2013: The Year That Was

Image credits: Gene Hunt

Another year is nearly over, and whether it’s been a good one for you or not such a good one, it has been undeniably eventful. To say our final goodbyes to 2013, Online Features Editor Imogen Watson refresh your memory of some of the year’s biggest and most interesting events, month by month.

January

The New Year never sees an end to the previous year’s events, and 2013 was no different, with ongoing conflicts in Syria, and the Central African Republic continuing to rage on.

Back here in the United Kingdom, the joint report between the Metropolitan Police and the NSPCC into the Jimmy Savile affair was released, announcing the recording of some 214 criminal offences of sexual abuse on Savile’s part over 54 years and across 28 different police regions in the country. Jim Davidson, another television presenter, was also arrested under Operation Yewtree – the investigation into the scandals – although no further action has been taken against him.

Internationally, Google Maps was able to expand its map coverage of North Korea, detailing labour camps and landmarks.

February

Pope Benedict XVI.
Image credits: zoutedrop

 

Despite its reputation as being just a little bit dull, February was quite the interesting month. A meteor struck over Russia at nearly 60 times the speed of sound, exploding over Chelyabinsk nearly 14.5 miles above the ground, releasing between 20 and 30 times more kinetic energy than Hiroshima and injuring nearly 1500 people.

Four days previously, although it’s likely unconnected, Pope Benedict XVI announced his resignation from his position at the head of the Roman Catholic Church – the first to do so since 1415 – citing his strengths as “no longer suited to… the Petrine ministry”. Others have suspected intra-Vatican power struggles as more likely for the shock abdication.

And how could we leave February behind without mentioning the horsemeat scandal? Maybe you have got over it now we’ve made it into December or perhaps you’re still a tad cautious, but back in February 2013 there was outrage when it turned out everyone’s beef lasagnes were actually horse…

March

Demilitarised zone between North and South Korea.
Image credits: kalleboo

 

March saw North Korea in the news again for making nuclear threats against the United States, having claimed to have tested nuclear weapons in mid-February. They withdrew from all non-aggression pacts with South Korea, stated they were closing their borders and cutting off its hotline to the Southern part of the peninsula – the last method of communication between the two countries. Later in the month, it launched a cyber-attack and then declared a state of war against South Korea, promising “stern physical actions” in response to “any provocative act”. The North Korean crisis, as termed by the media, continues…

April

It’s possible that April could not have been a busier month had it tried.

Here in Britain on 8 April it was announced that the only female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, had died at the age of 87 after a stroke. A controversial figure, Baroness Thatcher caused plenty of debates in death as in life, including the cost of her funeral (held on 17 April) and who should fund it (the coverage of which you can read here).

Baroness Thatcher’s coffin being put into the hearse.
Image credits: Joshua Irwandi

On the 15 April 2013, two bombs exploded at the Boston Marathon in Massachusetts, USA, killing three and injuring approximately 264 others. Later, a police officer was killed by gunshot wounds. A terrorist attack, the FBI began their hunt for the suspects, who were quickly identified after the release of photo and surveillance footage. In a very American style, a manhunt began for the two suspects Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, brothers of Russian nationality, who were later arrested and await trial.

In late April, an eight-storey building in Savar, Dhaka, Bangladesh collapsed killing over 1100 people and injuring 2515. One woman was pulled out alive after seventeen days within the wreckage. Although cracks had been noticed the previous day, workers had been ordered to return to work despite warnings against doing so. The commercial building contained factories for clothes shops such as Primark, Walmart and JC Penney; in subsequent meetings of the twenty-nine implicated companies, less than nine have been involved.

May

On 1 October 2012, five-year-old April Jones went missing from her home in Wales, having been seen getting into a car nearby. In May 2013, Mark Bridger was convicted of both her abduction and her murder as well as perverting the course of justice – he was sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommendation from the judge that he never be released. Her body has never been found, although Bridger claims to have disposed of it in a nearby river; the police suspect he in fact scattered her remains across local countryside.

June

The end of June saw the Russian government adopting laws to ban any positive discussion of gay relationships, imposing 5000 ruble (£90) fines on its own citizens (and 50,000 – £900 – for any public official) and the potential arrest and deportation of foreigners caught in any way making a non-heterosexual relationship seem like normality. With the 2014 Winter Olympics to be held in Sochi, Russia, these laws prompted strong reactions from around the world with many, including Stephen Fry, calling for a boycott.

