Why should a football match between West Bromwich and Tottenham matters more for Eritreans than a quarter final between the giants of West Africa Nigeria and Ivory Coast in the African cup of nations? I am enjoying the African cup of nations which is taking place in South Africa right now. Our neighbours, the Ethiopians, have participated in the tournament for the first time after 31 years. I was not able to see any of their matches as it was not sent on Eritrean TV but I have followed the other matches and teams attentively.
The Ethiopians had a pretty mediocre tournament in this 29th edition of nation’s cup. They drew one all to Zambia but lost 4-0 and 2-0 to both Burkina Faso and Nigeria respectively. These two teams have made it to the semifinals together with Mali and Ghana which is one of the favorites to win the tournament this time. The other favorite team was Ivory Coast which was eliminated by Nigeria in the quarter finals. I do not miss the host Bafana Bafana South Africa which lost to Mali on penalty shootouts the other day. Mali against Nigeria and Burkina Faso against Ghana are going to fight it out in the semifinals on Wednesday. The nation’s cup has not made any breakthrough in Eritrea at all. People seem to care less about it than the Barclays premier league, to my dismay and disappointment. Pan-Africanism is not the number one priority among the population as yet. They have other issues of like making ends meet instead.
The premier league should not be as big as it is here in Eritrea. You will find cinemas and TV-places where they show the English league even in small communities and villages. It is amazing how English football is engaging many Eritreans. It was frustrating to find a place in Keren yesterday as they were showing West Bromwich against Tottenham everywhere instead of the quarter finals between Nigeria and Ivory Coast in the nation’s cup. I was very much worried not to miss the match between the African giants and walked throughout Keren looking for bars and restaurants to see the match but it was entirely in vain. I thought that the TV in my hotel room did not have the sport channel except for the national Eri-TV. I did not even figure out that I could search it on the TV but I and the restaurant steward at Keren hotel where I stayed went up to my room and searched for the right sport channel two and found it after some efforts, to my relief and joy. The quality of the pictures was not of a world class but I could follow the match reasonably well even if I was a bit sleepy.
The question of why Eritreans care more about English teams in general and Arsenal (the gunners) in particular is the million dollar question. I keep on asking them what the special thing is with this team. Their answers of course vary but many say Arsenal plays the best football in the world and it is the team which is deprived of justice by the referees as much as Eritrea lacks that stuff in the international arena. Diverting your attention from everyday stress and worries is a normal human behaviour but why the English league is supposed to be the best and the most exciting in the world is a bad joke and a mysterious myth for me. The answer is probably nowhere to be found. Some things just fascinate us without any tangible reasons especially when it comes to favourite teams in football. What I do not like most is the preference for a foreign league instead of encouraging the domestic league which is barely attended by that many people these days. The English league is killing Eritrean soccer.
The comparison between arsenal and the Eritrean struggle is pretty funny and ironic because the ball is round and anything can happen on a pitch in a football match unlike the politics of the belly on a global scale. I say Glory to the African cup of nations. I hope Mali takes it for the first time!
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