Football world cup; climax time now!
One more exciting phase of football world cup matches held in Russia has come to an end. Of the 32 teams that have participated and played, 24 have been defeated at various phases now. Eight teams will fight to stay afloat in the quarter finals and the winners among them will go to semi finals. July 15, when the peak of weekend dawns in on Sunday, two teams will fight to clinch the world championship title.
There are hardly any apt metaphors to describe the popularity and emotions that these world cup football matches pack for the fans of this game. Right from ‘football fever’ to ‘the weed of the world’ to the ‘most popular game on the face of earth’; several adjectives are used to convey the excitement this game packs. And yet, the words have, more often than not, failed to pack the punch.
And no one would even dispute the popularity of this game. It’s simply insane to the extent of being most followed game by almost all nations, the ones that participate and the ones that just watch the games being played.
The game has huge economy running to keep it alive. This time around, the overall projection of costs involving the games is said to be about Rs one lakh crore. The sale of tickets, hospitality industry that is a big part of this, tourism, air travel, merchandise, sale of football branded clothes, phones and television sets that get sold around this time are simply massive. Along with this, there is betting, visitors flocking pubs and bars to watch, media sales and advertisements all those put together, the game would easily help the world transact more than Rs 5 lakh crore when it is held once every four years.
Even with all this, one can never describe all the action that football carries on its shoulders. Over a 100 crore people are watching this game world over. In Brazil of the South America, timings of factories, offices and other industries have been changed to fit the schedule of football matches so that the employees can enjoy the game without being distracted. If this is not done, invariably the productivity would fall and people usually do not turn up for work during the time matches are being held. Hence, this is a win win situation for the industries and the managements too.
Many churches in Europe have set restrictions to the devotees against watching football during the mass or prayer hours.
They have also requested people to participate in weddings with full interest instead of being distracted by football. Many banks in Europe are running contests to guess the world champions of football, thus attempting to add impetus to their transactions.
The people of England and Russia have long forgotten the conventional enmity that existed between their nations. Columbia has expressed its displeasure and complained against the ‘GO KANE!’ headline carried by a very popular newspaper in England. The diplomats have said this headline indicates the ‘druggy’ image of Columbia which is a hotbed of narcotics sale. There are thousands of such incidents that take place around football involving countries, people, game etc.
Economists have said on an average, about 15 human days are spent around this football and this would cost dearly to the level of overall productivity. But then, on the other hand, social scientists claim if people are allowed to watch this game that packs passion and emotions, they are sure to contribute to productivity much better than they would, if they are restricted from watching it.
Such excitement around football is enough to show the popularity of this game as a true world champion. And quite unlike all other events, world cup is truly unparalleled in its popularity among sports surpassing nations, and races.
Much like all other sports, football is also a bag of unexpected events. Germany, Argentina, Spain, Belgium -- teams that were considered as hot favourites – were defeated squarely and are out of the game now. Superstars such as Lionel Messi of Argentina, Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal have been set aside as mere spectacles now. Now Russia’s Denis Cheryshev, Neymar of Brazil, Kylian Mbappe’ of France, Harry Kane of England are the new heroes of the order. The youngest among these players hasn’t even crossed his teen. This time around, the games have picked up a lot more pace than earlier. And rough play has also increased by many folds. The fact that about 189 yellow cards were shown to players in the duration of games so far, in quarter level matches. This is a matter of concern for FIFA which has witnessed some very dirty rough play and tactics being employed by players against their opponents.
India too has its share of football fans who are willing to kill themselves if Argentina loses. This game is hugely popular among some regions in India. A state like Kerala which isn’t too interested in Cricket, shows festive fervor during the time of football world cup. And when compared to cricket, football has a lot more life in it than cricket, and this game suits Indian mentality much better than the other game.
