Too much ado about nothing! That is how I can describe this past week’s coming to Kenya of the FIFA World Cup trophy.
In case you do not know what I am talking about, the trophy that is supposed to be won in the 2010 FIFA World cup competition has been making rounds all over the world for the last couple of months.
At every stop that the cup makes, it is only the president of the country that can touch the cup that will be up for grabs in South Africa next year. In Kenya, it was only the president, Mwai Kibaki, who was allowed to touch it, with the Prime Minister only loofing round-about the cup!
Now, the cup came at a time when Kenya was preparing for its game against Nigeria in the African Cup of Nations cum World Cup qualifier. Kenya had its share of troubles at the time with the head coach Antoine Hey disagreeing with the football officials and refusing to step on the pitch.
Now, the president did not see it fit to even go and encourage the Harambee Stars players when they were facing such a credible opponent as Nigeria. Instead, him and the Prime Minister thought it wise to go and just ‘touch’ a golden cup. Now the question that I have been agonizing about is, what does the coming to Kenya of the cup benefit us? Nothing whatsoever. It is only the sponsors of the tournament, FIFA and Coca Cola who are the beneficiaries of all this.
Did Coca Cola really think through this? Why organize a viewing event at Nyayo National stadium when Harambee stars are playing at the other side of town at Kasarani? To me this was very diversionary and distracting. Why two big events on the same day? Was it a ploy to undermine local football after their disagreement earlier in the year with regard to the naming rights of the Nyayo National Stadium? Instead of allowing Kenyans to concentrate on the big game, why was it necessary to bring this event at a time like this?
Initially, the idea was to have fans go and pose with the trophy at Kasarani before the start of the game between Kenya and Nigeria. When was the plan shelved? Actually, the real football fans were the ones who went to Kasarani. The lot that went to Nyayo was the artificial football fans of the Manu-Arsenal type who are in football only for the fad that it is!!
It would have made more sense to me if football greats like Joe Kadenge and Mahmoud Abbas were the ones to be allowed to touch the cup. But Kibaki, what does he care about football? The man has no passion at all for the game!
Thinking about it, this was just a marketing and publicity stunt for Coca Cola and had nothing to do with the benefit of the local football fan. The kind of money that Coca Cola are spending on these world-wide tours is too astronomical yet they are not willing to spend anything on local football, as much as local football officials are untrustworthy. Why bring us something we did not ask for? They are giving answers to questions we did not ask.
After the defeat of Harambee, we are now left high and dry with nothing to look forward to as far as local football is concerned.
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