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FORGET RONALDO, WAVE GOODBYE TO Yokohama
and come instead to a parallel universe where Senegal are edged
out by the victorious Argentineans, Egypt and Moldavia reach the
semis and Brazil make their excuses in the group stages. This, ladies
and gentlemen is Mondiale Antirazzisti. Or to the non-Italian -
the Anti Racist World Cup.
The sports stadium
in Montecchio, a small town half an hour outside Bologna, has never
seen the like. With 120 teams competing in seven--a-side games spread
across three days, there's an atmosphere somewhere between a sun-drenched
FA Cup semi-final, Glastonbury and a political meeting. Here you
can rub shoulders With fans from across Europe and watch such evocative
names as Albania Rock'n'Roll, Red Zombies West Berlin and Fighters
Juve sez Roma.
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The latter are
one of a host of teams of Italian Ultras here, which, co-organiser
Mattheus Durchfetd explains, is partly how the event started: "Racism
was and still is a big problem on the Italian terraces. Here we
have problems that Germany and England had 15 to 20 years ago. In
those countries there are fan groups and antiracist projects but
in Italy there is nothing like that. The big clubs totally ignore
it." Fed up with the state of affairs, some groups of Ultras
decided to do something about it. "Football fans and immigrants
are two groups with a very negative image. Every day in the newspapers
you read about 'the problem' of immigration. But for us it is not
a problem. Our idea was to bring together these two groups and throw
a party."
So with funding
from the European body Rete FARE (Football Against Racism in Europe)
the event kicked off in 1996 with just eight teams. Six years on
and Montecchio is buzzing with the chatter of over 35 nationalities,
from migrant communities and asylum seekers to interested onlookers.
England is represented too, by Republic Internationale from Leeds,
Bristol's Easton Cowboys and IMUSA (Independent Man United Supporters
Association). Then there are the Bangladeshi Blades and their Sheffield
contingent.
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Howard Holmes,
the organiser/manager of the Blades is one of the people behind
'Football Unites, Racism Divides', a community project which runs
workshops and undertakes educational work in colleges and youth
clubs in Sheffield. He first stumbled across this event five years
ago. "In the past we've brought over a Somali team and a Pakistani
team," he recalls. "This year we've got three - a women's
side, a mixed team and the Blades. "This is one of the best
events in terms of getting people together from different backgrounds
and cultures. Hopefully what our lot are getting is a sense that
fans and men and women throughout the world are using football as
a way to fight racism.''
By Sunday afternoon's
quarter-finals the Blades, alas, have been knocked out, along with
the other English sides. There's still plenty to gawp at though
- the silky skills (and Rivaldo-esque play acting) of the Moldavian
refugee team and a gutwrenching stalemate of a quarter-final between
Swiss side Collectivo Bibina and Senegal which ends with both teams
embracing and joking together during their penalty shoot-out.
In the distance,
dangling in the breeze, you can spot a banner one of the Ultras
has left out, 'un altro calcio e possible' - another football is
possible. It kind of says it all.
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