It’s a glorious weekend for sport — let’s enjoy it
IT’S JUST as well the organisers of the anti-Brexit march in central London didn’t arrange the event for 1pm on Sunday, because that’s when the second England game in the World Cup happens, and for the duration, nothing much else counts. Sunday lunches, church services and family get-togethers will be tactfully arranged around it. Anyone looking for a long-sought restaurant reservation or bagging a sunspot in the park will be onto a winner. Searches for last-minute flights to Russia are going to be frantic. This is a weekend of sport; let’s embrace it.
Of course it’s not just football enthusiasts who can look forward to spending whole midsummer days in front of a wide screen. The rugby third Test, with England facing South Africa, tomorrow, is another big event. Then there’s the tennis finals at Queen’s and the last day of Royal Ascot. Sporting patriots are already celebrating England’s wins over Australia in one-day cricket.
But it’s football that dominates everything else. This tournament has seen safe bets fall flat — see Argentina last night — and plucky outsiders, Mexico against Germany for instance, steal a march on bigger opponents. There is a genuine sense that anything can happen. For lovers of the game, there has been some wonderful football as well as disreputable behaviour. The flaws of long-distance VAR refereeing have been evident as well as the variable quality of the decisions on the pitch.
And for all the fears and reservations about a tournament in Russia, the hospitality and efficiency of the host nation has been evident in its management so far; the host cities have gone out of their way to welcome fans and policing has on the whole been fair; only the mosquitoes have misbehaved. The point of the World Cup is to bring the nations together through football, and this is happening, notwithstanding intense national rivalries. Having said which, the hopes of millions are hanging on Harry Kane and the rest against Panama, not to mention the economic prospects of bars and beer and crisps makers.
Those who are not wholly enthused by sport should take heart: big matches and tournaments are an opportunity to engage in other activities with the kind of peace, quiet and space you don’t often get in London. Let’s all make the most of it.