July

Kate and William.
image credits: UK_repsome

 

Whilst the UK finally experienced some sunshine after an extremely cold spring, Royal Baby fever finally descended. Bets were placed on the gender and name of the most highly anticipated baby of recent years before Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge was born to William and Kate on the 22 July 2013. The world’s media went crazy, and so did many members of the general public, snapping up Royal paraphernalia and camping outside the hospital waiting for that all-important first glimpse of the future King.

Meanwhile, July was also a big month for LGBT rights, with the British government passing a law legalising gay marriage from March 2014 and marking a significant step forward in equality laws.

August

Although the enduring conflict in Syria continued throughout the year, it was on the 21 August when the world stopped as the Syrian government was accused of using chemical weapons on its own people. Thus began an international dance around Bashar al-Assad and his denial of using them, and whether the global community ought to act in response; it has since been confirmed that traces of sarin gas have been found at the alleged attack site. United Nations inspectors were sent into the country and eventually Syria agreed to have its weapons stocks destroyed.

September

Syrian flags painted on government walls.
Image credits: Freedom House

 

After the uproar and outrage of December 2012 when a woman was brutally gang-raped and murdered on a bus in Delhi, India, the four men – Mukesh Singh, Vinay Sharma, Akshay Thakur and Pawan Guptathe – who attacked her were sentenced to death by hanging in September of this year. India retains the death penalty for certain crimes, including a new amendment in 2013 for death or permanent vegetative state caused by rape, likely brought about by the violent protests in India after the incident occurred.

A little more than a week later, on

21 September and the International Day of Peace, masked gunmen began an attack on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, a raid that lasted for three days and killed a minimum of 72 people from across thirteen different countries (although a majority were Kenyan) in total, including six soldiers; the New York Police Department investigation concluded that it was likely the gunmen themselves escaped. The Islamist group al-Shabaab initially claimed responsibility as retribution for Kenyan involvement in military operations in Somalia.

October

This month we all witnessed the US political system turn into a crazy mess as the government shut down. The US Congress, responsible for raising the debt ceiling and controlled by the Republican Party, locked horns with the Democratic President Obama in the White House over the level of US debt and balancing the federal (central government’s) budget. Before the Democrats would be allowed their budget to govern for the next year, the Republicans were determined to attach amendments which would, in some way, remove funding for or dismantle entirely Obama’s healthcare reforms passed, subject to lots of debate and scrutiny, in 2012.

Capitol Hill, the home of the US Congress
Image credits: Ron Cogswell

As a result, the deadline for sorting out the argument passed and the government had no choice but to shut down certain federal services, sending home around 800,000 workers indefinitely without pay and asking a further million to work without knowing when they would be paid. The world’s biggest economy unable to pay its debts would have meant another economic disaster, but thankfully a deal was finally passed on 16 October and signed into law just after midnight the next day.

November

November brought poor luck, to put it very lightly, for the Philippines. Typhoon Haiyan struck parts of Asia but significantly the Philippines, killing over 6000 people there alone and destroying large parts of the infrastructure. Several regions were placed under a state of national calamity, the devastation was so vast. As with so many natural disasters, the initial medical requirements of broken bones soon became more chronic conditions, and international appeals were launched to help the masses of the population displaced from their homes. Approximately $374.5 million was donated in money by governments across the world, and supplies were also sent by other nations. The situation, naturally, is still ongoing and dire for many people.

The aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan in Taclobane.
Image credits: UK Department for International Development

December

And now that December has come around, what can we reflect upon? As another towering political figure of the 20^th century, clearly the death of Nelson Mandela reverberated around the world; despite his old age and long-running illness, no one can quite prepare for the death of such an icon. Any long-term impacts on South Africa and the rest of the world are waiting to be seen, but it cannot be denied his lifetime has seriously changed South Africa for the better.

To finish the year off, what else is happening? Well, the UK’s storm is currently disrupting the travel as people try to get home, Russia is releasing some political prisoners and a few more governments are being accused of spying on each other. As always, it’s fun and games in our globalised world, with not a little bit of argument and tragedy.

