By Samindra Kunti
December 16 – Football writers Anaman Fiifi from Ghana and Mihir Vasavda from India were both recognized for their outstanding journalism at the inaugural Sport Media Pearl Awards in Abu Dhabi. They represent a bright future for football journalism coming from football markets not always noted for their leading media coverage.
Ghana’s Anaman Fiifi, 21, ranks as an outstanding online writer and gained acclaim at the Sport Media Pearl Awards in Abu Dhabi by winning the writing category Best Column with his article “How the Black Stars stabbed the nation in cold blood.’ He received his pearl from jury member and De Telegraaf’s sports editor Jaap De Groot. Fiifi gave a rousing speech, telling “people no matter who you are or where you are from, you can make it.”
His opinion piece was written purely from a fans’ perspective, exploring the bitterness between The Black Stars and their fans, in the wake of the infamous appearance-fee drama at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
“The piece came about after a lot of pent-up emotions – they had been building up after the World Cup, it was a third word cup,” said Fiifi, who caught football fever during the 2002 World Cup watching the indomitable Ronaldinho on TV screens across Kumasi.
“This time it was a serious disgrace – a lot of Ghanians put the blame on the players, others on the doorstep of the management. The players should have done better, they were supposed to play for the love of the nation, but they let money destruct them. The end results of football should be trophies, the last time Ghana won a trophy was in 1982 in Libya, but the remuneration has more or less remained the same.”
Ghana’s players kissing stacks of cash, $4.5 million that had been flown over in a private jet by the President of the Republic H.E John Dramani Mahama, was an image that cast a global shadow over The Black Stars.
Mihir Vasavda, 28 and a journalist for leading daily Indian Express, crafted a piece centered on the fortunes of Yemen, Guam and Bhutan in World Cup qualifying, an idea that struck him over a cup of tea with a colleague. Africa’s leading football journalist Mark Gleeson awarded him with a pearl in the writing category Best Color.
Yemen’s arduous mission, Bhutan’s monumental elimination of Sri Lanka and Guam’s bid to upset opponents were a stark contrast with India’s own fledgling fortunes under newly appointed coach Stephen Constantine, who failed to deliver his promise of free-flowing and attacking football. Vasavda implicitly wanted to highlight the grim state of Indian football with his piece and his words were prophetic as Guam would infamously defeat India 1-0.
“For Yemen to travel such a long distance was a pain,” said Vasavda. “The players hadn’t practiced. Everyone loves an underdog story. It shows you don’t need one billion people, you just need spirit and dedication. If Yemen can do it in such hardship, then India has everything in place.”
Vasavda received warm reactions to his piece, but still faces a peculiar challenge when writing for an Indian audience – they love football, but they don’t love Indian football. “Indian football must be taken seriously,” said Vasavda. “Indian football is at a delicate stage and journalists play an important role in scrutinizing the game.”
The Sport Media Pearl Awards are a collaboration between AIPS and Abu Dhabi Media as a platform for excellence and development of sports media and key industry practitioners.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1736725662labto1736725662ofdlr1736725662owedi1736725662sni@i1736725662tnuk.1736725662ardni1736725662mas1736725662