National News
Africa joins World Cup party
2010-06-18 14:06
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Blantyre – Kamudo Yohane had never seen a screen as big as the 54cm television set up in a shantytown outside Blantyre, where hundreds of people huddle to watch World Cup matches.
"I've never seen anything like live television on the big screen," the vendor said. "We are seeing all this because the World Cup is happening in Africa for the first time. That's great."
It's an experience shared across Africa, as people gather around any available television to share the euphoria experienced in far richer South Africa.
Television only came to Malawi in 1999, and it remains a luxury in one of the world's poorest countries.
World football governing body FIFA has signed a deal to ensure games are broadcast in 41 of the continent's 54 countries, but less than half of Africans have electricity, much less televisions.
Settle for television
Zimbabwe and Tanzania lured Brazil to play friendlies before the World Cup, but most African fans have to settle for televisions like the one set up in a Harare football field for the opening match.
Many Zimbabweans stayed home after officials promised steady electricity through the tournament. A blackout hit much of Harare during the opener.
In Guinea, the capital was braced for riots if Conakry's frequent blackouts interrupted a game, said Ibrahima Bah, a 23-year-old radio station intern.
"But fortunately we've had electricity for all the matches so far," he said.
In Sierra Leone, employers already complain workers aren't showing up. Streets are deserted at game time as fans head to restaurants and cafes, especially if Ghana or Nigeria are playing.
Disappointed
"We are disappointed with the performance of Cameroon as we thought they would have been a formidable team and beat Japan," says taxi driver Osman Conteh.
Indomitable Lions supporters in Yaounde still believe Cameroon can pull it off, said Yves Ekotto, but even here the pan-African spirit runs strong.
"Africa is proving that it can organise a World Cup. I'm thrilled. I hope that an African team, any team, will win the tournament," he said in his Lions jersey.
Nigerians have been arriving two hours early to get good seats at viewing centres, which have raised their admission prices by 25% as their popularity grows.
In Gambia, fans spill into the streets singing and dancing for African teams.
Football banned
The only country to miss the party is Somalia, where the Shebab movement that controls most of the country has banned playing and watching football.
Few on the world's poorest continent could actually afford tickets.
"There's no way I could do it in terms of money, travel expenses and so on," said Aurelio Mahanjane, a 24-year-old who lives in a rough bricks and metal sheeting home outside the Mozambican capital Maputo.
Host city Nelspruit is just three hours away from him, but the cheapest tickets cost $70 – nearly five times his monthly salary at a youth centre.
People from Zimbabwe and Lesotho who did make the trek to the border sometimes came back disappointed at new immigration rules that limit temporary travel documents, used by many in the region instead of passports.
Carnival
But even in the remote town of Oshakati in northern Namibia, the World Cup was celebrated like carnival, said Panduleni Shivute, a local shopkeeper.
"When Ghana won on Sunday, the sound of vuvuzelas could be heard in Oshakati and people spontaneously formed motorcades, hooting and waiving flags amidst the deafening noises of these funny trumpets that sound like an elephant," she said.
As the only African team to win a game yet, Ghana is celebrating in force, with the streets of Accra festooned with flags while fans sport jerseys amidst drumming and dancing at game time.
"I still have the hope that an African country will make it to at least the semi-finals, which is unprecedented in the history of African football," said Emmanuel Foli, a University of Ghana student.
"It is Africa's time to make history and we must not fail to achieve glory."