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Positive response Africa can't have World Cup glory without responsibility
One of the luxuries of writing a column for this Web site is that unlike my "day job" anchoring World Sport, I get the chance to give an opinion and respond to issues. Such was the case a couple of weeks ago, when I wrote an article commenting on the widely held concerns about Africa hosting soccer's World Cup finals in 2010 in the light of the recent soccer-related tragedies. Such was the strength of the feeling that the article generated that I decided to respond via this column as opposed to using my mailbag, where lengthy comebacks are inappropriate. To summarize the reactions to my original article, they mainly consisted of complaints that I was being too hard on the continent of Africa based on so few stadium tragedies. Also, that the entire continent should not be punished for a handful of incidents in just four countries. And, that similar tragedies, caused by overcrowding or hooliganism, have occurred in South America and Europe without anyone calling for a ban on World Cup hosting. Another e-mail said I was unqualified to comment on Africa's potential because I had never been there, going on to accuse me of merely reacting to what I've read. The ultimate complaint was that my criticisms were not constructive. OK, that's what you thought. Now to my response. Firstly, while I understand passion can make people irrational, it's presumptuous to assume I'm commenting as someone who has no knowledge of Africa and has never been there. My father was from Ghana. In addition to which, I have spent much of the last 20 years reporting from all over the globe on sports and current-affairs issues, which has taken me to Africa -- including South Africa -- on four separate occasions. There's also the fact that I don't believe one necessarily needs firsthand experience to comment on a subject. If that were the case, any kind of discussion would be pretty limited.
In defense of the allegation that my article was too harsh on Africa, may I suggest my critics read it again and see that at no point did I say that it's my personal view that Africa should not stage the World Cup finals. I just don't want its hosting debut to be a poor one so as to damage its chances of hosting major sporting events in the future. I also stated in my piece that I realize Africa is a continent and not a country. But since FIFA is currently in the business of awarding World Cup finals to regions before a specific nation is chosen, negative publicity in one African state inevitably reflects on the continent as a whole. South Africa, where one of the two major tragedies occurred, is tipped as the leading candidate to host the 2010 finals. If the South Africans can't get it right therefore, it's not surprising if some people hold out little hope for the other African pretenders, is it?
Regarding the claim that Europe and South America have also suffered football-related tragedies without penalty, I accept that there have been tragedies in Europe, but they've been largely the result of hooliganism and not poor organization, as was the case in Africa. Only the 1989 Hillsborough disaster in England fell into the same category as the tragedies in South Africa and Ghana. Furthermore, except when the problem is extreme and long term, I don't think you can let hooligans prevent nations from staging major soccer championships, as hooliganism is a traveling malaise. The unfortunate host just provides the venue. As for the South American incident in Brazil last year that someone alluded to, that was an isolated event. There weren't four of them in three weeks to focus attention on the regions' shortcomings, as was the case in Africa. Plus, the Brazilian incident didn't occur as the continent was building up to a World Cup bid. And while some think South America has similar infrastructure problems to those of Africa, the South Americans have staged four World Cups already without a major tragedy, so they at least they have history to boost their credibility. On the issue of constructive criticism -- what would that be exactly? I could state the obvious, as one person did, by suggesting that FIFA issue would-be hosts with safety guidelines. But wouldn't that be a tad patronizing to all concerned? Do you honestly think issuing safety guidelines has slipped the minds of the officials involved at FIFA? Or indeed that the potential African hosts are just making things up as they go along with no thought of safety? I think not. Theory and practice however are two different things, as we've so tragically found out. And if, as I hope, an African nation is to stage a successful World Cup in 2010, or at any time in the future, it's obviously vital that the recent events produce a positive response. Because you can't have the glory of hosting a World Cup without accepting the responsibility that goes with it. Terry Baddoo is co-host of World Sport, the international sports show that airs live on CNN/Sports Illustrated and CNN International.
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