Football or Food?
As thrilled as I am to see such joy in South Africa with the World Cup I can't help but feel when I visit this wonderful country that building the stadiums is something of a colossal waste of money. I The architectural design is beautiful - except that the Cape Town stadium blots out the most magnificent Table Mountain. Who made that decision? I know from living in Cape Town that there were existing stadiums available, that had they been upgraded at far less cost than the hundreds of millions spent on new build -- that the saved money would have benefited the many South Africans in need of something more than a few weeks of international football. Is this the greatest act of crassness yet by any government in the face of such overwhelming need by the majority of its citizens?
Is it possible that FIFA has well and truly shafted South Africa with these beautiful, but ultmately useless, stadiums? How many people have grown rich from their construction? If there's a long-term benefit for the population could anyone tell me what it is?
I know of quite a few people living in South Africa who do enormously good work with youngsters. These volunteers and the charities that they create bring sport and education to those most in need. When I was there at the beginning of the year an exchange had taken place with an English school football team visiting a deprived area. The boys arrived from the UK with all the best kit while their opponents were mostly barefoot. I know that these schoolboys returned to England with a much broader sense of awareness having seen for themselves the levels of poverty. Hey, I know, let's get more international kids visiting and playing and seeing the real need rather than making a few people squillions of dosh. That horse has already bolted the stable.
I'm no killjoy, honestly, I'm not - and I hope the watching world for these international games gives an enormous boost to South Africa - but it's not enough.
You need stamina and a decent meal inside you to play a game of football.
Anyway, that's my thought - and moan - for the week.
Back to the game.
