Commonwealth Games

Insideworldfootball.biz

Thursday, 03 March 2011

Given how these organisations see themselves as accountable to nobody but themselves, and this in an era when the cry of democracy and transparency cannot even be resisted by Arab despots, this may seem a ridiculous question.

Yet I am inclined to raise it because of how different the Cricket World Cup in India is turning out compared to the Football World Cup in South Africa.

I have been struck by this comparison in the past week as I have travelled in India following the 50-over cricket tournament.

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Evening Standard

Perfect vision: Mo Farah, during winter training at high altitude in Iten, Kenya, now knows what sacrifices have to be made to be a success. Image courtesy of Evening Standard

Disney World fulfils many children’s fantasies but for Mo Farah it gave him a new dream and one which he went on to realise far beyond expectation.

Farah can rightly claim to have resurrected British endurance running and last July became the country’s first European 10,000metres champion.

But, as a child, Farah longed to play on the wing for Arsenal until UK Athletics sent the 15-year-old and several other young prospects to Orlando for a two-week training camp.

Their stay included a visit to Disney World and that transformed his life.

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Evening Standard

Ian Thorpe is about to publish a cookbook and adores Indian food. “I love cooking with spices,” he says. “The aroma that fills the kitchen when you cook with them is magical.”

Such a shame then that he has never visited India and during the Commonwealth Games spent the entire time commentating from the BBC studios in White City. The broadcaster decided not to have its presenters based in the Indian capital — the first time that has happened since the Kuala Lumpur Games in 1998.

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Evening Standard

For all the success Tom Daley has had in diving, the 16-year-old knows that things do not happen by chance. To succeed, you must not only know what you want but hone your targets from an early age.

As we sit by the Plymouth swimming pool where he has just finished another training session, he explains how he sees his life panning out.

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Sunday Telegraph

Indian incompetence has been brought to the fore in a week of disturbing revelations of filthy, uninhabitable conditions and high-profile withdrawals.

Clive Lloyd tells the story of flying into Mumbai with his West Indian team in November 1974. Soon after arriving, he was taken by local cricket officials to a ground in the city which, less than three months later, was to be the venue for the last Test in the series.

Lloyd could hardly believe what he was seeing. It was just a large, bare, piece of red earth on which children were playing cricket, with no sign of any construction.

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