So did this multicultural bid cost us the world cup?

This article goes onto to snidely remark that the bid team was portraying England as “so multicultural, so diverse.” If the writer had limited his criticism to the lack of English scenes (as opposed to scenes from other countries) in the video, then the argument might have some validity. But the repeated references to multiculturalism, diversity and the “ethnically diverse figures” in the article mean that the focus is more on the supposed downside of highlighting diversity and multiculturalism. To judge from the highly rated comments it seems other people interpreted it that way too:

The video is total rubbish, no doubt about it. Once again, an example of how we are too scared to celebrate our national identity for fear that the PC brigade will come along and moan that there are not enough different cultures and minorities represented. But I highly doubt the video cost us the bid, the entire process stinks of corruption.- 1031 likes

Completely agree with this article. It makes me feel sick to the stomach when we have this ‘multicultural’ rubbish rubbed in our faces. We should stick to traditional values and celebrate our heritage.- 761 likes

Leaving aside economics though, what was disappointing was the reaction of senior England figures to the Panorama programme. David Cameron, amongst others, rushed to mollify the FIFA executives accused of corruption (several of whom have been convicted of past offences), as if the BBC were the ones in the wrong. How embarrassing, and what a message to send out to those who look to the world cup to promote ‘legacies’.

Pakistani cricketers are often seen as players blessed with talents from the Gods. Like footballers in this country, when they are successful they are put on pedestals, and when as recently they perform poorly and disgrace themselves, they are vilified.

One of the players implicated in the spot fixing scandal is the young fast bowler Mohammad Amir. His story is remarkable and one which resonates throughout the world. As a boy he was once delayed to getting to practice because of a Taliban blockade. Despite his humble background and the many obstacles in his path, he became the most exciting talent in the game. Then, as if part of a Shakesparean tragedy, it appears he succumbed to the temptation of money, leading to his downfall.

Aisam ul Haq Qureishi’s story is not Mohammad Amir’s story. His mother was Pakistan’s number 1 tennis player, his grandfather was a top tennis player and his father is a successful businessman. His world is not Mohammad Amir’s world. Playing tennis growing up he would have been served by the ball boys seen at the elite private clubs throughout Pakistan.

—

However none of this is to take away from what he has achieved because in the context of international tennis, Aisam’s has been a true underdog story. As Ahsan at the Five Rupees blog pointed out, Pakistan has virtually no history of producing tennis players. To get to where he has, Aisam has had to show remarkable dedication and perseverance.

Aisam was a good junior, but did not make it big straight away. Part of this was probably because he continued to try to make it as a singles player for too long. Aisam is a wonderfully old school tennis player. His smooth single handed backhand and deft volleys reflect his upbringing on the grass courts of Lahore.

Unfortunately for the majority of his career, he has been a journeyman, a relic of an older time and different style of play. Its not surprising that Stefan Edberg was his idol. He occasionally showed glimpses as a grass court singles player, before injury or moving to a different surface held him back. Doubles is where his true ability has always been. The serve and volley game is an anachronism in modern singles, but in doubles control of the net area is still crucial.

For many years he played both singles and doubles without truly excelling in either. Finally this year he concentrated on doubles, and his own game as well his partnership with India’s Rohan Bopanna have developed, to allow him to make it big. Given the scandals with the Pakistani cricket team and the country’s overall summer from hell, its been extremely refreshing.

—-

Aisam’s success is to be celebrated but its important not to go overboard with its implications for Pakistan tennis. Due to the cost of playing, it is a minority sport, played by a fraction of the population. Its extremely unlikely that this leads to a next generation of Pakistani tennis players making it big. The next Mohammad Amir is not becoming a tennis player.

What Aisam’s story is though, is an example that if you dedicate yourself wholeheartedly, you can take advantage of the opportunities provided to you. For example, I’m not sure Aisam was making enough money at the early stages of his career to be able to support himself financially. Had he been born in different circumstances, he may have had to stop his pursuits.

But he was given the opportunities and he has made the most of them. This is also a a reminder of why we should be wary of simply celebrating talent. Pakistani cricketers like Mohammad Amir have also had to work extremely hard to get to where they have. However cricket is one of the only areas of Pakistani society where someone without many opportunities can make a name for themselves, by working hard and a bit of luck. For the rest, its the obligation of the government and civil society to create the conditions in which people can thrive.

Finally Aisam’s is a story of admirable pluralism. He played doubles with an Israeli at Wimbledon and the world didn’t fall apart (despite the misguided efforts of the Pakistan Tennis Federation to suspend him). He plays mixed doubles with a woman from the Czech Republic and the world doesn’t go crazy. Finally, he achieves his biggest success playing alongside a Hindu Indian, about whom he isn’t afraid to say that he is his best friend on the tour, and people are not criticising him, but celebrating his achievements!

