ZAKUMI'S DIARY: EPISODE ONE

Hey there, how are you doing? Please allow me to re-introduce myself. My name is Zakumi and I’m the official mascot of SOUTH AFRICA 2010. My name Zakumi is from “ZA” which is South Africa's international country code and “KUMI", a Ki-Swahili word that means “10”. So in effect “ZAKUMI” represents “SOUTH AFRICA 2010”. I’m a lively, outgoing and fun loving leopard. Unlike the previous World Cup mascots from 1966 to 2006, I’m a bit more adventurous and spontaneous, in fact my official slogan is "Zakumi: the mascot with an attitude".

I was born on 16th of June 1994, and my date of birth bears a socio-political significance because 16th June 1976 saw the beginning of the Soweto youth uprising, when schoolchildren took to the streets to protest against apartheid, many of those school children were killed by policemen. Remember that old South African movie titled “Sarafina”. Those were very horrible times in South Africa. My year of birth, 1994 was the year in which South Africans of all races were allowed to vote for the first time to elect a new post-apartheid democratic government. Thankfully the dark days are over and we have a World Cup to look forward to. I’ll be celebrating my sweet 16th birthday on 16th June so don’t forget to send me gifts and messages, I love them. Hehe.

One thing you should know about me is that I love to perform and I always follow my instincts. My greatest passion is obviously ‘diski’. Diski is a South African term for football. There are a few more terms like that, and I’ll be teaching some of those South African football jargons as we go along. For starter, just know this: “Laduma” means “it’s a goal”. Basically my job as the official mascot of the FIFA 2010 World Cup is to create one huge, joyful and unforgettable party and show the thousands of international guests, the warmth and spirit of the African continent. I want to create a good mood for the fans and to raise the excitement for the 2010 FIFA World Cup-the first on African soil. As a huge ‘diski’ fan, I have an undying passion for the game, I see football as a great way to connect with others and break down language barriers.

Enough of me, let me fill you in with what’s going on in SA as we speak. At this moment, the World Cup fever in the country is sky high. Everyone is just anxious to see the opening ceremony. Everything is in place for a successful World Cup. We are ready to give the world a good World Cup that will leave a lasting impression on the minds of football fans. Currently we are just dotting “i(s)” and crossing “t(s)”. I promise you this one thing, South Africa 2010 will be one hell of a tournament. You can bet on that. I can hear the sound of ‘vuvuzelas’ on every street and neighborhood. The ‘kuduzela’ which is an alternative to the vuvuzela is also “making its voice heard”. The difference between the two musical instruments is that the Kuduzela plays soothing music and it's not as harsh to the ears as the famous “vuvu”. But whether it’s the vuvu or the kudu, the fans are blowing their horns, calling all football fans to South Africa.

Speaking of music, I hope you are aware that there will be a musical concert in Jo’burg on the eve of the opening ceremony. Oh, you didn’t know? Okay now you do. The concert will start at 8:00 p.m. local time (GMT+2) at the newly-renovated Orlando Stadium in Soweto/Johannesburg. The concert will feature musical performances by popular African artists and appearances by past and present football legends. Personally I’d like to see Hugh Masekela perform and I just can’t wait for that concert. Other stars like Shakira, John Legend, Angelique Kidjo, Alicia Keys and Black Eyed Peas will also perform at the concert and that will officially open the 2010 World Cup in South Africa on June 10th. Trust me, its going to be a full house, try and pass through if you can.

To other important issues. In the build up to every major sporting event in the world, there’s always a debate on, who’s going to be the best player, which team will win the competition and other related topics. There’s the “Golden Boot” award for the top goalscorer, the “Golden Ball’ award for the best player, the “Yashin “award for the best goalkeeper, the “Best Young Player” award, the “Most Entertaining Team” award and the “FIFA Fair Play” award. The ‘matter’ is always open to debate. The danger about predicting is that you risk “putting your neck on the line” and you may be left with “an egg in the face” if your predictions don’t come true. Curiously that has never been a restraining order for any of the football fans or pundits.

As a “shrewd little fellow", I’m sure most of you would be interested in my opinion on the subject of “who wins what” at the World Cup. You know you want to hear my prediction. I know you are interested in Zakumi’s predictions (aka Zakumi Index). Well today caution has got the better of me so instead of "putting my finger" on the winners of the various categories I’ll rather give you a “perfect seven” of candidates for awards in the key categories. The winner will most likely come from my list of seven (in no particular order). I’ll add a few categories of my own. Read on.

1. WORLD CUP WINNER: As an African, I soo want to see an African country win the World Cup but hey let’s be realistic here. Even with all the ‘home advantage’ that the African teams will enjoy, what are the odds that an African country will win it? It’s possible though but I won’t put my money on that. Let’s just hope and pray. Another point worth noting is that only Brazil have won the World Cup outside their continents. They won it in Sweden in 1958 and in Japan/Korea in 2002. When it comes to this category, there’s always the ‘bleeding obvious’ choice, I call them the “Ivy League” of World Football. I think you know which teams I’m referring to.

ZAKUMI INDEX: Brazil, Spain, Argentina, Italy, France, England, and Germany.

This world cup is the closest in history and it’ll be very difficult for me to tell who will win it on July 11th. Having said that, I’ll say Spain, Brazil and Argentina are definitely my top 3 candidates to lift the ‘Holy Grail’. Italy, France and Germany also stand a good chance. As for England, well, I can't really tell but they stand a fair chance too.

2. DARK HORSES: They are dark horses because they could surprise everyone and win the World Cup. They are not clear favourites like the “Ivy League” but if things go right for them (i.e injury free and refereeing decisions) they could shock us all. I’m talking about countries like

ZAKUMI INDEX: Holland, Portugal, USA, Serbia, Ivory Coast, Mexico, and South Africa.

