Golden moments at the Club World Cup
I was covering an assignment on the 21st of January when I missed a call from Christopher Seagateng as my phone was on silent.
I should probably explain that Seagateng is the Pan African Youth Union Deputy Secretary General and is based in Morocco.
He then sent a follow-up text explaining he had given my contacts to a certain Mr. Elias from the Moroccan Embassy in South Africa. Intriguing!
Curious as I was, never in my wildest dreams could I have guessed what was to come.
A few minutes later I received a WhatsApp message from a Moroccan number – Mr. Elias was inviting little old me to cover the 2022 FIFA Club World Cup!
The 12-day trip would include touring the country’s sports facilities as it bids for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2030 FIFA World Cup hosting rights.
Apparently I’d been recommended for the trip by a Moroccan journalist who was impressed by my work when covering the 2019 African Games in Rabat!
When the same message popped up in my e-mail, I realized this was no scam, this was the real deal.
But could I get the time off work? The flight was in nine days and I was worried it was too short notice.
I need not have panicked, however, as The Voice family stepped up – as they always do – and management allowed me to go.
I was so excited! I had not travelled for such a long trip in almost three years.
Packing proved tricky as I would be away for almost two weeks, in which time we’d be visiting seven cities. I checked the weather forecast and was surprised to find that conditions vary quite drastically depending on where you are in Morocco.
Anyway, to cut a long story a little shorter, I arrived at Sir Seretse Khama airport for the 22-hour trip, which would include stops in OR Tambo and then Dubai.
By the time we landed in Casablanca at lunchtime the next afternoon, I was exhausted. My legs were swollen, my hair a frazzled mess and the less said about my armpits the better!
My spirits were still high, though, and after a 20-minute exchange to sort out my VISA, I walked through customs to be met by a smiling gentleman who enquired if I was perhaps Virginia (my other name). I guess I was easy to spot thanks to my t-shirt and jacket, both proudly emblazoned with Botswana in bright writing.
We zoomed off in a sleek black Mercedes Benz, me feeling like a VIP in the back and wishing my old schoolmates at Donga could see me now! Thanks to this noble profession, Journalism!
At the hotel I was met by officials from the Moroccan Football Federation officials, and was give the schedule of events for the next few days.
After a much-needed hot shower, it was off to the restaurant for lunch where I met up with the rest of our group, made up of journalists from all over the world. With most chattering away in French, I had to politely ask we switch to English (now I know how our sexy sub-editor feels when we drone on in Setswana).
The tour officially started the following day, with a one-hour bus journey to Rabat, home of the state-of-the-art Mohammed VI Sports Complex (for those of you who are imagining Serowe and Molepolole Sports Complexes, please don’t!).
Named after the country’s current King, the venue was built in 2019 at a cost of US$61 million (P807 million) on a site that stretches 29.3 hectares.
The facility is reserved for the county’s senior national teams, for adequate preparations for their various games and young athletes training. It boasts four natural turf football pitches, three synthetic pitches, one covered indoor football pitch and one hybrid pitch.
It also has a medical department and a technical centre among other things.
Seeing this facility made me realise Botswana is still worlds away from meeting the requirements for hosting the 2027 AFCON.
In the afternoon, we caught a train to Tanger city for the official opening and first game of the tournament, in which the reigning African champions, Al Ahly were up against New Zealand’s Auckland City.
It was the Egyptian’s who prevailed, running out comfortable 3-0 winners to book their place in the semi-finals.
The next day I clocked up more air travelers’ miles as we flew to Agadir, where another multi-million venue, the Agadir Stadium, is found. Again very, very impressive!
Over the next week-and-a-half we would stop off in Marrakech, Fes and Ifrane, where, would you believe it, it snowed! This was a first for me – a moment I never dared imagine might be possible as a young girl growing up in dusty old Tonota.
The tour climaxed with the Club World Cup Final, featuring a star-studded Real Madrid side and Al Hilal SFC of Saudi Arabia.
Along with a capacity 45, 000 crowd, we were all excited to see Madrid in the flesh and the Spaniards did not disappoint.
With Karim Benzema leading the line, the magical Luka Modric and Toni Kroos in midfield and the no-nonsense Antonio Rudiger at the back, Los Blancos put on a real show, running out 5-3 winners to be crowned champions of the world (to be fair to Hilal, they managed one more goal than Liverpool did on Tuesday night!).
It was a fitting way to end an amazing 12 days in North Africa, and, as a cherry on top, I bumped into Botswana Football Association (BFA) President Maclean Letshwiti after the final and he agreed to an exclusive interview.
The long journey back home was made slightly easier as this time I was joined on the flight by my new friend, Zambian sports journalist, Memory Malisawa.
Waiting to greet me at the airport were hubbie, our son and my bestie, Kesego, whose happy faces helped lift my mood after what had been one of the best experiences of my life.
