So, the World Cup is almost upon us, and inevitably our attention has been narrowed in on the nervy minutiae of squad selections and injury worries and tactical arguments. So before the action starts, can I just take a moment to say how fucking marvellous it is to see the World Cup being hosted in Africa.
I do understand that there are commercial and practical reasons why the USA and Japan both got to host the tournament before an African nation, but it’s not particularly edifying to watch a desparate FIFA trying to break America like some bloated, bombastic Robbie Williams.
How much nicer it is to see the World Cup finally go to the third great heartland of football, somewhere where the locals will be hugely excited to have it. And having seen the ICC manage to host a cricket tournament in the West Indies without any Caribbean atmosphere, let’s hope that the clammy corporate hand of FIFA doesn’t manage to drain all the Africanness out of the experience.
2 replies on “Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika”
and from what my SA colleague tells me the entire country has gone crazy with excitement about the whole thing, which is especially nice.
And I really hope the African teams do well this year… home advantage is a powerful thing at World Cups. I guess the South African fans would get behind Ghana or Ivory Coast if their team went out? Don’t know.