More than half of football fans in Kenya will watch this year’s games from the comfort of their houses, says survey
By JOSHUA MUTISYA
5 hours ago
With the 2018 Fifa World Cup just days away, more than half of
Kenyans who intend to watch the games say they will do so from the
comfort of their homes, while about a quarter prefer restaurants and
clubs, reveals a survey on viewing habits.
Four in five
sub Saharan Africans aged 15 and above, including a majority of women,
say they will watch the tournament, according to the recent GeoPoll
survey. If they keep their word, the viewership of the tournament that
kicks off in Russia on June 14 will surpass that of the last games in
Brazil in 2014.
About
3.5 billion people watched the 2014 games globally, with African
viewership peaking in the first round match between Nigeria and Iran
that ended in a goalless draw. The match was watched by 25 million
Africans. Although males were consistent in their viewership in all the
matches, females were more interested in watching games that involved
African teams.
This year, NTV has the TV rights to broadcast the World Cup in Kenya.
Fifa sold the TV rights for the last World Cup for about Sh246
billion and made a further Sh171 billion from marketing and licensing
rights. Only about one in Sh9 of the revenue it generated came from
actual ticket sales. This year, NTV has the TV rights to broadcast the
World Cup in Kenya.
There will be five African
countries playing in the tournament namely Senegal, Egypt, Morocco,
Nigeria and Tunisia. The World Cup is being hosted in Europe for the
11th time, the most by any continent. However, only a third of Africans
who took part in the survey identified the participating African
countries by name. South America has hosted the games five times, North
America (three) and Africa and Asia (once each).
Pele’s prediction
Despite
Africa’s passion for football, many of the 39 appearances by African
teams in past World Cups have been lukewarm. Given the good performance
of footballers from Africa in the European leagues, the greatest
footballer of all time Brazilian Pele in 1977 predicted that an African
nation would win the World Cup before the year 2000. He was wrong. Since
the tournament started in 1930, the highest level attained by African
nations was the quarter-finals by Cameroon (1990), Senegal (2002) and
Ghana (2010).
Pele, a three-time World Cup winner,
became the youngest player ever to appear in a World Cup final when he
made his debut in Sweden in 1958 aged just 17. Brazil clinched the
trophy.
Egypt was the first African nation to participate in the World Cup but lost all their matches in the 1934 tournament.
The
year 1990 saw the first African nation, Cameroon, reach the quarter
finals. The team was filled with players from Cameroonian domestic
league led by an unknown coach. In that match, England scored first
before Cameroon came back with two goals to take the lead. However, in
the 82nd minute, England were awarded a penalty which they scored taking
the game to extra time. Another penalty was given to England in the
105th minute with the match ending 3-2 in their favour.
The
most memorable moment was in Milan, where the nine-man team beat Diego
Maradona captained Argentina 1-0. Two Cameroonian players were
red-carded in the match. The mesmerising Maradona, who had scored the
goal of the century in the World Cup four years earlier and won the
Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player, would later praise
Cameroon.
The star of the Cameroon team was football
legend Roger Milla., who had been recalled from retirement at age 38 at
the request of then Cameroonian President Paul Biya to boost the team’s
morale.
It would take another two World Cups for another African team,
Senegal, to reach the quarter finals. In 2002, Senegal lost 1-0 to
Turkey in extra time by the golden goal rule, in the quarters. Under
this rule, a match that had gone into extra time after the initial 90
minutes of play would be determined by the first goal to be scored. The
rule would later be abolished by the International Football Association
Board, in 2004, marking a return to the 30 minutes extra time and
penalties. Ghana too reached the quarter finals of 2010 World Cup in
South Africa, but were defeated by Uruguay in a dramatic match. The
Black Stars had an obvious goal denied when Uruguayan player Luis Suarez
blocked it through a handball in the 119th minute. He was red-carded
for the offence but Ghanaian striker Asamoah Gyan had his shot hit the
post, taking the game into penalty shootouts. Ghana lost 4-2.
