as a national symbol, shaped by both Mozambique and Portugal, where the award is inscribed in a hybrid space, where the Mozambican academy also recognizes the trajectory built in the diaspora. This is a functional gesture of cultural and political rapprochement, reinforcing the narrative of a Lusophony that survives in sporting, cultural, and even academic relations, for the beloved homeland can underscore his direct contribution to the valorization of Mozambique in the African sporting panorama, giving Mozambican youth a reference figure who shows that talent, even in adverse conditions, can achieve international visibility.

By focusing on Chiquinho Conde, Pungue University sends an indirect message that the true hero is not only the talented, but also those who remain committed to their national flag. It also conveys that Mozambique needs not only to import role models or applaud foreign achievements (?) but also to overflow with pride, commitment, and inspiration to show that being Mozambican in sports is a source of honor, reinforcing that the diaspora can be a bridge, not an escape, inspiring youth to see football (and other fields?) not just as an individual career, but as a collective contribution to Mozambique. All of this relegates the university to the stage of symbolic politics that risks transforming an academic tribute into a ritual of nationalist propaganda. Hopefully, the possibility of this distinction will be nothing more than a momentary prestige move, closer to emotion than to the critical reasoning required of the university.

2025/12/3