Proud to be a Bahraini...Sometimes

It really is scary how people, who are normally sane, get so worked out over something as trivial as football.

In a country plagued by problems left, right and centre, I don't really see what the fuss is all about.

Yes. We should all be patriotic and stand together.. but losing this final hurdle and not qualifying for the world cup was a natural consequence. It was the result of bad planning. It has happened before. I remember many many years ago sitting with my family and cheering our national team in crucial games as they ran behind a ball without tactic and a plan.. and I witnessed the outcry after every match...and heard all the promises for better planning in the future.

I know I am no sports expert but listen to me to the very end. It was only last month that Al Wasat reporter Sayed Dhiya Al Moosawi shed light on the terrible state of living of some of Bahrain's athletes, who have brought the country gold and raised our heads and our country's flag at international sporting events. One was a body-builder who lived in a shanty dwelling and the other was a wheelchair-bound basketball player, who had to climb the stairs everyday and who still lives with his wife and children in his parents' home, despite winning one championship after the other.

How are the football players faring? I doubt that all of them are enjoying the perks of life, if they had to play under the threat of getting a home, a car and money or losing it all should they lose the match! I don't see why anyone should perform under threat. I don't see how they could.

The royal gesture of giving them those promised homes, cars and cash - despite not winning the game - may usher in a new chapter in the history of Bahraini football. It shows goodwill but also sets a precedence. Athletes will now have expectations... and there is nothing more demoralising in life than when your expectations are dashed over and over again!

I raise my hat to those who put in serious effort into training and giving up the pleasures of life to pursue sports professionally. But this isn't always the case. Those players have to battle several fronts. Many are not full-time sport pros. Many have to juggle a home, making a living, personal issues and fueds with coaches, club administrators and team mates to make it to the final cut.

A couple of years ago I was speaking to a member of the Royal Family, who is also higher up in the sports admin scene, who put everything on the table for me - on condition that it will not be published in the national press!! Like normal Bahrainis don't know what is happening. He said that some of those players come from really poor backgrounds, that they don't have a basic education; that he had to find them jobs as petrol attendants (for BD150 a month!!!!) in order for them to make ends meet and attend training sessions!!

I know that achievement is hard to come by.. that it isn't born overnight.. that it takes a lot of dedication and sacrifice. But I also know that many young Bahrainis are building castles in the clouds... and will only see light when their dreams tumble down and they realise that all that they have been working for all their lives is a scam.

I am proud to be a Bahraini.. but what annoys me most is that we make the same mistakes over and over again as if there is a divine power out there making sure that our heads remain down.

All those infuriated by the opinions of a few - who have no interest in football - should look closer at how things are run back home. Maybe by looking at what went wrong, we can make things go right.

2010 isn't a long way away. It is round the corner. See you then!