We are one week into the World Cup and the quality of the football in the preliminary, cautious skirmishes of the group stage has been, frankly, underwhelming. Particularly disappointing for fans wishing to see flowing football and silky skills have been the first sallies of the joint pre-tournament favourites, Brazil and Spain, who respectively failed to dominate the plucky North Koreans and succumbed to the unheralded Swiss. There is still, however, every expectation that the action on the field will pick up as the tournament progresses.
Perhaps the general global desire for this World Cup to be the most fabulous football festival in living memory may be due to the media hype and the location of the tournament.
The ubiquity of the World Cup in the various media, not least the internet, has helped not only to capture people’s imagination but also stir up their enthusiasm and make the world’s premier single-sport event more interactive.
More pertinently, there is something about the atmosphere emerging from South Africa via our television screens and computers that makes this World Cup feel extra special. From the uninhibited emotion of Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the energy generated at the kick-off concert on the eve of the first day to the brilliantly choreographed opening ceremony, the magic, passion and creativity of South Africa and Africa as a whole have been on display. And all this is of course framed by the historical reality of the struggle against apartheid and the emergence of South Africa as a political and economic force among developing nations.
That the inaugural celebrations should have been stilled momentarily by the news of the tragic death in a car crash on the way home from the concert of 13-year-old Zenani Mandela, the great-granddaughter of Nelson Mandela, the foremost icon of the anti-apartheid struggle and the architect of modern, multiracial South Africa, the ‘Rainbow Nation,’ made the opening ceremony all the more poignant.
But the show had to go on and as South African President Jacob Zuma said to the crowd before the South Africa-Mexico match, Mr Mandela himself said “the game must start.” Since then, the vuvuzelas have not been silent, infusing the tournament with a unique atmosphere (and noise level) that is pre-eminently South African.
Even in that first game, the South Africans appropriately scored the first goal. It was a fairytale start to what everyone hopes will be a magical tournament, although there was no fairytale result for Bafana Bafana. Nevertheless, a draw was an honourable outcome for a team ranked so much lower than Mexico and there is no doubt that, draw or lose, Bafana Bafana are the sunshine boys of the Rainbow Nation, such is the pride they inspire. If anything, the hosting of the World Cup by post-apartheid South Africa and the national support enjoyed by Bafana Bafana are ample proof of the unifying power of sport and its centrality to national self-esteem.
That is not to say that all South Africa’s serious political, social and economic problems will disappear overnight or that they should be swept under the World Cup magic carpet. However, there can be no denying the boost to the nation’s confidence and the great wave of optimism that has rolled across the country resulting from the on-time delivery of the tournament, in magnificent stadiums and in a unique setting of natural beauty and human warmth and vivacity. South Africa can pat itself on the back and the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) can also feel vindicated in their partnership with South Africa.
Now, contrast the joy on display in South Africa with the sterility of the International Cricket Conference (ICC) Cricket World Cup 2007 when the guardians of our regional game capitulated to the ICC’s foolish, greedy, insensitive demands and the cricket was overshadowed by officiousness and incompetence. Case in point: FIFA have refused to ban the vuvuzelas in spite of numerous complaints, recognising that to do so would be counter to the spirit of South African football culture.
It would perhaps be unkind to compare the achievements of the South African organisers with the serial bungling of the West Indies Cricket Board, but how about contrasting the gutsy performances of Bafana Bafana with the mental and technical ineptitude of the West Indies cricket team? Is it any wonder that the region’s long-suffering fans are voting with their feet, as evidenced by the distressingly small crowds (if that is the correct word) at the last one day international and Test match recently played at the Queen’s Park Oval?
It was always folly to schedule the South Africa Test series during the FIFA World Cup – a view probably shared by the South African cricketers themselves who seem eager to crush the West Indies as quickly as possible, if only they could get back home faster. Indeed, it is a view probably shared by the West Indies batsmen as well, so keen did they seem to oblige the South African pace attack in the First Test.
Make no mistake about it, West Indies cricket, for long a brand in decline, may now have entered its terminal phase. Radical surgery has long been recommended, but sadly, tragically, no one was willing to apply the scalpel judiciously. And it may now be too late even to wield an axe to get rid of the dead wood cluttering the board and the team. But we would be delighted to be proven wrong. In the meantime, enjoy the football.
