FIFA, '10 : 'Give me freedom...'
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: June 13, 2010 -

Just listen to the song, penned and sung by the black artiste, K Naan, "Give me freedom, give me reason, take me higher, see the champions take the field now, you define us, make us feel proud," and nobody will dispute that there is something in the lyrics as well as the song itself that touches our heart, which is hard to define. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the FIFA World Cup 2010, South Africa.

The few lines which we have just quoted is from the theme song of the football 2010 FIFA World Cup, which kick started on June 11, and listening to the tunes and lyrics touches our inner most senses and this may be one reason why football is not merely a game played on the turf before thousands of fans.

Thirty two teams, the best teams in the world from different continents, will compete for the prestigious FIFA World Cup Trophy, 2010, and while it remains to be seen which country will ultimately manage to land the Cup, the football fever that has gripped the entire world is something awesome.

No other game has managed to catch the imagination or touch the sentiments of the human race as the game of football and there are reasons for it, or else why should countries, like India, which have never qualified for the World Cup, tune in to the World Cup with so much passion ?

From the young boys playing on the beaches of Rio, to the highlands of Africa to the lush green of Europe to the sandy fields in the Middle East to the mountainous terrains of remote places like Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram, Sikkim and Meghalaya, the game of football has managed to touch the heart of everyone cutting across religion, race and nationalities.

In short it has an unparalleled universal appeal and while comparisons with other sports or discipline is unwarranted, it is significant to note that the Football World Cup is the single largest sporting event in the world.

Held once every four years, there is something poetic about this game and more importantly it has that intrinsic humane touch, which no other game can match up to. The stories of World Cup have been told and retold again and again and passed down the generations, from the days of Pele, to Beckenbaeur, Johan Cryuff, Platini, Maradona, Romario, Ronaldo, Zindane etc.

The joy, the disappointment, the tears of joy and sorrow, all find equal space in the stories of each World Cup and other than the personalities, which we have just mentioned, there are also others whose exploits on the football ground, of which we can only read or catch a rare glimpse of their wizardry in Black and White, continue to touch our most inner self.

Ferenc Puskas, Eusobio, George Best, Just Fontaine, Gerd Muller, Lev Yashin, Bobby Moore, Peter Shilton and many others, remain embedded in our minds, because of the humane touch that only football can give. These stars or personalities, all combined together, have made football what it is today and we need to acknowledge their pivotal role in making this game to aptly fit the description of The Beautiful Game, as Pele once famously said.

It is for the first time that the FIFA World Cup is being held in Africa, with South Africa edging out the other contenders, notably Egypt and Morocco to host the game six years back.

It is encouraging to see FIFA determined to spread the World Cup tournament, across all the continents and for the first time in 2002, the World Cup was held outside the Latin American countries and Europe, the co-hosts being Japan and South Korea. Yes Asia has already had the distinction of hosting the most popular game and now it has moved to Africa.

Other than the long process of bidding for the World Cup as well as going through the qualifying rounds, organising the World Cup means harnessing all the resources at hand, a mean task by any standard. South Africa had to dig its heels in to make sure that everything is right when the time comes, but there were hiccups along the way, when criticisms were raised that the country was not in a position to host the World Cup.

This criticism stood till last year, but South Africa has over come all odds to play host and if the opening ceremony is anything to go by, then we can expect every- thing fine tuned.

Apart from readying the ten stadiums spread across the country to host the game, South Africa has had to also deal with its more infamous tag of being a crime ridden society and it certainly would not have been an easy task.

Other than this, with the advancement in technology and the sky literally opening up all across the world, the World Cup is also a matter of keen interest to the corporate world.

Sports gears giants like Adidas, Nike, Reebok, Puma etc will seek to capitalise on the event, which will hold the attention of the world for one whole month. The World Cup is also about brand endorsements, with the super stars taking on the role of brand ambassadors.

In short, apart from being a game that touches the inner most sentiments of the people, the economics and financial aspects involved in the World Cup cannot be ignored too.

However, whatever it is, let's join the people of the world in raising a toast to "Give me freedom, give me reason, take me higher, see the champions take the field now, you define us, make us feel proud."