What will 2014 be like? Time will soon tell and in the meantime, all that’s left to do is to wish you all a Happy New Year.

Imogen Watson, Online Features Editor

Have we missed something? Which do you think is the biggest event of 2013? Let us know in the comments!

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The Aid Epidemic

Image credits: frontierofficial

With his sister recently returned from Kenya, Liam Taylor asks if our good intentions actually do more harm to fragile nations around the world.

Where is Bongo Bongo Land? I hadn’t come across the phrase until I saw it plastered across the headlines after the controversial MEP Godfrey Bloom used it in his speech/rant (delete as appropriate) on foreign aid. The use of the phrase sparked controversy apparently everywhere bar his constituency, and led to a situation, then exacerbated by his stubborn defence of his remarks on the BBC, which culminated in an offer to personally apologise to the ambassador of Bongo Bongo Land himself (who unfortunately could not be reached for comment).

I guess he was unable to use the excuse that he was merely referring to the late President Bongo of Gabon, as a former Tory MP claimed when he used the phrase the last time it caused controversy, and figured that was next best option. I leave it up to you dear reader to decide whether the comments were racist or not. This article is concerned with the heart of the issue, not the semantics.

Not long after the media flurry surrounding the controversy died down my sister returned home after a summer of charity work in Kenya, a country I suspect some would consider a province of Bongo Bongo Land. The problems that the media back home deems worthy of making a fuss about, the occasional daft utterance from a politician seemed rather trivial to her, at least compared to the real problems faced in the less fortunate parts of the world. It is no secret that Kenya is by no means a rich country, to put it mildly. It receives over two billion dollars each year in foreign aid and is the second largest recipient of US aid to Africa, behind only Egypt. Like many countries in the region it has also been plagued with corruption.

Kenya can seem like two completely different lands. The westernised boarding school in Nairobi that my sister stayed at on her first night could be indistinguishable from anywhere in England save for the rather nicer weather. Yet other parts conform more to the stereotype of popular culture. A land of mud huts and endless savannah, where basic necessities like running water are luxuries and old plastic bottles are considered a sturdy construction material. In Nairobi itself this difference is perhaps even more glaring, where modern skyscrapers and office blocks stand side by side with hastily built shacks made from salvaged scrap. Indeed that kind of contrast is far from uncommon in the region. When I was in South Africa a few years ago (for the much less noble reason of a holiday) there was a stark difference between the westernised tourist areas and the slums on the outskirts of the city.

 

In a way it helps to put things in perspective. It’s easy to forget how good we have it in the grand scheme of things, how protestors in New York or outside St. Paul’s are part of the wealthiest one per cent in the world and how even the poorest in this country are comfortably in the top ten per cent. Many of the villages rely on subsistence farming, lacking the convenience of modern technology they rely on their own back breaking labour. In one village that my sister spent time helping in, a single mother of five had to single-handedly toil on a maize field all day just to grow enough food to survive. Yet even donations of modern equipment do little help; a tractor is of little use without the parts or know-how to fix it when it breaks, or even how to use it in the first place. Indeed the most advanced piece of technology my sister came across out there was an old toaster. Growth away from subsistence is not done any favours by the western world’s insistent protection of its own farmers from foreign goods.

Image credits: eGuide Travel

When my sister first told me she was going off to do charity work in Kenya a couple of thoughts crossed my mind. The first was the most obvious, that this was a really good thing to do. But I have to admit there was also a cynical part of my brain that thought “how much help can you really be? After all, what do you know about digging wells or building schools? The closest you’ve come to hard labour is helping our parents with the gardening. Surely it would be better to send them the money you’re going to spend on flying out and living there?” While it sounds bad there was some logic behind this thought. After all it is a common problem after natural disasters that lots of well-intentioned volunteers show up unprepared and without any training. The result being that actual charity workers have to waste time babysitting them, instead of helping the victims, and waste precious resources feeding them and patching them up when they hurt themselves.  There was also an element of concern that she might get eaten by a lion when she tries to pet one. Although I’m glad to say that the cynical side of me was wrong.