The Dutch are equally as dangerous as the Top seven but they always flatter to falter, let’s hope they can cut it this time round. The USA team is full of talent and can be world beaters on a good day. Portugal is a team ‘waiting to exhale’ so they stand a fair chance too. Ditto Ivory Coast. Serbia, Mexico and South Africa are my wild cards. Write them off at your own peril.

3. BEST PLAYER: These guys are going to be the “show stoppers”, the “pied pipers”, the “crowd pullers”. The success of their teams depend on them. For me the first name that comes to mind is Lionel Messi, I don’t have to describe him cos ArseneWenger has already done that for me, Wenger said “He is like a PlayStation player. He is the best in the world by some distance”. But Messi can only shine at the World Cup if the rest of the Argentine team will give him the necessary support. It’s true that football is a team sports but some individual players literally carry their teams on their shoulders. Here’s my list of potential “Golden Ball” winners

ZAKUMI INDEX: Xavi, Messi, Sneidjer,Kaka,Rooney, Ronaldo, and Ribery

I could have talked about other equally good players who aren’t “big names” but instead I chose to stick to the “trusted brands”. You can never go wrong with those. Also I included Sneidjer because I’ve got a good feeling about the Dutch team, you could say I’ve contracted the “Dutch Disease” but it's a feeling I keep getting. There’s something about them this year that looks different. Let’s hope it’s not a mirage.

4. TOP GOALSCORER: Football is all about scoring goals and the person who scores more automatically wins. It’s as simple as that. Everyone loves goals and these seven marksmen should ensure that plenty of that will be in supply during the World Cup. Any of them could win the “Golden Boots” award but that obviously depends on how far they can get in the competition.

ZAKUMI INDEX: Luis Fabiano,Fernando Torres, David Villa, Lionel Messi, Wayne Rooney,Cristiano Ronaldo, and Didier Drogba.

5. BEST GOALKEEPER: Another thing about football is that the team that concedes the least number of goals (or Laduma) wins. It’s pretty obvious right? Haha. Keeping the opponent from scoring is the duty of the goal keeper and the keeper who does that best, could win the World Cup for his country. The following keepers should be in the running for the best “pair of hands” at the World Cup.

ZAKUMI INDEX: Julio Cesar, Iker Casillas, Hugo Lloris, Buffon, Martin Stekenlenburg (Holland) , Memo Ochoa (Mexico), and Manuel Neuer (Germany).

In 2002, Germany's Oliver Kahn became the first goalkeeper to win the Most Valuable Player of the World Cup. Maybe one of the seven keepers could win the MVP award this year. But who?

6. BEST DEFENDER: There are quite a number of candidates for this award and I had to subject all of them to the ‘stress test’ to get the crème de la creme of top defenders who will be at the World Cup. In the end this is what I came up with.

ZAKUMI INDEX: Lucio, Puyol, Vidic, Walter Samuel, Ashley Cole, Maicon, and Pique

7. BEST YOUNG PLAYER: The best young player award is given to a player aged 21 or below at the start of the World Cup calendar year. In 1958, Brazil's Pele made his World Cup debut. Pele was only 17 years old during the games in Sweden, making him the youngest player to win a World Cup championship. In the same tournament, Pele became the youngest player to score a goal (Brazil vs. Wales) and a hat-trick (Brazil vs. France). I’ve faith in these young players but which one of them can make us forget about Pele’s achievement in 1958, which one?

ZAKUMI INDEX: Giovanni Dos Santos (Mexico), Miroslav Stoch (Slovakia), Jozy Altidore (USA), Sergio Busquets (Spain), Javier Pastore (Argentina), Cacau (Germany), Zoran Tosic( Man United).

8. SCOUT LIST: During the World Cup, there will be a lot of scouts at the matches. They’ll all be looking out for the next, Ronaldo, Torres, Maldini, Kaka etc. Their names may not necessarily be household names but they’ll soon be the next big thing if they aren’t already. Watch out for these names.

ZAKUMI INDEX: Angel Di Maria (Argentina), Matias Fernandez(Chile), Javier Hernandez (Mexico), Milan Jovanovic (Serbia), Siphiwe Tshabalala (South Africa), Andres Guardado (Mexico), and Kwadwo Asamoah (Ghana)

9. TOP ABSENTEES: A couple of players will be missing the World Cup due to injury or exclusion. Seriously, I could form a World Cup winning team from the list of absentees. It’s surprising the caliber of players missing this year’s mundial. Take a look at this,

ZAKUMI INDEX: Michael Essien, David Beckham, Nani, Benzema, Rio Ferdinand, Zanetti, and Pato.

10. TOP “WAGS”: Loosely speaking, “WAGS” means Wives and Girlfriends but in this case I’m referring to all the pretty girls who will be at the World Cup not necessarily wives and girlfriends of the players. I’m looking at the countries with the prettiest female fans going to the World Cup. Hehe. Remember I said I’m a fun loving mascot. Zakumi loves the “chics”. You and I know that the World Cup without female fans is like Africa without Madagascar.

ZAKUMI INDEX: Brazil, Spain, Mexico, USA, Nigeria, France and Portugal.

So there we have it, the first episode of “Zakumi’s Diary”. Like I mentioned earlier, the build up is on and the fever is catching up with South Africans and the rest of the world. Regarding the Zakumi Index, I watch so much football I should be able to predict all the winners but sadly/thankfully football is neither Math nor Science! Prediction is always a matter of ‘informed’ opinion and I want to hear your opinion too. Don’t wait till it happens before you tell me “I-told-you-so”. I want to hear it now.

I’m off to prepare for the opening ceremony. Take care of yourself and let me hear from you soon. Bye.

Your beloved mascot,

ZAKUMI

"The mascot with an attitude"