Despite this, India has not even made any efforts to even build a team of good football players. Our leaders have not shown any conviction in creating a team that can participate in world cup league of football matches. One cannot imagine the amount of passion that would be whipped up if India had its own team playing in world cup football matches. Today we stand in a sorry state of enjoying the game of a player from Argentina or some other nation, instead of our own talents.
The game will be watched by crores of people world over. Whatever the result may be, the world will enjoy the game for its spirit and excitement if nothing else. Then, it’s a wait of four years till this excitement to come around again.
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Protests against Khamenei's killing: Curbs remain in force in Kashmir
Srinagar (PTI): Strict restrictions remained imposed in many areas of Kashmir for the third consecutive day on Wednesday following massive protests across the valley against the killing of Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, officials said.
As a precautionary measure, the government shut educational institutions till Saturday, while mobile internet speed continued to remain throttled.
"Restrictions on the movement and assembly of the people continued in many parts of Kashmir on Wednesday," the officials said.
They said strict restrictions were being enforced especially in the parts having large Shia population and those areas which have witnessed massive protests over the last three days.
A large number of police and paramilitary CRPF personnel were deployed across the city to prevent gatherings of protestors, the officials said.
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They added that concertina wires and barricades were placed at important intersections leading into the city, while asserting that these were precautionary measures imposed to maintain law and order.
The iconic Ghanta Ghar in the city centre of Lal Chowk here continued to remain a no-go zone after the authorities sealed area with barricades erected all around it on late Sunday night.
The move to seal the Ghanta Ghar came after it witnessed massive protests on Sunday after Khamenei's assassination in the joint air strikes by the US and Israel.
This is the first time since August 2019 that protests on such a large scale have taken place in Kashmir.
The government had first ordered the closure of schools, colleges and universities for two days. However, on Tuesday it decided to close the educational institutions till Saturday as a precautionary measure in view of the protests.
Mobile internet speeds continued to remain throttled while some prepaid mobile connections were also barred, the officials added.
On Tuesday, protests rocked several places in the valley, including Sumbal and Pattan areas of North Kashmir.
In Sumbal of Bandipora district, security forces had to resort to force to disperse the demonstrators.
Some media outlets and individuals, including National Conference Lok Sabha MP from Srinagar Aga Syed Ruhullah Mehdi, and former Srinagar mayor Junaid Azim Mattu, faced police heat for allegedly circulating misleading information.
A case was filed against Mehdi and Mattu under BNS sections 197(1)(d) and 353(1)(b) at Cyber Police Station, Srinagar, for allegedly circulating "false, fabricated and misleading content" on digital and social media platforms.
"The content in question, prima facie, reflects the dissemination of distorted narratives and unverified information capable of causing public unrest and societal disharmony. Such deliberate attempts to spread misinformation pose a serious threat to peace, security, and overall stability," the police said in a statement.
Both have been condemning the killing of Khameinei and the attacks by the US and Israel on Iran.
However, hours after the registration of the case, Mehdi, an influential Shia leader, said he would not be deterred from speaking the truth.
"The people of Srinagar did not elect their MP to recite government-approved condolences. They elected him to speak truth. That mandate does not expire with an FIR," he said in a post on X.
Police has issued an appeal to people to refrain from violence and provocation.
"We appeal to all sections of the society to exercise restraint and refrain from violence and provocation," it said.
Police said they will take strict legal action against instigators of violence and those involved in unlawful activities.
On Tuesday, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha directed officials to be on high alert and chaired a meeting of top officials of the police and army here.
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"Chaired a meeting of senior police & civil administration officials at the Police Control Room, Kashmir, to review the law and order situation. Directed the officers to remain on heightened alert and take all necessary measures to ensure public peace and tranquillity," Sinha said on X.
He appealed to the people and community leaders to maintain peace.
"I also appeal to the citizens and community leaders to uphold harmony and contribute to an atmosphere of calm and goodwill in society. Preserving peace and sustaining the progress of society is a shared responsibility that rests equally upon each one of us," he said.