Empathy, the desire to help others less fortunate than ourselves, is of course very commendable and it is one that nearly every person has no matter their beliefs or where they lie on the political spectrum, if anywhere at all. Of course not everyone can go out to Africa and physically help, so this empathy manifests itself in other ways such as charitable giving. But sometimes that cynical part of us raises its head, “what good can my tenner a month do?” So that same feeling of empathy makes us demand that more be done, that government fixes it. We rely on the ‘wisdom’ of the bureaucrat in Whitehall rather than the experience of the volunteer on the ground. It feels good to be absolved of responsibility, we did our part and if it’s not working it’s not our fault, it’s the government’s fault. It’s the government that isn’t doing enough, isn’t giving enough and can never give enough.

Remember earlier when I talked about the vast divergence between the richest and poorest parts of Kenya? Just why is there the gap? Is it an inevitable part of development? Is it because there still is not enough aid? If so, how is it that Asia has managed to lift millions out of poverty without a penny of aid? $2 billion can a build a lot of schools and hospitals, yet they are conspicuously absent. Perhaps you also remember the rampant corruption I mentioned. Well put the two together and perhaps you start to realise how it’s possible that after decades of receiving billions in aid the average Kenyan hasn’t become any better off. Kenyan corruption may be bad, but it is small comfort that it is not as bad as other parts of Africa. Indeed one prominent Zambian economist argues strongly that the corruption is so bad that the corruption (amongst other things) actually makes aid harmful to African countries. It may be possible that handing over large sums of money no questions asked can create the conditions that fuel corruption, sort of like the way vast natural resources can become a curse for poor countries.

All the arguments for greater aid have at their heart the best of intentions, just like the well intentioned clothing drive that has a minor side effect of putting the indigenous clothing and textile industry out of business and inadvertently costing lots of jobs. There is an old saying that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. So perhaps it’s time to rethink our approach to help those that need it most. To stop focusing on intentions and start looking at results.

Liam Taylor

 

Mali: six weeks on

Six weeks after the intervention of European troops, Harry Parkhouse dissects the conflict in Mali.

I am writing this exactly six weeks after François Hollande agreed, at the request of the Malian government, to provide military assistance to the struggling Malian forces combatting what can only be described as a horde of serious, fanatical Islamist belligerents. At such a time the inevitable questions regarding the supposed legitimacy of Western involvement tend to rear their quivering heads. Moreover, fears of prolonged occupation, that have been conjured and propagated by the experiences of Iraq and Afghanistan, emerge in tangent. Paranoia aside, it is prudent to be frank when looking at the success and moral justification of French and, recently British, forces fighting amongst the chaos.

French armoured fighting vehicles leave the airbase at Gao in northern Mali last week. Picture credits: jeromestarkey

The adversaries cannot be said to be an organised monolithic group; there are various competing Islamist and nationalist factions all seeking to impose their own, often-brutal ideology onto the Malian people. The National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad, or simply the ‘MNLA’, a nationalist separatist group fighting for the implementation of an independent secular state for the nomadic peoples known as the Taureg, cannot now be said to be the main threat to the region – in the last week they have actually started fighting against other Islamist factions in cooperation with the French. This appellation should be given to Ansar Dine, the predominant Islamist sect that since last June has not only gained more and more territory from the government as well as from the MNLA, but also done it a way that epitomises both wanton cruelty and hysterical absurdity. The smashing of TV sets that were displaying ‘un-Islamic’ images (video games, for example) or the desecration of mausoleums in Timbuktu serve as exemplars of the latter – things that can be begrudgingly put to one side in times of war as ascriptions of a frantic religious neurosis. The former examples, however, demand our international attention and rectification. From the blocking of aid trucks to Timbuktu due to the presence of female aid workers, to the public floggings, amputations, executions and stoning across various towns in Northern Mali. Such wartime atrocities, whilst obviously reprehensible, still for some does not justify intervention as hey, all fair’s in love and war?

There is a banal point here, however. These crimes against humanity are self-evidently not simply wartime tragedies or realpolitik tactics of warfare, but the end in itself for the extremist Islamic movement in northern Mali. In other words, to use such an obvious metaphor, they are just warming up. Aggressive implementation of Sharia law, which can only further worsen the already destitute position of the people of Mali, has long been an open goal for the coalition of the “Defenders of Faith” as they call themselves. This would not only significantly vitiate the lives of many men and many more women in Mali, but it also would demonstrate to extremist Islamic militias across the north of the African continent that successful Islamic revolution is a possibility due to the inefficiency of under-funded and under-trained African militaries and the supposed moral apathy of the West to intervene in such affairs. Hollande grasped this simple point, and as such the will to act on the moral calling that necessitates French intervention. I am glad that now, the UK has also sent servicemen and servicewomen to help combat the threat of state-sponsored theocratic immorality and subjugation in Mali.

