THE biggest soccer jamboree in the world is now in full swing. Our lot is generally happy, I can safely
say. We love our soccer and the World Cup tourney provides us with a maximum dosage of the
sport.
This is despite the fact that the 2022 jamboree is somehow unique in that the Qatar games are being
held in November and December and not the traditional June/July period.
This presents some challenges to many of us in Zimbabwe. The rainy season is upon us and this
means our already limited electricity supply becomes even more erratic due to incessant power
outages caused by rain related faults.
The right to host the World Cup comes with other challenges besides the huge financial bill that the
hosting nation has to contend with. As for Qatar, money was never going to be an issue.
With them it was not about having the money but rather about challenges with who they are and
what they believe in.
Firstly they had to convince all stakeholders on how they would deal with high temperatures if the
games were to be held during the traditional June/July period. For, temperatures soar up to over 40
degrees during this period in Qatar.
Then there was the question of human rights. The number of people who lost lives during
construction of the stadia was cited as a pointer to rampant human rights abuse.
Those who regard themselves as the benchmark of human civilisation expected them to discard
their Muslim values and welcome homosexuals and alcohol just to be submissive and please these
self-proclaimed ‘saints’ of the world.
The World Cup is not a one night stand and as much as we are beer lovers there is need to respect
other people’s culture and views and see them as equals and not as superior.
Our lot concluded that if you have dollar power you will most of the time have your say and not be
pushed into what you do not believe in. this is exactly what is happening in Qatar.
Imagine Zimbabwe hosting the biggest soccer jamboree in the world, with the whole world
descending on us! Maybe if we harbour any ideas about hosting we will need 20 years to prepare.
We could not help looking at it in a comical way. Aah, Zimbabwe hosting the World Cup? Sounds
like a movie from Disneyland.
Our folks thought this was daydreaming at its highest. Such dreaming stops short of becoming a
nightmare by a whisker.
Imagine, our own Ascot Stadium by virtue of being in the central region of the country is chosen as
one of the venues. Obviously there will be a lot of upgrading to be done. In fact, upgrading is an
understatement.
A new stadium will have to be put up. This will mean that some already existing structures will have
to make way. The beer hall and those surrounding houses might be razed to the ground.
I mean how else can we end up with anything that looks like one of those magnificent state of the
art stadiums we are seeing at the on-going World Cup tournament in Qatar.
Coming to the actual games- our lot feels as Africans we are being robbed of our glory by the
developed world, especially Europe. At the current tourney there are over 130 players of African
descent representing European nations and not Africa.
These are players who are extremely gifted and in most cases are carrying the hopes of the nations
they are representing on their shoulders.
Imagine if all of them were playing for African nations. Surely by now Africa would have been home
to the most coveted soccer trophy in the World.
It’s time we claimed our players and subsequently claim our spot among the continents that can win
the World Cup.
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