What Albania’s politicians and people could learn from the world’s greatest sporting event?
By ANDI BALLA
As the FIFA World Cup, the event that captivated must of the world, came to an end, there was a feeling of exhilaration for some, loss for others. But most would agree that it was a joy to watch events like this that bring the world together, from corporate boards to the slums.
In this, the world’s largest sporting event, there are some interesting lessons for Albania’s politicians and people, and they are not necessarily sports-related.
A. Small countries can indeed do great things with a lot of hard work and a little bit of luck. We are often told that because of Albania’s tiny size, it will never amount to anything good. It is often far easier to get negative headlines, which Albania and Albanians often do, than it is to set a positive example. Blame history, blame whoever you want to, but it can me done. Take Slovakia, the team that essentially kicked incumbent champions Italy out of the World Cup. It shows that small, poor countries with bad political leadership – like Albania נcan turn things around. After breaking up with the Czech Republic, Slovakia was almost a European pariah – poor by most standards and led by an authoritarian government that was leading the country astray. It turned things around and now is a full EU member and its economy is good enough to be in the Eurozone – all that in a decade or so.
Other small countries by population like Slovenia or even the Netherlands to a degree show that one can be successful in the international arena no matter what the size – whether in sports or in economic and political power.
B. Life can be unfair, even when you play by the rules, and others don’t. But you still play, accept it, and move on to play another day. And that can be far more honorable than complaining and protesting. Ghana was cheated of a certain goal when a Uruguay defender stopped the ball with his hand. Ghana went on to lose at penalties. But they left the tournament having gained world-wide respect. They did not sit on the field in protest until there was a rematch or decide to boycott all future FIFA events until the rules of the game were changed. They did not go on hunger strike in front of FIFA’s headquarters. Some Albanian politicians could learn far more about European behavior from an African team than having fancy dinners in Strasbourg.
C. Big egos don’t necessary make for a great team. One of the things you notice in teams like Portugal or France is that despite having some of the greatest players in the world, they struggled to advance in the tournament. And strong, stern men like England coach Fabio Capello don’t necessarily make for great leaders that show results either. One of Albania’s biggest problems, which is partly cultural and partly imposed by history, is that many leaders of Albanian political parties are essentially dictators inside their own organizations. They rule rubber-stamp forums, expel or marginalize any opposition and rule their parties for decades. At the end of the day, Albania’s political system suffers as does the country’s advancement. Refreshing leadership every four to eight years is just as important to political parties as it is for a democratic country as a whole.