The crowd welcomes ‘the saviour’, Francois Hollande. Picture credits: salymfayad

As is stands, with the ever-increasing frequency of Islamist retreat across the north and the genesis of successful discourse and cooperation with the MNLA, progress is being made in Mali. This would have not been made a reality without the French and British intervention that was mandated by both Mali and the international community. Lengthy occupation will not be a risk either – the Malian forces, as well as the infrastructure of the Malian government are being re-strengthened day by day through military and political assistance from the international community. Rash and unsubstantiated claims of Western imperialism or oil hoarding have been clearly shown to have no relevance in Mali. Instead the proprietors of suggested falsities are demonstrating effective military engagement with minimal casualties against adversaries who, if given the key to Bamako, would be in a position to effectively promulgate the caliphate of immorality across northern Africa. These points justify why this conflict is one of central importance, not just for western security, but more importantly for ensuring the freedom of the people of Mali and other North African nations from rampant oppression.

Alethea Osborne: turbulence in Tunisia

 

Once considered the ‘success story’ of the Arab Spring, Tunisia’s political divides are becoming more apparent. Picture credits: tarckan

In her latest column, Exeposé Online’s international news commentator Alethea Osborne turns her analytical eye onto Tunisia’s current situation of unrest.

The recent crisis in Tunisia has heavily shaken the illusion of Tunisia as a poster child of the Arab Spring. While Syria has become known for civil war and bloodshed, Egypt for ongoing protests and violence, Tunisia has been considered as the best success story. Tunisia has slowly moved from dictatorship to democracy and for the first time in decades freedom of speech is the norm. However, the murder of opposition leader, Chokri Belaid, has brought the underlying tensions between secularists and islamists to the surface and clearly displayed the growing divides between Tunisia’s political parties. Politicians have been struggling to find common ground across the wide political gap which has made forming a new government so difficult. Tunisians have said that they dislike being considered as the success story of the Arab Spring as it has lessened the amount of international attention and support they have received. The recent developments will inevitably change this as the, undoubtably politically motivated, murder will have its desired affect of creating further chaos and factionalism.

Chokri Belaid, a human rights lawyer and activist, was at the forefront of the protests in December 2010, which grew to become the uprising that toppled the Tunisian government in January 2011. He was shot at point blank range outside his home on Wednesday, February 6th, and later died in hospital. Belaid had previously been very critical of Tunisia’s leadership, particularly the dominant Ennahda leadership. As the leader of the opposition secularist alliance, The Popular Front, his assassination has sparked a fresh round of protests in the major cities of Tunisia including protestors calling for a ‘fresh revolution’. The killing has heightened the tensions within a slow burning political crisis in Tunisia; the battle for power amongst secularists and islamists.

No one has yet taken responsibility for Belaid’s murder though many, including his wife, are blaming the Ennahda leadership and the interior ministry. While it is unlikely that they are directly responsible, a more developed argument might suggest that they took little notice of the various death threats against him and offer little security to secular opposition groups from armed Islamists. However, the charismatic co-founder of Ennahda and the movement’s ‘intellectual leader’, Rashid al-Ghannushi, has said that Ennahda, “strongly condemn this act and consider the perpetrators as enemies of the country, of democracy and of Islam”. Yet, amongst members of the opposition many blame Ghannushi and his moderately Islamic Ennahda party for the assassination, believing that they encourage violence and terrorism.

The assassination of opposition leader Chokri Belaid last week has brought underlying tensions to a head. Picture credits: Pan-African News Wire File Photos

In protest to the killing four opposition groups, including the Popular Front, have declared that they are now pulling out of the constitutionalist assembly, which has been attempting to write the new constitution. They have said it is a temporary situation but if the government does not step down then the MPs will leave the government.

