Off to the match now… you remember the tickets?
In just a few hours, Egypt and Algeria will play a one-off for Africa’s final remaining place in the coming World Cup. The teams finished dead even in their group C after the Egyptians won the last scheduled qualifier 2-0, Saturday in Cairo. That match was nearly called off earlier in the day after the local support decided to enforce their home field advantage with an extremely potent barrage of rocks. Naturally, Egyptian officials denied that anything happened at all (which of course, is standard for that part of the world. Did the bomb kill 350 schoolchildren… or two milk goats? Depends on where you get your news.)
Whether the Egyptian supporters did indeed assault the Algerian team bus or the footballers really just beat themselves bloody with stones brought from home, all parties (Fifa mostly, as they had the final call*) agreed that today’s match be scheduled on a neutral ground, in a place both teams’ safety could be guaranteed. An oasis of security and peace in an impoverished, extremist region…
Let's make a weekend of it!
A place like Sudan!
Khartoum, precisely. Khartoum, home to Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, the world’s foremost international criminal and, depending on how you score these things, the most murderous living individual on the planet. In the capital to keep the peace will be 15,000 of the national police, none of whom, we are confident, have ever sought to supplement their day job with work down south.
So what does it say about Egypt, Algeria, and Fifa when their separate peace exists in a country that’s gladly overseen the slaughter of well in excess of quarter-million men, women, and children (enough people that is, to fill the football stadium hosting today’s game ten times over) in the past six years?
(Oh, whatever. On with the football.)
*By all accounts, Egypt’s top choice was to play the match Accra, Ghana. They won the lottery to pick the venue and submitted a list of three, Egypt first, Sudan included. Logistically, if not logically or morally, Fifa went with Sudan.
This reminds me of when the 1982 World Cup was held in Pinochet’s Chile.
Or 1978 held in the grip of the Argentine military junta, or in the 30s when Mussolini got his propaganda all over the tournament that his country won.
The 1936 Olympics in Berlin called…
The through process probably went something like this:
Egypt: “We want to play in Ghana, so for the other options, let’s pick the most horrible places we can think of to make Ghana look like the obvious choice. How about Sudan? No one in their right minds would pick Sudan! We’ll play in Ghana for sure!”
FIFA: “Ooh, Sudan! They should play there.”
Egypt: “WTF?”
I think FIFA exists to make the IOC look wholesome
15,000 security guards have been hired to work the match today.
For reference, that’s double the amount of actual spectators that went to a NE Revolution playoff game 3 weeks ago.
WHAT DOES SIMON KUPER THINK?!!?!
Ryan: that’s a staggering stat. Absolutely staggering.
I have my cooler set up by the sandbox. REAL hot dog anyone?
Interesting article about how the rivalry between Egypt and Algeria has been built up over the years.
http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2009/11/2009111881211733504.html
Al Jazeera? You are going to get us on a watchlist Bruce.
If you’re reading this, Dick Cheney, f**k you.
^^^^^^^ Best comment ever.
Holy crap,
Are the comments always this good around here?
Most people try to be funny and fail but these are topical and informative (although 1982 WC was in Spain.)\
“.., in a place both teams’ safety could be guaranteed. An oasis of security and peace in an impoverished, extremist region…”
This is such a surreal sentence.
Like ‘bombing for peace’ or ‘f**king for virginity’.