North Korea, the one country that has been on the news for all the wrong reasons have finally made the good tabloids for once, albeit the sports section. The North Koreans have made the 2010 World Cup, meaning the other powerhouses in Asia; Saudi Arabia and Iran will have to fight it out for the last automatic slot.
That is the beauty of football and sports really, where no politics and no government can deny the spirit of fairplay and healthy competition. North Korea, as poor an economy as the Western media will have the communist state to be, has risen above the mega-rich and oil churning Middle Eastern countries to raise a generation of players that will be fighting tooth and nail with the rest of the Western world at the biggest stage in international football. Against a Western world which has dominated world political sentiments and the game of football for the longest time. How apt then that it is to be held at South Africa, a state that has gone through its own history of political struggles as a country.
Who says you need a mountain heap of money and funding to build a football team to qualify for the World Cup? North Korea's football team just proved that with hard work and dedication, you can still chase the World Cup dream. A lesson for Singapore's FAS perhaps?
Many will remember 1966 as the year that England won its one and only World Cup. But few remember that it is also the year when an Asian minnow, North Korea stood up to and beat the mighty Italians 1-0. It was one of the greatest sporting achievements of the century and one that could be repeated again in 2010.
I wait in anticipation for the draw at the World Cup. There is always the possibility that North Korea could play the United States... who knows? Will North Korea's Dear Leader Kim Jong Il turn up to support the team? Perhaps President Barack Obama will make an appearance in the continent his father was born in to support the USA team? It will be a great spectacle.
The World Cup is a gathering of the best teams in the different continents. And even though standards usually differ, the gap is closing. Egypt beat Italy in the Confederations Cup just yesterday to prove just the point that Sir Bobby Charlton made about rising international standards.
Will a team from Asia or Africa ever lift the World Cup? Maybe not in the near future, with the teams from South America and Europe clearly the favourites for at least two more World Cup tournaments. But developing countries are certainly moving in the right direction. Who knows, we might just see a certain Asian or African side lift the World Cup to shift the balance of power. Afterall, Greece lifted the European Cup when people least expected it.
Now that will be an interesting thought, wouldn't it?
No comments:
Post a Comment