Soccer For Long Was White Poem by Aniruddha Pathak

The Meet1 was charged and informal besides,
Where protean points came to be presented
The Soccer Cup's host nation among brides,
The Proteans talked more from heart than head.

Silent and speechless did the slide show speak,
Screen showing world map in varied colour,
Eighteen host nations had savoured the hour,
Black and white strips now awaiting a pick.

World's every land mass had had its moment
Of glory, Soccer World Cup once to host,
Save Africa, one single continent—
The point on those that decide was not lost.

All Africa— north to south, east to west,
Showed was in black, with a border in white,
A point on apartheid's evil was prest,
Subtlety worked; the Meet's mind was made quite.

This happened six agonising years back,
The vote had moved Mandela when to tears.
Of all the sports soccer no peers did lack,
It always nudged nations on to high gears.

And that is what Mandela had in mind—
That, black-white hexagons can't live afar,
Let lines of apartheid be redefined,
Let every nation get a spot in star.

So how had Africa a statement made,
Whether or not coveted Cup it wins:
We too deserve glory painted in red,
The will then had its way— money, nor means.
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This poem was born on the eve of Soccer World Cup in South Africa in June 2010.

1. The Meet: This was a meeting in Zurich in 2004 to choose the nation to host the Soccer World Cup six years from then. South Africa was one of the claimants. ______________________________________________________
Happenings | 03.06.10 |