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I am supporting South Africa in today’s match, although part of me feels that the French team needs all the support it can get. With Nicolas Anelka sent home, the team refusing to train on Sunday, resignations from within their camp and both teams needing to win today it will definitely be a great match to watch.

But I’m sticking to supporting Bafana Bafana. That’s not because I don’t like Les Bleus, in the past they have played some spectacular football. And I like France; I have travelled around the country and had some amazing holidays there. My preference is simply for South Africa.

Both countries have had revolutions, France in 1789 and South Africa more recently in 1994, the result of a negotiated settlement. 16 years later South Africa is hosting the first World Cup in Africa – and to date is doing so very well, with none of the pre-tournament concerns coming to fruition.

South Africa is a vibrant functioning democracy, which people campaigned, suffered and sacrificed to achieve. It is now a country for all its citizens. Much has been achieved with pensions, a form of child benefit, and many now have water, electricity and homes. There is however, still great poverty, gross inequality, issues of service delivery and challenges of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

The World Cup is no panacea for these challenges. But what it does do is bring the issues affecting the country to those with little existing knowledge. Alan Hanson, Alan Shearer and Garry Lineker were discussing on Sunday on the BBC the forced removal of 60,000 residents from District Six, Cape Town in the 1970s by the apartheid regime; this isn’t your usual post match analysis! People are widely talking about the history of South Africa and the challenges facing the country today; this is important as hopefully this interest in the issues will continue after the World Cup.

I’ve been interested in the statistics the World Development Movement has used. France, as expected, comes out on top, although South Africa does do better on the number of women in government, 41.4% against France’s 17.6%. The statistics are interesting and useful, but they don’t tell the full story.

They don’t convey the activity and sacrifice to bring democratic, non-racist, non-sexist South Africa into being, or the issues of governance and community mobilisation. Also you can use the statistics to guide your choice in different ways. A country that scores low because of poverty, inequality, quality of life indicators may actually deserve support more than a country which scores well.

I am cheering on South Africa because I want to support the people of South Africa and their efforts to eradicate poverty, provide decent jobs and homes, better education and health care. I also want South Africans to have the joy of a win, to celebrate. I think a win today for South Africa celebrates the achievement of ending apartheid; one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century and certainly something celebrate. But ending apartheid great as that was is only half the battle, South and southern Africa wants solidarity and support today to help achieve socio economic transformation.  I hope a win today for South Africa will also lead to even greater solidarity between people, groups and organisations there and here.

Development is not only about tangible things; it is also about being able to enjoy life, enjoy art, music and sport. So my call today is come on Bafana Bafana you can do it.

Posted in: France, France-South Africa, South Africa

Views expressed here are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the World Development Movement.

Here we go. The world cup has begun. After years of hype, speculation and hope, the World Cup, arguably the greatest sporting tournament in the world comes to African soil for the first time.

South Africa will be proud, noisy and euphoric hosts of a month of football at the highest level. A ‘rainbow nation’ welcoming fans and visitors from across the globe, waving the flags of 32 teams who have earned the right to take part. The vuvuzelas will be ringing in our ears long after the final game.

Choosing a team to support on grounds of a favourable justice record is hard. I hadn’t anticipated how hard it would be. Most media outlets, monitoring groups and NGO’s are not in the habit of blowing the trumpets of those who have performed well. Overall, what I found is that nobody is perfect.

However, in the end, the decision became easy. I am an Englishman, and a football fan. I have to be optimistic. So, I have chosen South Africa. Which team and nation has a better opportunity to move forward, out of this tournament, than South Africa? None.

I am supporting progress.
I am supporting optimism.
I am looking forwards.
I am supporting ‘Bafana Bafana’.

South Africa has a unique opportunity. After the segregation of apartheid that has gone before, the country can unite and celebrate how far it has come.

Nelson Mandela, an icon for South Africa, and the world, said in his world cup message,

“The time for the healing of the wounds, has come. The moment to breach the chasms that divides us – has come.”

46 years ago today, during apartheid, Mandela was convicted, along with 7 comrades, of sabotage and sentenced to life imprisonment. Today’s kick-off marks a remarkable shift in the history of South Africa.
The country is far from perfect. Huge inequalities remain. There has been criticism of forced evictions of street traders in the run-up to the world cup, as the country prepares for the eyes of the world. But the tournament, and the team, represents the determination and spirit of the nation, to respect it’s past, and to move forwards with renewed strength, towards a more equal and united rainbow nation.

As Bafana Bafana’s current manager says,

“It is difficult not to be affected by the joy the World Cup has brought to South Africa”.

I have always loved football, although as a Luton Town fan, I’ve seen some ups and downs. It’s fun. It’s controversial. It’s an escape. It’s a chance to shout in unison at a TV with strangers in a pub. It’s made me hug people I’ve never met. I have just seen pictures of people who have never watched football on TV before, cheering on Bafana Bafana. The nation has a chance to unite. That’s why I’m supporting South Africa.