But another franchise official – who said there had been no formal ban by the Indian authorities – told the Hindustan Times: “The IPL is a commercial proposition, owned by businessmen and no one wanted to risk upsetting the government.”

Is if this true, then it is wrong-headed on a number of levels. Apart from the sporting angle, diplomatically it is also foolish, as it has antagonised Pakistan for no reason. Sport can be a divider (see Egypt and Algeria), but more often than not it brings them a bit closer (‘soft diplomacy’). I can’t see the rationale behind it.

Looks like those ‘black sheep’ came in handy after all:

“Brescia’s cricketers have not had it easy. They have been barred from the city’s parks because residents complained they were being peppered with cricket balls. Now, that has changed, says Safder Mahfooz – president of Pakistan Sports Club Brescia…

Brescia is not spoilt for open spaces – and getting hit by a fast-moving cricket ball can hurt. There is more – Mr Rolfi announces that the council has just agreed to build a permanent cricket ground on the edge of town.

“I want to see more Italian kids take it up,” he adds. “Cricket can help build links between the Italian and immigrant communities – and help us avoid some of the problems we’ve seen in the past.”"

Fighting between fans has never disappeared, but for the last twenty years or so there hasn’t been much fighting within stadiums (thanks to better policing, stewarding and CCTV). Is this the return of an unwelcome tradition? I doubt it. West Ham and Millwall fans (or rather some of them) are notoriously violent, and this was a derby match, which hadn’t taken place for some time. A few other clubs (Leeds, Cardiff) also have seen violence in recent years, but I suspect (and hope) yesterday’s fighting will be the exception.

I’m a very big fan of snooker, and will be watching this year’s World Championship, which runs from April 18th until May 4th, with great excitement.

This morning, I went looking for TV timings and discovered the Snooker Scene Magazine Blog, where a snooker journalist called Dave H reports that professional player Rory McLeod will make history during the tournament by becoming the first black player ever to compete at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, which has been the tournament’s home for over 25 years. He goes on to say that “Snooker is not an elitist sport. Anyone can join a club and start playing.”

However, he contradicts this by saying that although McLeod isn’t one to make a big deal of it, it’s a noteworthy achievement. The BBC carried the same introduction to McLeod at the start of this afternoon’s coverage of the tournament. Neither source has so far said a word about McLeod’s world ranking, however. Funny, that.

I’ve seen McLeod playing matches on TV before, in less prestigious tournaments, and from what I remember, his race was barely mentioned then. I’ve also seen Pakistani player Shokat Ali play on TV and while the commentators revealed that he speaks Urdu and Panjabi, they didn’t focus on his race, either. As for snooker’s Chinese players, I’m pleased to say that these days, many of them need no introduction.

So why does it seem that anyone can play snooker without anyone noticing anything but the quality of their game, unless they’re at the World Championships? This is not South Africa or America. This is England, where we have famous black football players and half our national cricket team is Asian. So why should snooker be any different? Surely the World Championship, of all tournaments, shouldn’t focus on which part of the world a player comes from?

Like I said, I will be watching the tournament with interest. But the only Black I’ll be focusing on will be the black ball.

May the most talented player win!

The Paralympic Games 2008 ended today. This is easily the most prestigious event in amateur DisAbility sport, but you wouldn’t know it unless you think it. Mainstream media* coverage and publicity were both extremely limited, and the time difference between China and the UK just isn’t a good enough excuse for me.

The Games started on the 6th of September this year. Hopes were high that the event would lead China to improve disabled access, as well as mainstream attitudes to disability. As usual, however, questions were raised about whether this positive development would actually last after the Games were over. It’s too early to answer this question yet, but I, for one, sincerely hope that this will last.

Back in Britain, however, I didn’t even know the starting date of the Games until August 26th- just after the end of the mainstream Olympic Games. As I said on my blog at the time, the whole world knew the starting date of the Olympics for months in advance. I blame this unfair contrast on the lack of coverage and publicity that was given to the Paralympics by the mainstream media. Personally, I think they were wrong to wait so long before advertising the starting date of the Paralympics. DisAbility Sport always takes more effort and determination than mainstream sport ever will, so, in my opinion, the Paralympians deserved equal, if not more, publicity.

No one ever doubted that the Olympians planned, anticipated and trained for their Games for the last four years. Although it wasn’t constant, I hope you’ll agree that their preparation received a lot of coverage in the mainstream media. Yet, in all that time, no mainstream newspaper or TV channel ever covered the Paralympic preparations.

