World Cup, Nepalis and Handigaun ko Jatra

So the FIFA World Cup has reached its climax and this time we will have a new champion. It will be refreshing not to see either of the Brazilians, Italians and the Germans lifting the coveted trophy once again.

Any team that beats Brazil deserves a place in the final and I couldn’t be happier for the Dutch team. However, Spain has played magnificent football in recent years and I would be surprised if they struggled to win their first world title. Present Spanish national team is the manifestation of the silky, stylish football one of their great clubs, Barcelona has been playing in most parts of this decade. Only a special manager like Jose Mourinho could mastermind a win against the Spanish side, but Bert van Marwijk is no Mourinho.

As the Spaniards have regained their typical form after a shaky start of their campaign against Switzerland, I can only see the Dutch hearts being broken for the third time in the World Cup finale. Not even if Paul, the Octopus took Holland’s side, I reckon.

Success in the World Cup didn’t come easy for Spain, Holland and Germany. Dutch clubs like Ajax of Amsterdam are renowned for producing great talents from their youth academy. Spanish and German football associations were investing heavily to fund and develop youth football at the local level, when the English premiere league outfits were dominating European club competitions with the help of countless foreign players. How soon could the table be turned around? While Spain and Holland are contesting the World Cup final, the much hyped English team returned home with an embarrassing defeat against an inexperienced German side, whose coach was branded as running scared by the British Press.

England fans can now only hope that the FA will appoint an English coach, recruit young players and inject investments in football development programmes across the country to prepare for the next two World Cups.

Exasperating enthusiasm?

Despite hundreds of seats left empty during the early matches and the sound of Vuvuzela constantly annoying the spectators, the World Cup has been a success for Africa so far. All the doubts about the continent’s ability to host the World Cup have been erased. Ghana may have been the only team to progress to the next rounds, but all the African teams performed respectably in the competition characterised by inconsistencies and upsets.

Western media have been able to highlight some of the problems the poor are facing in the democratic South Africa. With football, economy is also being talked about. If only a fraction of the South Africans living in poverty benefit from this World Cup, it will leave a lasting legacy.

But for me, the highlight of this World Cup has been, dare I say, the vulgar craze shown by us, Nepalis (me included) for the competition we have no stake upon whatsoever. Let alone qualifying for the world cup finals, Nepal has never gone beyond the first round of the qualifying competitions. Of late, we have been battered by South Asian minnows like Bangladesh and Pakistan. We are ranked at 161 by FIFA.

Yet, I have not seen anyone making louder noise than fellow Nepalis during these tournaments. Our media are covering stories of the World Cup every hour, 24/7. Kantipur radio gives more airtime to World Cup than Virgin radio. You might see more people in Kathmandu clad with Argentina Tee Shirts than in Buenos Aires. My Nepalese friends are more saddened by the loss of England than my English friends. Facebook pages are flooded with World Cup predictions, expressions of joys and sadness for the win and loss of our favourite teams; banters turning into internet wars at times. Kunda Dixit couldn’t have put it better.

Everyone is talking about football, even the ones who have never touched football in their lives. A leftist writer even took the opportunity to pay tribute to North Korea after their resolute display against Brazil.

Big screens have been installed at many places. Pubs and Bars are said to be jam packed. There are preparations to show the World Cup in big screens in the country’s national stadium, charging hundreds of Rupees for each ticket.

Would it ever be possible to do the same in the Wembley Stadium? Would English people be ripped off in the name of the World Cup unless their national team were playing in the Final? I don’t think so.

All this razzmatazz at a time when the country is facing countless crises. Perhaps they will look for a new Prime Minister after the World Cup is over.

Nowhere has the storm of the World Cup arrived as much as in Nepal. Nepalis have been eating, sleeping (during day, as matches are shown during nights) and excreting football. The country is literally in a World Cup stalemate. I can’t wait to see this madness end. Tatto na Chharo.

[Handigaunko Jatra: A strange procession performed in a Nepalese village called Handigaun. In a normal procession, a deity is crowned on his/her head. Instead, the crest is placed underneath the deity installed on the chariot for this procession.]