Come on Bafana Bafana! Stranger things have happened… Perhaps its destiny.

Posted in: South Africa, Who am I cheering for?

Views expressed here are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the World Development Movement.

Today is an important day for South Africa, and not just because it’s Bafana Bafana’s second group match of the World Cup against Uruguay. The date has a significant place in the country’s history and the campaign against apartheid and is marked annually with a public holiday to celebrate ‘Youth Day’.

On 16 June 1976 thousands of students from Soweto, a township in Johannesburg, walked from their schools to Orlando Stadium to protest against being made to learn Afrikaans in school. The introduction of compulsory language lessons was part of the overall Bantu education system, which saw separate schools and universities for blacks and whites, with overcrowded classrooms and inadequately trained teachers at black schools.

The students planned a peaceful demonstration and walked singing songs and waving placards. On finding their route blocked by a police barricade they diverted their route so as not to provoke the police. What happened next is unclear, but Colonel Kleingeld who fired the first shot, reported that some children started to throw stones at the police patrol. In response Kleingeld fired a shot from his handgun and chaos broke out.

23 people died that day in what became known as the Soweto Uprising. The most well-known victim was a 12 year old boy called Hector Pietersen. The photograph of the dying boy being carried in the arms of a fellow student and his sister running alongside was published around the world and came to represent the events that happened that day. Over 500 people, many of them youths, were killed in the violence that ensured over the next few weeks, and 1,000 men, women and children were injured.

It took another 18 years until apartheid came to an end in South Africa. In 1994 the country held its first ever democratic elections, and chose Nelson Mandela as its President.

Yet, in 2010 the legacy of apartheid still grips the country, which is evident in WDM’s statistics that rate South Africa only the 28th most supportable team. The country suffers from inequality; there is also a high rate of unemployment and poverty with millions living in townships where conditions are poor. The country also has high HIV prevalence rates, with 2008 figures showing that 16.9 per cent of 15-49 year olds are HIV positive.

But what you don’t see from these figures is the leap the country has made since 1994. The Government has provided electricity, water and sanitation to millions who were previously without. Expenditure on education has increased, and pensions and child benefits are now available to millions, not thousands. The economy has also had the longest period of growth in its history.

These stats also don’t show how South Africa has transformed from a system of apartheid and inequality, to a functioning democracy. Last year it held its fourth democratic elections and has one of the most stable democracies in Africa. The country also has one of the most progressive constitutions in the world and is committed to equality for all its citizens, something seen in the figure of women in government, which stands at 41.1 per cent.

The journey South Africa is on to develop and overcome the legacy of its past is, in many ways, exemplified by the story of Bafana Bafana captain, Aaron Mokoena. Last season he played in the English Premiership for Portsmouth and has carved out a successful career for himself in international football, currently he is South Africa’s most capped player. Yet Mokoena grew up in Boipatong Township near Vanderbijlpark, the site of a massacre in June 1992, when Inkatha party members, aided by the police, killed more than 40 people, in what was rumoured to be an attempt to purge the township of its next generation of men.

Mokoena has said:

“I was still young, only 11 years of age, but I remember the following day that I was on my way to school and people were coming back, crying. That’s when we heard there had been a massacre. It happened at night when people were sleeping. It was awful.

After the massacre, there were a lot of rumours saying that these people wanted to kill the young boys. So my mum had to protect me in any way and she decided to dress me as a girl. She also took me to this community hall where there was enough protection for people from the township, especially the boys.”

I’m supporting South Africa in today’s match because in spite of the many challenges the country still needs to overcome, it has come a long way since 1994 and deserves recognition for that. 34 years ago today black and white South Africans lined up against each other in opposition. This afternoon at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria they will stand together as one in support of their national team. I’m definitely cheering for that.

And then of course there’s the football. Tshabalala scored a cracking goal in the opening game against Mexico and I want to see more of the same. Go on the boys……!

Posted in: South Africa, South Africa-Uruguay, Uruguay

Views expressed here are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the World Development Movement.

Group A

South Africa

The host nation has had some great results recently, including beating Guatemala 5-0. Historically, home nations always do well, with six out of the seven World Cup champions winning on home turf. However, as the lowest-ranked country to ever host a World Cup, South Africa will struggle to make it past the first round.

In the run up to the World Cup, South Africa – 15th in the Who Should I Cheer For rankings – has received criticism over large numbers of evictions of vulnerable people to make room for World Cup infrastructure. War on Want is highlighting these issues through an interactive map of Cape Town.

Mexico

The attack-minded Mexicans, with Manchester United’s recent signing Javier Hernandez and Arsenal’s Carlos Vela, are one of the group favourites. Recent losses against England and The Netherlands have disappointed, but they beat Italy 2-1 in their last match before the World Cup.

