After 80 years of waiting, Africa’s history has been modified and strengthened by hosting FIFA world cup 2010. The vuvuzelas, the heavy traffic and city modernization efforts initiated and executed by South Africans to bring the 2010 soccer extravaganza to Africa is commendable. This is beautiful and big history for Africa! Africa will benefit from the 2010 world cup for years to come.
According to research posted on www.fifa.com, an accumulated audience of over 37 billion people watched the France ’98 tournament, including approximately 1.3 billion for the final alone, while over 2.7 million people flocked to watch the 64 matches in the French stadia. This gives an idea of how many people are watching the World Cup and how Africa can use this platform to change its negative image forever. For PR purposes we should have the following infomercials aired before the beginning of every match, at half time and at the end of every match:
Johannesburg is not the capital city of Africa, Africa is actually a continent with more than 52 countries! Africans don’t keep Lions as pets, Lions are dangerous wild animals only found in the parks! ..and That Mandela is the President of South Africa and not Africa. All these infomercials can help change the perception in the West about Africa. A good example is Melissa who toured Africa the other day and uploaded this on her facebook status “ ..Just learnt that Africa is not a country and that Egypt is found in Africa. This is all news to me as I thought Africa was a country and Egypt was in the desert and that you would never get pyramids in Africa, just like you would get elephants in Egypt… apparently I am wrong.”
Pundits predicted that Africa could surprise many and lifting a FIFA World Cup Trophy. However, Africa has been surprised. South Africa has written history as the first host nation of a FIFA World Cup not to qualify for the second round! That means Bafana Bafanas’ dream of playing the eleventh World Cup special match ball named Jubulani made by the German sports equipment Adida at the finals will never come to pass. Jubulani is a isiZulu word which means “bringing joy to everyone”.
Ghana has made history as the only nation in Africa to qualify for the second round. Figures are crossed and 
many have sworn not to miss any match being played by the new “African heroes”. My friend who is a tech wizard in a busy organization and a football fanatic developed a solution named “ FIFA World cup2010 boss management solution”. I have decided to share the same with you so that you can have freedom at your workplace and watch any world cup match without being terrorised by your boss. Remember this solution has worked in some organizations in Kenya and is only applicable until 12th July 2010. It reads:
Dear Sir / Madam,
I wish to let you know that the FIFA World Cup is about to begin. This is not just any other tournament, it’s the World Cup! Please note that this tournament takes place every four years and a month to finish, i.e. from 11th June to 11th July for this year. During this period take note of the following:
1. I will be knocking off earlier than usual in order to watch the kickoff of the first game.
2. Do not be surprised if I report a little bit late every morning, it will depend on the time the last game finishes.
3. Production will go up during this month as almost all employees will be happy and highly motivated (Check Maslow’s Motivation Theories with Human Resource).
4. I know you are into other boring sports like cricket, bowling, etc. Please, if you want to fit in the work environment for the next one month, try to know something about soccer, even asking a foolish question like “Is Malawi playing tonight?” that is if you really want to fit in, or else you will be a loner for one full month.
5. Greeting each other in the morning will change from “Good morning” to “How was the game last night?”
6. I will not accept to work overtime during this period as no amount of money can buy me to miss a game. Therefore make sure you don’t give me any work after 16:30 hours.
7. I will need to be up-to-date with the latest; therefore, the first hour every morning is for accessing sports websites and other updates on the internet and also chatting with friends on phone.
8. Lastly, please do not think you can fire me should you decide to break any of the above rules, as you will have to fire everyone.
Thank you for your understanding.
Yours faithfully,
Staff
Cc: Management
Cc: Secretary General, Central organization of trade Unions
cc: Human Right Commission
cc: International Labor Organization
cc: United Nations Council for Human Rights
cc: FIFA
cc: Moreno Ocampo, Prosecutor, International Criminal Court Prosecutor