From Brazil with lessons for all

The football World Cup is well under way in Brazil and so far has lived up to expectations. It has had the usual thrills and controversies, the unexpected as well as the predictable, the sublime and the dull – the whole lot. But each World Cup finals brings a peculiar element to the occasion. South Africa 2010 gave us the vuvuzela with its relentless and monotonous buzz. Some (mainly from the West) found the sound so annoying that vuvuzelas were expressly banned from Brazil 2014. Brazil has given us a giant-killing spectacle to rival the Biblical David and Goliath contest. And how the fans love that! The reigning kings were dethroned with such ease that surprised, even embarrassed, the pretenders to the throne. The Spanish gave away their crown without much of a fight. The originators of the game, but who have no patent rights to it, will soon be on their way to their wet island and regroup for the next attempt at reclaiming some rights to their invention. Brazil 2014 has revealed football to be a great leveller with little regard for power and status. The giants of the game are not having it all their way. The minnows (there are no more such) are enjoying their ability to cause the big guys great discomfort. The fans are loving it! They are enjoying seeing the little guys punch life out of the big ones. They find it even more satisfying when there is a knock out and the big fellows stay down for the full count. And so tiny Costa Rica (few knew it existed before this month and fewer can place it on a map) felled football aristocrats Uruguay and Italy. That feat cannot have been a fluke. I will not be surprised if they floor England, too. Croatia (population 4.4 million) gave hosts and favourites Brazil a mighty scare and, except for some questionable refereeing, could have shared the spoils. Iran held mighty Argentina for the 90 minutes and even threatened to beat them. Some say that dodgy refereeing robbed them of the opportunity to cause a major upset. It needed Messi magic to put down the stubborn Iranians and this was in stoppage time. Iran is famous (or infamous) for many things but football is not one of them. Of course it loves rattling the Western nations and causing them so much unease, and has a particular penchant for poking its fingers into Uncle Sam’s eyes. Also, it cannot stand the sight or mention of Israel. Exploits on the football field revealed another, likeable side of Iran. Ghana were a huge test for the powerful Germans. They matched them in their passes, shots and goals and could even have won the match. The Germans were lucky to come away with a draw. Australia, too, gave the Dutch a run-around before succumbing. Had it been rugby or cricket, the outcome would have been a different story. One of the big boys is likely to win the World Cup, but in Brazil 2014 nothing is predictable and naught can be taken for granted. And Brazil 2014 has some useful lessons on why the supposed minnows are achieving such feats. One of them we have always known. Football is the only game where the mighty and the lowly compete on equal terms (well, in a manner of speaking). Some of its greatest champions who have been raised to the status of gods honed their skills in the dusty streets and footpaths of rural villages, favellas or slums of the big cities. They did not acquire them on the well-kept fields of upmarket areas or elite schools. Others, we are seeing now in the giant-killing stadia of Brazil. The teams have shown tremendous fighting spirit, a passion and desire to win, to be the best. The best of them know that national pride is at stake. Individual reputations are on the line. And lucrative contracts await. Why are these qualities so lacking in other undertakings, especially in Africa? If we showed the same passion and competitive spirit in business, in the way we go about our politics and doing our jobs, in academia we would be way up there with the richest and powerful and not being bossed about. For the less known nations to take on the best and think they can floor them requires great self-belief. That has been in evidence. To actually do that demands more – individual skills, discipline, team effort and a common vision. As far as the African teams are concerned, where all these have been in evidence, the teams have been successful. Where they have been lacking, the teams have been shown an early exit. The football teams in Brazil have shown us how and what it takes to win. You must have a winning mentality. You must want to be the best and achieve the most. That means having the desire to do well and the passion for what one is doing. It means putting the collective interest first. Football may be the most unlikely source of information, but it offers lessons no one can ignore – certainly not politicians, businesspeople and policy-makers. Twitter: @jrwagatare

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From Brazil with lessons for all