Mexico, 28th in the Who Should I Cheer For rankings, spends the least on weapons out of all the countries in the World Cup. In the WDM office we are keen on the Zapatistas – a movement of indigenous people whose ideology, Zapatismo, is a combination of libertarian socialism, anarchism and traditional Mayan thought – with at least two staff members having been to visit them before starting at WDM.

The Zapatistas are vehemently opposed to neo-liberal globalisation, particularly the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which has forced Mexico to end its crop subsidies while not placing similar conditions on the United States. NAFTA also forced Mexico to remove a section in its constitution which guaranteed indigenous people land rights. Their website is in Spanish but works quite well with Google translate if you don’t speak it.

Uruguay

The two-time World Cup winners also have an offensive team with Diego Forlan and Luis Suarez and beat Israel 4-1 in their last match before the World Cup. Only just qualifying after 1-0 win over Costa Rica in the South American play-off match, Uruguay is a bit of a wild card in this group.

Uruguay is the 21st most supportable team in the Who Should I Cheer For rankings and is one of only two countries – Slovakia being the other one – with no women at all in government. Uruguay will forever be remembered as the first ever nation to win the World Cup in 1930.

France

Les Bleus have a great team on paper and must be group favourites. However, they only just qualified through the controversial play off match against Ireland where the referee missed Thierry Henry’s handball.

France is the 18th most supportable team on the Who Should I Cheer For rankings and comes in middle of the table across all the indicators, although we at WDM think they should be shamed for falling short of the OECD’s aid target of 0.7% of GDP.

Group B

Greece

In the Greeks’ only previous appearance at a World Cup was 1994, they lost all their matches and didn’t score a single goal. But they did go on to win the European Championships in 2004. Theo Gekas of Bayer Leverkusen was the leading scorer in the European group stages of qualifying, scoring 10 goals.

It’s difficult to think about Greece at the moment without considering its economic crisis. Last month saw large protests as people feel that the harsh austerity measures imposed by the IMF will mainly affect the poor. Greece is 30th in the Who Should I Cheer For rankings, doing particularly badly on military spending. Perhaps that should be the first thing they cut?

Argentina

2010 sees the return of Maradona as manager of the team he infamously won with as a player in 1986. But will Lionel Messi be able to show the same brilliance that he’s shown all season for Barcelona – where he scored nearly 50 goals – in the World Cup? It remains to be seen. In Argentina – the birthplace of Che Guevara – the Church of Maradona was established in 1998 and now has over 100,000 worshippers.

Nigeria

The poorest country in the World Cup in terms of GDP per person but should have a reasonable chance of getting the second place, especially with new coach Lars Lagerbäck who took Sweden to five successive tournaments 2000 to 2008. Nigeria is the largest country in Africa in terms of population size – every fifth African is Nigerian.

South Korea

South Korea, who will probably be battling it out with Nigeria for the second place in this group, had an amazing run in 2002, beating Portugal in the groups stages before knocking out Spain and Italy on the way to the semi-finals. This year’s team also looks stronger than in 2006 where they got knocked out in the group stages.

South Korea also does badly in the Who Should I Cheer For rankings when it comes to military spending, perhaps countered by the fact that the head of the UN, Ban ki-moon is from the country.

Posted in: France, Group previews, Mexico, South Africa, Uruguay

Views expressed here are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the World Development Movement.

Last night I couldn’t get my 13 year old son to go to bed.  Nothing unusual in that. He was glued to the computer. Not unusual either.  But what was unusual was that he was obsessing over social justice indicators – which countries give most aid to poorer countries (the Netherlands come out pretty well giving 0.82% of their GDP (hooray), compared to the US’s 0.22%) and how many women are in government in Italy compared to South Africa (Italy only have 8.3% (boo!), whilst South Africa have a healthy 41.4%;).

The ‘Who Should I Cheer For?’ rankings generated a lot of thought and discussion about topics that I’m sure most teenage year old boys wouldn’t usually be that interested in.  They also gave us something to think about should the unthinkable happen and our teams get knocked out and we have to think about finding someone else to cheer for.

However with my family supporting 6(!) teams between us, I think we should be alright for a while… Of course we’ll be supporting England as our home team; my eldest son is claiming that his 1/16 Spanish heritage justifies his choice of team as Spain; my Ghanaian heritage and of course the terrible way the ref treated them in the last world cup in their match against Italy, means I will be cheering for the ‘Black Stars’; I still can’t help but support Cameroon even all these years after Roger Miller’s fantastic goal in the 1990 World cup. Then of course there’s Brazil and no matter how hard I try, previous years have shown me that I just can’t help having a sneak peek when they’re playing which always leaves me bedazzled and rooting for the yellow and green magicians.

This year though I think the South African team may steal my heart and support – what a wonderful moment for the nation and Nelson Mandela to be hosting such a major world tournament, having been banned from so many sporting events during the apartheid era. What a fantastic testimony to all the people around the world who went on marches, lobbied their MPs and pushed for a fair South Africa.  It shows just what can happen when people campaign together.

Posted in: Who am I cheering for?

Views expressed here are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the World Development Movement.