The world will on Thursday night witness football’s biggest scene in the class of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil despite the potential of strikes, says Robert Marawa, one of South Africa’s top radio and TV soccer anchors.
“There are all those issues that hover around, but trust me, when it comes to the football side – like South Africa had with the Confederations Cup, the match will happen,” says Marawa.
“The strikes were isolated, but the world today will see a football match and a glorious World Cup.”
Marawa has also lambasted the international media trend of indulging in piling a lot of negative publicity on host nations, a trend that took place prior to the World Cup in SA.
“You know what, the news media channels are going to run with all those stories, they ran with whatever they wanted to run with, which was going to paint that negative picture (on South Africa). In all, South Africa got on with the World Cup,” he says.
SABC Deputy Sports Editor Janet Whitton, who has also expressed her vote of confidence in the success of the biggest football spectacle on the globe, says, “Yes, there are problems with Brazil, but I am still fairly confident that the games will actually happen. The World Cup is not going to get cancelled. The games will happen.”
Whitton and Marawa jointly sung the praises of the legacy the 2010 FIFA World Cup left for South Africa.
Meanwhile, Soccer Analyst Coudjoe Amankwah has also hailed the presence of the continent’s five countries – Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Algeria – that will be representing Africa in the four-week long World Cup.
He says Cameroon, who find themselves in a very tough group with Brazil, will do well against Mexico in their opening game.
In what is expected to be the most watched game on Thursday night, favourites and five-time champions Brazil will lock horns with Croatia in an opening match at 10pm, Central African Time. – Edited by Ishmael Mohlabe
For more with Coudjoe and Marawa, click on the audio below:
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