Trademarking Africa's Humanity

Having had a great time at the Ghana v Uruguay game, the following day's match at Ellis Park between Spain and Paraguay would have a tough task matching the exhilaration.

Walking through Braamfontein on the way down to the stadium, we discovered a new bar in the area with small televisions on every table plus a big screen. Sitting down for the Argentina v Germany game that afternoon, it was obvious that the vast majority of the bar was supporting Argentina. When Argentina went close, the patrons would be on the edge of their bar stools; when Germany scored, they were visibly upset. Why would so many South Africans support a national team that a.) wasn't theirs and b.) wasn't an African team? There are a number of possible explanations:

1. They are attracted by the global names: Messi, Tevez and of course Maradona
2. They are attracted by the attacking brand of football that they play
3. They want to keep the World Cup in the southern hemisphere
4. It's an anti-European/ colonial reaction

Points one and two were pretty obvious. People would know generally know more about Messi & co than Schweinsteiger and Podolski. Point three was a bit of a surprise. On the train on the way back from the Ghana game, one woman was saying that now all the African teams had been knocked out, she wanted the cup at least to stay in the southern hemisphere. Desperate sounding but this view was repeated in the bar. Maybe I should want to Spain, Germany or the Netherlands to win to keep it in the north? I base the final point on a halftime conversation in the toilets.

"You don't want an all-European final do you?"

"Er, I don't mind, but I'm European."

"You don't know what it means to us. We don't want Europe to keep the World Cup. Europe is too strong. It needs teaching a lesson."

"Oh, ok..."

And as he left, he exclaimed, "F**k the Europeans!" Nice. Unfortunately for him, he didn't get his wish as the Germans thrashed the Argentinians 4-0.

Being lazy, we decided to get a private taxi from the bar to Ellis Park - I was a little uncomfortable about walking the streets of Hillbrow and Joubert Park in the dark. In a wonderful example of tourist exploitation, the taxi driver wanted to charge twice as much as normal. Eloquently, I replied "f**k off!" and took another taxi, this time for the 'normal' price. We still had to walk the streets of Doornfontein to get to the stadium as the roads had been closed off. This was a World Cup quarter final but you couldn't tell. No crowds of people making their way to the stadium, no build-up of anticipation. This is life in Johannesburg, where the streets empty in the darkness, people afraid of leaving the 'safety' of their homes. The park and ride buses take fans close to the stadium, bypassing the inner city. The park and walk locations even worse still. But then we entered another perimeter and suddenly it burst into life. Fans poured out of the buses. Vendors were selling vuvuzelas , flags and anything else that could be branded with a national flag. Stalls selling a variety of food lined the streets. This atmosphere was unlike the sterile experience outside Soccer City. I could could get my pap and steak/ chicken/ boerewors. Introducing Ben to the delights of South African football food, we sat down and stuffed our faces as we watched the world go by. The vendors were selling their goods through the perimeter fence but the police didn't seem to care.

Enjoying the atmosphere outside the game

Attempting to cook pap

Meat!!!

We were a bit short-changed during the game. The most expensive knockout ticket that we had and Spain had the audacity to win it in 90 minutes (all my other knockout games at least went to extra time)! This could have been my third penalty shootout in a row but it wasn't to be. At least the three second half penalties in quick succession (should have been four) added some spice to the fixture. Spain fans dominated the crowd but unlike the Ghana - Uruguay game, the atmosphere seemed muted in comparison. With Ghana as the last African team, South African fans had a lot more emotionally invested in the game. This time, I thought that people were supporting Spain because of the big names such as Torres and Villa, who they had been watching for years on TV. Pockets of (actual) Spanish fans dotted around the stadium were singing, dancing and waving their scarves but few else knew any of the words so a return to the vuvuzela was in order.

As my mind wandered, my eyes met with one of the FIFA logos - KE NAKO. Celebrate Africa's Humanity™. I thought that it was a bit strange that FIFA were telling us to celebrate Africa's humanity as if it was something that had just been discovered. I can't imagine a World Cup in Europe with the slogan Celebrate Europe's Humanity. Why is Africa treated differently in an "actually-they're-just-like-us" way? Then Ben pointed out that why have FIFA trademarked Africa's humanity?! So if any African does something humane, they have to get permission from FIFA? Can FIFA have intellectual property rights on humanity? That's a scary proposition...

Two Englishmen wearing South African and Japanese football shirts at Spain v Paraguay...

Reminiscent of last years chaos at Ellis Park during the Confederations Cup, the park and ride queue was much less a queue, more of a mob. They had clearly learned some lessons from last year such as improved signing but it took a fair while to get back to the car. Sitting in the bus, I realised that my World Cup adventure was coming to an end. That was my last game and with the final on Sunday, it'll be business as usual next week. I'm already thinking about Brazil 2014!

Stampedes, pepper spray and hooligans

Yesterday's stampede at the Nigeria v Korea DPR game in Tembisa, which injured 16 people, was something that could have been avoided. Counterfeit tickets were brandished by people desperate to see Nigeria play (there can't be that many North Koreans in SA and I can't imagine that there would be many desperate to see them play!). The organisation of this game was nothing like what will be encountered at the World Cup fixtures, instead more reminiscent of the haphazard marshaling that I sometimes experienced at local PSL games.

There were some occasions where I got caught up in a crush as fans tried pushing through the narrow entry gates at Olympia Park in Rustsenburg or Germiston Stadium in Jo'burg, with the police occasionally slamming the gate in my face in an attempt to stop the chaos. The worst experience was at the beginning of Jan 2009 at a Mamelodi Sundowns v Kaizer Chiefs fixture at Johannesburg Stadium. It was a case of the wrong place at the wrong time as before I could realise what was going on, my friend Dan and I were surrounded by a crowd of about 200 people trying to charge down the gates between the cheap seats and the grandstand to get better seats for free. There was little we could do as on three seperate occasions the gates were brought down. There was only one policeman and one steward on the other side of the gate trying in vain to keep the mob out. The police officer used his pepper spray but being a row of people away from the fence meant that we didn't get the brunt of it. Eventually mounted police stormed in to disperse the crowd. To add salt to the wound, my camera was stolen that game. This incident was strangely omitted from the press reports the following day. A week later, the papers reported that police had to use rubber bullets to keep ticketless fans at bay as they were trying to get into Ajax Cape Town v Chiefs.

It's the ugly side of South African football, and one that does have to be acknowledged. But it's far from a South African problem. We only have to look in our own backyard to see that we too have some major problems, the incident outside the West Ham v Millwall game last year indicative of such issues. People may argue that was an isolated incident but so is what I have described. I generally felt safer at many of these matches than I did in the northern suburbs of Jo'burg - high walls, electric fences and panic buttons DO NOT make you feel safe. The derby match between Pirates and Chiefs in May 2009 at Ellis Park was the best atmosphere at any game of football that I have been to. Although bitter rivals, there was little attempt at crowd segregation and there did not need to be. While there have been horror stories of clashes between the two sets of fans in the 90s, today sees these two sets of fans generally get on with each other. Can you imagine a Manchester United v Liverpool match without crowd segregation? It just wouldn't happen.

So when you read stories in the papers about yesterday's stampede, your thoughts should be with those who were injured but don't take it as a sign that the World Cup matches will be the same. The organisation is far greater. It's going to be one big party!