It's a funny old game

Let's pile on the the cliches; we are talking football after all. That game of two halves. The one where things always seem to be up there and probably at the end of the day! It's been described as a game that is't a matter of life and death, it's more important than that. Maybe it is, probably it isn't. Nevertheless, these days, many a manager mangles words like a would be philosopher while the stars of the pitch are schooled to deliver non-committal, controversy-free press conference performances a politician would be proud of. Taking their cue, this post will touch a little on the political and philosophical, which I hope makes up for the lack of anything more important.


Tonight I played a little game. I typed 'Bosnia news' into Google, determined that I would blog about the first link it served up under its 'News for Bosnia news' heading. That was this link from ESPN Soccernet. I was the story I expected.


Although I've been aware of this story for a while I don't claim to have any inside track on any facts, so this piece should be read as nothing more than a breezy bit of opinion from the blogosphere. I know enough to know the footballing situation is complicated and not easy for the casual observer to understand. It goes without saying this too is a reflection of the political situation.


Under the headline 'Bosnia and Herzegovina facing ban' the article explains that the national team may be suspended from international competition. This is not for any misdemeanours on the pitch, nor for anything untoward going on in the stands. Instead it is because the country's footballing hierarchy reflects the political system that governs BiH. There are two football associations in the country with three presidents between them. FIFA and UEFA announced in October 2010 that if they could not organise themselves into one association with one president by the end of March 2011 they would be suspended on April 1st. That's no joke.


With all the fanfare FIFA made about taking to football to new places with the way it awarded the hosting of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups it seems strange to be talking about them taking it away somewhere else. It is, as they say, a funny old game.

Comments

don't get me started on this... it won't be pretty.

However, as I understand it, most people seem to think that it won't be for long. I do hope not.

PS - loving the Man City are experiencing some of the Bosnian flavour with Dzeko turning out in the sky blue..

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