More dramatically, the largest trade union announced a national strike for Friday, February 8th, which was the first such strike declared since 1978. The strike was organised for the same day as Belaid’s funeral and as many as a million Tunisians took to the streets in protests over his death and the current political situation. There were acts of violence reported within the capitol, Tunis, and rising tension on the streets, but considering the numbers present it was a predominantly peaceful demonstration. There are worries though that counter demonstrations by pro-government groups may lead to further violence.

The Prime Minister, Hamadi Jebali, has tried to diffuse the crisis by saying that he intends to form a technocratic government of national unity to run the government until fresh elections. Controversy ensued when senior members of the Ennahda party rejected the plan and Abdelhamid Jelassi, Ennahda’s vice-president, said that “the prime minister did not ask the opinion of his party, we in Ennahda believe Tunisia needs a political government now. We will continue discussions with other parties about forming a coalition government.” This further dissent amongst the political leadership has led many to speculate that Jebali may leave Ennahda and found his own party.

Chokri Belaid’s death has shone a spotlight on the incredibly precarious political situation in Tunisia and made many aware of the potentially dangerous and stagnant progress of the Arab Spring’s golden child. A damaged economy, rising unemployment, lack of tourists and breakdown in law have all contributed to frustration with the new leadership, which is struggling to unite differing revolutionary ideologies. The latest assassination is likely to simply add to the difficulties.

 

African club football – what can be done?

Photo thanks to Muhammad Ghafari

The climax of the Premier League season postponed because there’s no referee? Manchester United masquerading as the England national team? Barcelona unable to play in the Champions League because they can’t afford the flights? These highly unlikely situations represent the murky reality that frequently mars African club football, far removed from the glitz and glamour that top flight Europe dazzles us with every week.

It’s an odd situation considering that in no other place is the old cliché ‘football is a religion’ more true than Africa. A continent brimming with talent and home to some of world football’s biggest names, the obsession is apparent everywhere; from the images of Carlos Tevez emblazoned onto the back of city buses to the huge numbers of people that crush into local bars to watch the Premier League every week.  This enthusiasm is very much at odds with the attitude that Africans place towards their own league much the product of the running of their football federations.

Corruption in particular is the most notable blight on the domestic game with the famous Cameroonian goalkeeper Joseph Antoine Bell claiming that ninety out of every  hundred dollars disappears into private pockets with little or no reinvestment in the clubs themselves or the wider national game.  One particularly shocking example can be seen in the Zimbabwean club side, Monomatapa, who made a brief tour of Asia pretending to be Zimbabwe’s national XI. They played a number of games; all claimed as full internationals, and were forced to deliberately lose games by set scores under the instructions of Jonathan Musavengana, a member of the Zimbabwean national football federation, who was in an arrangement with Asian gambling figures.

Mismanagement and incompetence is also regularly a feature of the game and a big part of alienating local fans. In a Ugandan top flight Bells Super League game last year, two of the big name sides match between Victors and Express had to be postponed because, due to an ‘administrative error’, FUFA (The Ugandan Football association) had forgotten to appoint a referee for the game. Errors such as these undermine the credibility of the leagues and alienate the sponsors and fans that are the real heartbeat of any successful sporting franchise.

The result of these sorts of issues has been the decline in the following of local clubs and national leagues particularly as a result of the bright lights syndrome encouraged by the easy access to premier European football through the means of satellite TV. It’s a story that’s been repeated across the world, not only in Africa  – in India for example, national club football was the second most viewed sport in the whole country; the introduction of satellite TV in the nineties demonstrated the limits of both talent and quality leading to an immediate decline in viewers.

As a result of this many of the African domestic leagues are impoverished and struggling. Frequently winners of the poorer domestic leagues will win qualification to the major African club competitions and then be unable to fund the traveling costs that such tournaments require. For example, the Victors (a major Uganda club side) entered debts of 20 million Ugandan shilling because one of their CAF Confederation Cup games (the African equivalent of the Europa League) was cancelled and they had to pay for additional flights: a highly unsustainable situation for clubs with such limited financial resources.

The situation portrayed above is not a universal image of African club football. Many leagues, notably the South African and Egyptian, attract high numbers of passionate fans and are well sponsored. However, in many cases the paradox between these small domestic leagues and there rivals in Europe is significant.  Reform and the monitoring of nations’ football federations would seem to be essential if the game is to progress and begin to re-engage local populations with the home game and allow the continued diversification of football beyond Europe’s boundaries.

Will Smith