This Sporting Life
02 March, 2011
“Dictator wins. Unity comes last.” Nobody watching seemed too concerned. They applauded and then turned their attention to the next race. Few at the Khartoum racecourse in early February seemed to notice the names of the .JPG)
two horses.
For me it was the first time at what was, and probably still is, Africa’s third largest race-course, even if it is a little less active than in the days before betting was banned and when Arab buyers came to Khartoum to snap up highly prized Darfuri thoroughbreds. Today the horses are still wonderful, the riders skilled and standards as high as when the Queen visited in 1965, nine years after Independence.
Going to the races while the Arab world seethes may seem an odd thing to do. But I have been in Sudan less than a year and am still fitting pieces together. It’s a confusing but beautiful mosaic.
Every journey or day out adds a little bit more. And one thing leads to another. A tribal leader, whose father was the President of Khartoum Racecourse in 1965, comes to tea to show me some photos of the visit and to renew his contact with the British. His grandfather had rendered good service over 100 years ago. He comes with the father of a distinguished UK-Sudanese broadcaster. From both I learn a lot about Sudan past and, above all, present.
Learning is important for an ambassador, but probably even more so for politicians in these turbulent times. The regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya have gone through (and failed) a crash course in modern politics. They did not understand, until too late, that well-educated, hard-working young men and women will no longer put up with unaccountable and non-representative governments. They demand a say in who governs them and how. There are lessons for all from the past few weeks. In Sudan the media is doing an excellent job supporting that learning process.
Columnists are addressing previously taboo topics, such as corruption, Presidential terms and the system of government. At a recent gathering for editors of Sudan’s newspapers, I heard one speak of the need for accelerated .JPG)
evolution not revolution.
And time is moving fast. The countdown to Southern independence on 9 July barely goes noticed when competing for attention with events elsewhere. Progress on detailed agreements between politicians is slower than had been hoped. They risk lagging behind the people. North and South, in whatever sphere you look, the people are ahead of their leaders in advocating uniquely close ties.
I witnessed this at a different kind of sports event last week: the final of the Sudan Kids Football League played between teams of under-14s from Juba and Khartoum. Sponsored by the British Council and the Embassy this was a small piece of history coming the day after the African Football Union agreed to the formation of a South Sudan Football Association.
What touched me most was the open-hearted way in which the Director of the Sudanese Football Academy assured his southern colleagues that Khartoum’s facilities and coaches would always be there for them.
The complexities of the Sudanese mosaic hit me when I heard about Sudan’s successful women’s soccer team and met one of its coaches: her father is from the deep South and mother from Wadi Halfa in the far North. Where she’ll deploy her talents remains to be seen. But I’m confident football will continue to bring people together in the future.
One final sporting note. Khartoum last Friday held the final of CHAN (the African national football championship). Sudan deserves credit for hosting well a major international competition. And the winner was..? Tunisia. A good result.
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