It is a fact known to anyone who cares that the Olympics and the Paralympics take place in the same year, in the same city. Since no one told me when the Paralympics were starting, I wrongly assumed that both events were taking place at the same time, and wondered why there was no news of the Paralympics in the mainstream media. I would just like to say that, personally, I can’t see any really good reason why this could not have happened. It would have meant true inclusion for the truly Disabled Paralympians, as well as a feeling of belonging, being truly welcomed and being truly wanted for DisAbled communities worldwide. I would just like to say that this is something that I, personally, would like the organizers of London 2012 to seriously consider doing, unless there is any really good reason why it would be completely impossible.

Now, let me just talk about how the Games were actually covered by the British mainstream media. Eleven days ago, I promised readers of my blog, Same Difference, regular coverage of Paralympic Team Great Britain’s achievements. To my disappointment, this promise proved impossible to keep, as coverage of the achievements of these truly DisAbled men and women was relegated to the BBC’s Interactive Sport service. Only the opening and closing ceremonies and the handover to London 2012 were televised live on the BBC. Otherwise, we got short highlights programmes, or, if we were really lucky, two seconds at the end of the Sports news on BBC News 24. Yet the Olympics were covered on all terrestrial TV channels for two full weeks!

The only place that I know of that made any real attempt to cover the Paralympics while they were in progress was the BBC’s online DisAbility magazine and news section, Ouch. That’s hardly surprising, though, is it? I would have been more than a little worried if they hadn’t covered the Games. Although, since they only update their news stories three or four times a week, they didn’t do nearly as much as I was hoping for, either.

This time around, the mainstream media, unfortunately, did not give the Paralympians the publicity or equal coverage that the special needs world knows they deserve. However, there is one thing that anyone who is anyone in the special needs world will never doubt. The Paralympians are true stars. They are inspirations to everyone with any DisAbility. In fact, since just thinking about their great achievements makes me tired, I think it’s safe to say that they put me to shame! And I call myself DisAbled…

(*For this post only, ‘Mainstream Media’ refers to media sources that do not have a direct interest in DisAbility issues. )

…….

This is a guest post. Sarah blogs here.

More TPA stupidity here today about public sector pay.

It is striking that Britain’s medal success generally comes in sports that are not merely expensive but that are also so unpopular that athletes cannot earn enough from prize-money and endorsements to support themselves. Success in these sports – such as rowing, sailing and track cycling – can essentially be bought by siphoning off money from the public purse and handing it to the athletes who are then able to train like professionals.

Indeed, it is a cause for self-congratulation rather than discomfiture in the sporting community that the improved success of British athletes in recent years has been achieved by outspending many of our rivals. That is not to take anything away from the athletes, who are hard-working and talented. It is merely to say that success in sport – like in the agricultural market – is easier when it receives huge state subsidies.
…
How does the Government get away with this raid on the public purse? By claiming that Olympic success inspires grassroots participation, which, in turn, has a benign long-term impact on the public finances. It is an argument with everything on its side except evidence. The reality is that elite success has no sustained impact on participation, and, even if it did, the fiscal effects would be ambiguous.

Well that’s one way to spend tax payers money. I expect a massive campaign from the Tax Payers’ Alliance (with full rightwing blogger backing) any day now…

In a photo that was taken in a pre-Olympics advertisement for a courier company that sponsors the Spanish federation, Pau Gasol and friends, winners of the 2006 FIBA World Championship and a strong medal favorite, posed with their index fingers pulling back the skin by the corner of their eyes.
…
“It seemed to us to be something appropriate and that it would always be interpreted as an affectionate gesture,” José Calderon, the point guard who plays professionally in the N.B.A. for Toronto, wrote on an Internet site. “I want to express that we have great respect for the Orient and its people.”
…
In a far worse demonstration of contempt, an Iranian swimmer called in sick to his swimming heat to avoid getting into the pool with an Israeli. That was a truly revolting development — a flagrant foul that went unpunished.

1 He is just a passionate player.

Phrase used when a manager is explaining why a player has been sent off for a bad tackle or for verbally abusing the referee.

2 He’s gone down too easily there. Shameful.

What commentators say when a foreign player dives.

3 He’s done well to win a penalty for his team.

What commentators say when an English player dives.

4 He’s put his controversial past behind him and is performing consistently.

The player was arrested on suspicion of rape/GBH/drink driving/stealing toilet seats, but not recently.

5 He is a combative player.

He breaks people’s legs.

6 He just does not know how to tackle.

What commentators say when Paul Scholes does a brutal tackle.