Kenya
has never featured in the World Cup, with the furthest Harambee Stars
have gone in international football being the African Cup of Nations in
2004. “There are two ways in which you get to the World Cup,” says Nick
Mwendwa, the Football Kenya Federation President. “One, is you have a
golden generation like Senegal had in 2002. Two, is to work from
grassroots for many years to develop the talent and expertise required
to get there.”
Samba style
Brazil
is the most decorated team in the World Cup, having participated in all
the 20 tournaments and won five trophies, the most of any country.
Three of the wins were outside their continent, South America. The
country has also produced the highest number of top goal scorers in the
competition at five, and outstanding players. Famed for their immense
pool of talent, and their entertaining Ginga and Samba style of football
that entails fast flowing attacking football and creativity, Brazil
gained global admiration from football fans. Italy and Germany each have
four trophies, followed by Uruguay and Argentina each with two. The
only other country that has won outside its continent is Spain when they
lifted the World Cup trophy in South Africa.
Cameroon
has featured seven times in the World Cup, the most of any African
country, followed by Nigeria (six), Morocco and Tunisia (five each) and
Algeria (four). South Africa, Ghana, Egypt and Ivory Coast have appeared
three times each, Senegal (two) and Zaire, Angola, and Togo one each.
The count includes this year’s appearances.
Brazil,
Germany and Spain are favourites in this year’s games, according to
football pundits and several surveys, including the GeoPoll one.
Africa’s participation in the World Cup is usually accompanied by drama and colour, from training boycotts to unique celebrations to political interference.
Africa’s participation in the World Cup is usually accompanied by drama and colour, from training boycotts to unique celebrations to political interference.
Who can forget the memorable colourful
celebrations by African teams, from the makossa dance by Roger Milla in
the 1990 World Cup to the seven celebratory somersault show by Nigeria’s
Julius Aghahowa in 2002, and the Azonto dance by Ghana in the 2010
World Cup.
Mobutu’s warning
But
it is not always all joy at the tournament. In 1971, Zaire (now
Democratic Republic of Congo) made their debut in the tournament but
received a thrashing, prompting President Mobutu Sese Seko to issue a
warning to the team. After being defeated 9-0 by Yugoslavia, Mobutu
warned the team that they would not be allowed back into the country if
they would be beaten four goals and more by Brazil. He had rewarded the
players for qualifying to the World Cup each with a car and a house. The
team was beaten 3-0 by Brazil.
During the match, Zaire’s Mwepu Ilunga, sprinted from the free
kick wall and kicked the ball away, in protest for President Mobutu’s
reluctance to pay the players their bonuses.
In 2014,
Ghanaian players boycotted training and threatened to walk out of the
tournament due to unpaid bonuses, prompting the government through the
Ghana Football Association to fly in about Sh304 million in cash to the
players. The Super Eagles of Nigeria too had a similar incident, which
forced then
President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene,
assuring senior players that their bonuses would be paid. The
Indomitable Lions of Cameroon failed to board the plane to Brazil due to
money issues, but later did, arriving a day late.
The
first African footballer to score at the World Cup was Abdulrahman
Fawzi of Egypt in the 1934 games. Ghana’s Asamoah Gyan is the leading
goal scorer in the tournament, having scored six times. Globally, the
top goal scorer is Germany’s Miroslav Klose, who netted 16 goals
followed closely by retired Brazilian striker Ronaldo (15).
Cameroon’s
Roger Milla is the oldest goal scorer in the tournament, scoring
against the US in a 6-1 defeat in 1994 at the age of 42.
A total of 2,379 goals have been scored, according to Fifa World Cup All Time Statistics. The most goals per match scored were in 1954 in Switzerland, which saw an average of five goals scored per game. The least goals scored per match were in the 1990, 2006 and 2010 competitions where an average of two goals were netted per match.
A total of 2,379 goals have been scored, according to Fifa World Cup All Time Statistics. The most goals per match scored were in 1954 in Switzerland, which saw an average of five goals scored per game. The least goals scored per match were in the 1990, 2006 and 2010 competitions where an average of two goals were netted per match.
This
year’s competition kicks off when hosts Russia play Saudi Arabia in
Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium on June 14. After a total of 64 matches played
in 12 venues across 11 different Russian cities, the champions will be
crowned in the same arena on 15 July.
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