Handballs, politics and African spirit at the FIFA World Cup
It could have been the shot heard around the world, like the bullet bound for John F. Kennedy or the one that killed Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and set off the First World War. And although this shot was a different kind, fired by a Ghanaian striker and seemingly destined to send the first-ever African team to the semi-finals if not for a Uruguayan handball, it could have changed the world just as well — or at least that’s how football historians years from now can paint this World Cup’s Ghanaian story. For those of us who barely even understand how the sport works, this is just one of many political dimensions to the current soccer craze that gives us another reason to stay up late and watch.
Ghana: Africa’s Last Hope
They drove in on a bus painted with the words “The Hope of Africa” as the last team standing from the host continent for which the World Cup was supposed to mark a new beginning. Yet the Ghanaian team couldn’t have exited in a more painful way. They lost a game that could have, should have and would have made history — if only the Uruguayans didn’t forget for a moment that they weren’t playing volleyball. Cameras from every angle beamed images of the crime committed for your viewer at home to see as a Uruguayan striker threw his hand in the air, beating back the Ghanaian ball and ending Africa’s hopes of claiming this year’s World Cup.
In an instant, the name of the now infamous striker Luis Suarez surged to the top of Twitter’s trending topics list as viewers — Ghana fans or not — joined in on the communal bashing. More tweets would have probably come if only all the angry Ghana fans could take their eyes off their TV screens as they spent the next half hour hanging on to hope only to have Uruguay win the match on penalties. It’s easy to imagine the number of people across rural African villages crowding around television sets disheartened by Ghana’s defeat. Just imagine what would happen if Manny Pacquiao was cheated out of a championship boxing match to the disappointment not just for an entire country, but a continent of fans.
Why the outrage? Aside from indignation being the basic human response to injustice, the scene became all the more bitter considering what was at stake was Ghana’s meaningful quest for African unity. As African teams crashed out one by one, they rallied behind those with brighter chances at reaching the quarterfinals. It soon became clear that only Ghana would be left to wave the African flag. “We Are Africa United Now” read one of the signs raised by a South African fan as it became obvious that this meant far more than just a game. For a continent so fractured by a long history of cultural differences and the colonial policy of divide and rule, the entire continent coming together was an example of sport at its best. It’s a pity that it had to end with an instance of sport at its worst.
How our Ghanaian heroes even got this far is a story in itself. By starting the tournament with a win against Serbia when all other African teams were playing below expectation, Ghana kept the fire burning, not least in their victory against America. It seemed almost poetic that such a humble country could beat the world’s great superpower in a sport that gave the underdog a fair shot at victory (forget for a second that America doesn’t even play the sport). And even after being robbed of victory, exiting the tournament at the same stage as Brazil and Argentina, and making it farther than England, France and Italy is no small feat for a country of 23 million people. Speaking of consolations, anguish over Ghana’s loss was tempered, if only a little, as Uruguay lost its semi-finals game 3-2 against the Netherlands on Wednesday.
G-8 Leaders Take A Break
If you didn’t notice that the once high profile G-8 Summit of world leaders took place two weeks ago, you are not alone. The summit has faded into obscurity this year for two reasons: the supposed decline of Western power leading to the elite group’s growing irrelevance and, of course, the FIFA World Cup. Even the world leaders present were caught up in World Cup fever.
For the game between England and Germany, a rivalry bearing the scars of two world wars, the English Prime Minister David Cameron and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel made the most of the summit by watching the much-anticipated game together. The BBC asked Cameron whether the two world leaders would descend into the hooliganism that soccer is so renowned for. “What, do you expect me to pull my shirt over my head and run around the table a few times?” he told the BBC in jest. Such an opportunity never came as England lost to Germany 3-1.
The day before, Cameron was reportedly meeting with Barack Obama about restructuring global markets and other matters regarding the future of the known world while the inspired Ghanaians took the lead against the Americans. Obama then took a break as the game entered extended time, his Treasury Secretary, Timothy Giethner, and Chief of Staff, Rahm Emmanuel sitting by his side. We can only speculate what happened next; all journalists present were apparently escorted out in the game’s closing minutes to allow the US president some privacy as he watched what was supposed to be America’s strongest ever team lose to Ghana, 2-1.
North Korea At The World Cup
Another interesting subplot was that of North Korea. Its qualifying this year was unexpected. This wasn’t your regular team of multimillion-dollar players endorsing capitalist sports brands and the McDonald’s banners flashing on the stadium walls must have insulted their communist sensibilities. Yet what they lacked in skill they made up for in devotion to their great leader. Football fans around the world watched as cameras fixed their lenses on Jong Tae-Se, the North Korean player whose tears ran down his face as the national anthem played. One could imagine state media heralding any victory as yet another triumph against Western imperialism. The hermit kingdom aired each game over its state-controlled airwaves, complete with communist soccer commentators and all.
Managing to score one goal in their game against Brazil that still ended in a 2-1 defeat was a victory in itself, yet some said it was beginner’s luck. They were probably right. Their matches against the Ivory Coast and Portugal ended in 7-0 and 3-0 respectively as the whole country, fascinated by this rare glimpse at the outside world, was watching its players tarnish the national pride that a totalitarian state thrives on. You can only imagine the sorts of rationales Kim Jong-il’s propaganda machine gave the public confused at their team’s mortality — but no amount of spin can deny the misery of a devastating defeat.
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The finals will be broadcasted live on Balls (channel 34 on Sky Cable) at 2:30 a.m. on Monday morning and the consolation match at the same time on Sunday morning.
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