This commentary was published in al-Hayat on 27/03/2011
The growing interest in the soccer game between Morocco and Algeria is quite interesting especially in light of the hot games that are currently taking place between the opponents of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and the remnants of his supporters. Escaping to a space of sports games is less sad and painful to watch than the series of merciless killing. However, the Moroccans and Algerians who had confronted each other in the spaces of ongoing political disputes are fighting on the sports level this time, through a game that is deemed crucial by both teams.
No tracks are kept for victories and failures in the sports field because good sportsmanship accepts positive as well as negative results. However, [the victories and failures] allow for the testing of the popular tendencies. Indeed, in times of depression, people get excited about any victory, even if it is a sports related one. Ever since the two neighboring countries started having their differences in the mid-1970s, the sports competitions started to go off track; although sports competitions are normally supposed to reflect man’s ability to challenge nature and prove his skills, all the while accounting for considerations where money, politics and sportsmanship intertwine.
Morocco and Algeria represent an exception to the effect of border closure at a time where [borders] are no longer subjected to any obstacles as people and goods move [freely] on the banks of the sweeping globalization where there is no place for seclusion. In addition, there are always differences between the officials of the two countries, whether on the level of the dealing with the desert conflict, or on the level of the approaches for confronting illegal emigration and global terrorism. Facts have shown that declaring animosity almost precedes thinking about common grounds or crucial challenges.
This is exactly where the negative repercussions of any kind of estrangement appear. The most obvious repercussion is that the logic of the differences, which controls the popular ramifications, is no longer confined to the political structure, as it has gone beyond them and has established psychological and social barriers between the two neighboring populaces. And when non-governmental organizations – such as the Union of the Maghreb Writers and the Syndical Centers in North Africa – as well as the cooperation fields between the Moroccan businessmen used to constitute a breathing space that enhances understanding and agreement, things have now stooped as low as to allow the political decision makers to monopolize the public directions. Amid these unnatural situations, it was only natural that the sports competitions would be affected by the splinters of the differences in light of a growing feeling that the conflict now encompasses every field.
One can possibly understand the conflicts caused by the desire to host major sports competitions – such as the African Nations Cup or the World Cup, where the Maghreb had been unlucky ever since the 1990s – since this entails competitions with economic, commercial, and media related dimensions. However, it is unacceptable for those sports competitions – which represent a means for brotherhood, coexistence and peace – to turn into something else. There are fears concerning a potential problem in the Sunday game which will be hosted by Algeria because there have been instances where sports derailed off their natural track and caused crises in the relationships between the countries, especially the Arab ones.
Perhaps American President Nixon is the one who once made a bet on opening up to the rebelling China by launching a sports dialogue through tennis. However, this picture was tainted by another kind of tendency, in the same way that the relations between Morocco and South Africa suffered from degradation when the latter received the honor of hosting the World Cup during the last year. And although the sports competition ended, the dispute concerning the desert issue between Morocco and South Africa actually increased. However, the Moroccans and the Algerians can thaw some of their differences on the sports level as long as they are unable to thaw them through the Maghreb structure or at a bilateral level.
Soccer failures teach people how to modify plans and how to replace players and even coaches. However, political failures are met with fewer reactions. There is no greater failure than to revert to estrangement especially that the wind of a global change is blowing on the region of North Africa. One must go along by modifying one’s mentality mainly by giving soccer games their natural size as a test for capacities and skills, no more and no less. Congratulations for those who win or lose while preserving a high sportsmanship.
The growing interest in the soccer game between Morocco and Algeria is quite interesting especially in light of the hot games that are currently taking place between the opponents of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and the remnants of his supporters. Escaping to a space of sports games is less sad and painful to watch than the series of merciless killing. However, the Moroccans and Algerians who had confronted each other in the spaces of ongoing political disputes are fighting on the sports level this time, through a game that is deemed crucial by both teams.
No tracks are kept for victories and failures in the sports field because good sportsmanship accepts positive as well as negative results. However, [the victories and failures] allow for the testing of the popular tendencies. Indeed, in times of depression, people get excited about any victory, even if it is a sports related one. Ever since the two neighboring countries started having their differences in the mid-1970s, the sports competitions started to go off track; although sports competitions are normally supposed to reflect man’s ability to challenge nature and prove his skills, all the while accounting for considerations where money, politics and sportsmanship intertwine.
Morocco and Algeria represent an exception to the effect of border closure at a time where [borders] are no longer subjected to any obstacles as people and goods move [freely] on the banks of the sweeping globalization where there is no place for seclusion. In addition, there are always differences between the officials of the two countries, whether on the level of the dealing with the desert conflict, or on the level of the approaches for confronting illegal emigration and global terrorism. Facts have shown that declaring animosity almost precedes thinking about common grounds or crucial challenges.
This is exactly where the negative repercussions of any kind of estrangement appear. The most obvious repercussion is that the logic of the differences, which controls the popular ramifications, is no longer confined to the political structure, as it has gone beyond them and has established psychological and social barriers between the two neighboring populaces. And when non-governmental organizations – such as the Union of the Maghreb Writers and the Syndical Centers in North Africa – as well as the cooperation fields between the Moroccan businessmen used to constitute a breathing space that enhances understanding and agreement, things have now stooped as low as to allow the political decision makers to monopolize the public directions. Amid these unnatural situations, it was only natural that the sports competitions would be affected by the splinters of the differences in light of a growing feeling that the conflict now encompasses every field.
One can possibly understand the conflicts caused by the desire to host major sports competitions – such as the African Nations Cup or the World Cup, where the Maghreb had been unlucky ever since the 1990s – since this entails competitions with economic, commercial, and media related dimensions. However, it is unacceptable for those sports competitions – which represent a means for brotherhood, coexistence and peace – to turn into something else. There are fears concerning a potential problem in the Sunday game which will be hosted by Algeria because there have been instances where sports derailed off their natural track and caused crises in the relationships between the countries, especially the Arab ones.
Perhaps American President Nixon is the one who once made a bet on opening up to the rebelling China by launching a sports dialogue through tennis. However, this picture was tainted by another kind of tendency, in the same way that the relations between Morocco and South Africa suffered from degradation when the latter received the honor of hosting the World Cup during the last year. And although the sports competition ended, the dispute concerning the desert issue between Morocco and South Africa actually increased. However, the Moroccans and the Algerians can thaw some of their differences on the sports level as long as they are unable to thaw them through the Maghreb structure or at a bilateral level.
Soccer failures teach people how to modify plans and how to replace players and even coaches. However, political failures are met with fewer reactions. There is no greater failure than to revert to estrangement especially that the wind of a global change is blowing on the region of North Africa. One must go along by modifying one’s mentality mainly by giving soccer games their natural size as a test for capacities and skills, no more and no less. Congratulations for those who win or lose while preserving a high sportsmanship.
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