Vijay Ramlakal, surgeon-general of the South African Defence Force, talked comfortingly through his government’s security plans for the 2010 World Cup. “We will provide more than a world class service,” he said. “Those are not glib words.” But, of course, they are. It is impossible to provide more than a world class service unless there are tournaments taking place in far-off galaxies that Ramlakal knows to have set new standards of organisation.
“If you thought the Beijing Olympics was tight, you should have seen the 1994 Intergalactic Games. I tell you, those Vulpeculans really know how to put on a show.”
Modern sports administration is full of glib speeches. Glib assurances about security. Glib guarantees of safety such as the one made after the recent terrorist attack on the national team of Togo at the African Cup of Nations.
The essence of these pat pronouncements is encapsulated in football’s stance on Israel. Clearly, Israeli footballers must be free to participate in international tournaments and Israeli clubs must be represented in international competitions.
And from time to time, instability in the region will lead to disquiet with visiting teams and players concerned about safety. This happened when Chelsea were drawn to play Hapeol Tel Aviv in 2001 and six players refused to make the trip.
They may have been misguided and ill-informed but UEFA’s stance at the time – and it remains to this day – is that playing in Israel is no different, no more risky, than playing in any other European country: and that is not true becaue israel is not a European country. Its participation in European events is necessary because it cannot play in Asia. On Israel’s own continent there are opponents that refuse to recognise its existence, or even its right to exist. Beyond logistical impossibility there would be real danger were Israel and Israeli clubs to be entered in Asian competitions.
So its very definition as a European entity suggests Israel is not the same and to claim otherwise is deceitful.
Now that does not mean there is an absence of security at events in Israel, quite the opposite in my experience, and reinventing the country as a European sporting nation remains the best and most practical solution.
But a culture exists in which men in suits airily dismiss legitimate concerns over issues that are beyond their control, and the thin end of this wedge is the refusal to acknowledge the special circumstances of Israel’s participation in European football.
It is a short step from there to announcing that Angola, and its disputed oil-rich exclave Cabinda, is a fine venue for a tournament, or that South Africa can deliver a competition that is literally out of this world.
It is time sports administrators took responsibility and told the truth. Michel Platini, president of UEFA, this week described taking the next European Championships to Poland and Ukraine as a great adventure, which it will be for him as he moves from five-star suite to five-star suite, chauffeur driven to his door. No problems with oversubscribed hotels or inadequate transport for Platini. For the rest, players in particular, adventure should be saved for holidays. At sports events, they just want to be properly looked after by something more tangible than a sound bite.