Cup Controversies
I have been in Mogadishu this week. There as been considerable conversation here about the US not allowing entry to one of the world’s top referees, Omar Artan, who is a Somali national. In spite of traveling on a diplomatic passport, he wasn’t allowed in. It’s certainly unfortunate for him but also for the country he hails from. Football is not only the most important sport in Somalia, it was also going to be a means for the country to be represented at the World Cup (it may be a while before it is represented on the merits of their football team).
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| Mogadishu traffic |
The visa debacle, affecting thousands of would-be fans, is only one of many. Ridiculous ticket prices is another. Some of this is the result of US policy as co-host of the tournament. Some of this is FIFA. And there is overlap given FIFAs president Gianni Infantino incessant pandering to the US president. Last December he presented Trump an invented FIFA peace prize citing “Trump's extraordinary global diplomatic efforts and commitments to peace”. After a couple of years of US foreign interventions, even if you’re a Trump fan, you’re likely aware that it has been less about diplomacy/peace and more about power/influence. Anyway, FIFA needs to stay in its lane and refrain inventing fake awards.
There have been other concerns as well. There is considerable cynicism around the mandatory water breaks, including in stadiums that are climate controlled. The breaks, seen as yet another commercial money grab, break the flow of a game in a way that many view as disruptive. Some feel that it has influenced teams’ momentum and thus the outcome of matches. Americans are accustomed to such breaks in major sports and most don’t think twice about using it as a bathroom break or to reload their nachos.
There has also been a debate about half-time shows. Again, Americans are accustomed to entertainment connected to sporting events. Football purists feel that it takes away from the game. There is no question that such things can contribute to broadening interest in attending matches beyond just the hardcore football fans. From what I understand, the compromise is that the entertainment can happen, but the mandated duration of the halftime break will not be extended. I tend to record these matches so I speed past water breaks and halftime anyway.
But for the matches thus far, I have found the ones I have seen to be fun to watch. The big stars have generally made their presence felt. It’s like almost any sport, it’s more enjoyable the more you understand it. I’ve been watching football for nearly 40 years with a level of interest that, if I’m honest, has ebbed and flowed depending on how busy I am and, to some degree, what was happening within the sport itself. I would still consider myself a fair-weather fan, amping up my attention during the World Cup, European Championship and, the past couple of decades, the Africa Cup of Nations. But I likely watch it as much as any other professional sport, with the exception of maybe American football.
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| rainbow |
And then there's diversity
One interesting statistic I saw the other day was that almost a quarter of all of the World Cup players were born in a country other than the one they are representing. In my world, a statistic like that makes perfect sense. In my daughters' classes at the French school, most of the children are mixed race (including my own) and have dual nationalities. In one of the classes, there are 24 students and 18 different nationalities. I realize that there is a lot of xenophobia in the world right now and people are feeling rather threatened by immigration - the feeling that "your people" are becoming marginalized. "Your people" are the good ones and the others are more prone to bad behavior, stealing jobs, etc. Though the sentiment is as old has humanity, the mixing of populations is continuing to accelerate as people have the ability to move around more than ever before.
Sadly, I think it's politicians that are fueling these irrational fears and that's not likely to change. It's too bad really. I look at the melting pot that is the World Cup, and the world I live in, and see so much beauty in it. We have dozens of great ethnic restaurants within walking distance from our building. The local mall, though obviously very Kenyan, is one of the most diverse malls I've ever been to. Great for people watching. My life has been like this for the past two decades and I sort of fear homogeneity. Same faces. Same foods. Same language. Same customs.
Diversity is happening whether people like it or not, obviously faster in some places than others. The previous World Cup had about 16% foreign born players. It's necessary to monitor immigration, screen applicants and regulate flows. But people need to get over their irrational fears of "the other". It appears that the trend is here to stay.
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| seeing this troop of monkeys a lot lately; guard checking them out |
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...back to Somalia
Overall, this trip has been pleasantly uneventful. The security situation in Mogadishu was less tense this week than it was the past two weeks where there was political drama and the government was conducting some rather aggressive property searches, particularly in the neighborhood where our office is. It’s not clear how this is going to pan out over the coming weeks and months, but likely the country will stumble forward into next year where they will possibly attempt to hold elections again – with the localized violence erupting from time to time between now and then. With no real guardrails on the political process, it’s a cycle that will likely, and sadly, continue to repeat itself for decades to come.
There is the question as to why there have been fewer Islamist militant activity in recent months. One analyst I read recently, in light of the above political mayhem, made reference to something that Napoleon once said that when your enemy is making mistakes, don't interrupt them. Very well could be.