7 I am currently in contact talks with the club.

The club is offering me an obscene amount of money, but I want even more.

Meanwhile, in Australia, Ricky is in trouble for telling on Harbhajan, and is accused of being a ‘dobber’. Gleeful cricket fans now share their recollections of how unpleasant Australian teams have been in the past. If this was not funny enough, an Indo-Australian stepped in to the row with a priceless comment:

“HERE is what the Australian Indian community has to say about Harbhajan Singh’s monkey call to Andrew Symonds:

United Indian Association President Raj Natarajan: -

“It was surprising that the match referee, Mr. Mike Proctor, has taken the view that Harbhajan Singh made racial comments. It is alleged that Harbajan Singh called Andrew Symonds a monkey during an on-field verbal spat at the SCG and this was considered as racist by the match referee.

“Considering that the “Monkey God” is one of the revered idols of Hindu mythology and worshipped by millions, it is surprising it was considered a racist term. Even more surprising is that the word “monkey” is considered by the match referee serious enough to slap a three match ban on Harbhajan Singh. Many other more unsavoury words exchanged on the field go un-noticed.

“The UIA and its members feel that the Australian team has behaved in an un-sporting manner which has made the second test between India and Australia a poor example of the game.”

When the Australians toured India, their one black player was repeatedly called a monkey by the crowds; obviously they too used ‘monkey’ as a term of enderment.

An unrelated story has also provided some light relief. A Scottish councillor, one Mr. Terry Kelly, has been accused of making sexist comments on his blog:

“Patricia Devlin: “Why are no women allowed to comment here?

You’ve mentioned one being banned, you’ve called a black woman a liar for talking about racism but then no others have been allowed to comment.

Councillor are you a sexist?”

Terry Kelly: “(Patricia Devlin) 30/12/07 – You have just perfectly demonstrated why, it’s because they are thick.”"

In fairness, it sounds like a joke, but the unpleasantness of many of Terry’s posts and comments has turned this into a national issue, as people line up to bash Wendy Alexander’s election agent. To get an idea of Terry Kelly’s thought process, read through any of the posts on his blog.

Mohun Bagan Athletic is in fact Asia’s oldest sporting club and famously were the barefoot real-life Lagaan story in 1911. The club was founded on the 15th of August (later to become an auspicious day) 1889 and from the off was imbued with nationalistic fervour. The sole purpose of the disciplined outfit seemed to be to beat the British at their own game. Twenty two years after their formation, Mohun Bagan lifted the Indian Football Association (IFA) Shield, beating the East Yorkshire Regiment, previously undisputed kings of the Indian League.

The date this feat was accomplished, July 29th, is now ‘Mohun Bagan Day’ in the club calendar and 100 years later Rajiv Gandhi named Mohun Bagan as India’s national club. A postage stamp was brought out to commemorate the united patriotism that resulted from the Indian win over the English club.

Mohun Bagan’s links with the independence movement are inextricable. The founder was lawyer Bhupendranath Basu, who would later become Indian National Congress President. Two players became Governor of West Bengal. The Indianness was evident also from the club’s code of conduct. Players were taught etiquette, could not drink or smoke and they all needed written permission from their parents to play. The first playing ground was the back garden of the Mitra family mansion (Mohun Bagan Villa). The Basus, Sens and Mitras, three wealthy Calcutta families, put up the cash.

East Bengal Football Club was formed in 1920. After Mohun Bagan had piqued Bengali interest in football, several clubs had popped up (best named: The Aryans). But the British restricted the number of Indian teams in the main league to two. Mohun Bagan was one of the Indian teams that did not support promotion for East Bengal, fuelling the early fires. They fought a war of attrition for two difficult decades, but first won the IFA Shield in 1943.

The intense rivalry between the two clubs is older than India vs Pakistan. The overall tally sheet has East Bengal ahead but Mohun Bagan has perhaps more impressive achievements. At present, they remain a dominant force in Indian football with high profile Indian players and plenty of overseas imports (chiefly from South America and Africa).

However, despite the footballing fever pitch in India’s football capital, the standard is poor. Having said that, the play present at an MB-EB derby is more deft and talented than at any match featuring the national side. FIFA has shown interest in Indian football since the turn of the century and both clubs have links with successful teams outside India. But Indian football remains in a dire state.

The stories of East Bengal and the Mariners tick plenty of Bengali stereotype boxes. Obviously football, patriotism and the independence movement are clear. But the classic Bengali passion also finds its place in the Calcutta League. When Mohun Bagan fans beat East Bengal, they eat prawns and when East Bengal triumph, ilish mach is served.

Elated or miserable?