Cricket Diplomacy

(from bbc.co.uk)

Today over a billion people were glued to screens and radios around the world to follow the India-Pakistan cricket match. Now India will go on to the finals of the Cricket World Cup to face Sri Lanka. On the field, Pakistan has never beaten India in the world championships while India has won the world cup once, in 1983. Today’s game was probably the most watched match in history.

Off the field, the rivalry between the nations has been deadly serious. Tensions have run high between the neighbors since partition and have resulted in war three times since 1947.

In a symbolic gesture, Indian prime minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani prime minister Yousef Raza Gilani have agreed to watch the match together. Whether this will be a move toward resuming talks between the two countries is yet to be seen.

SFCG’s media manager in Pakistan, Wajih Akhtar has written and performed a song for the occasion.  Because Wajih is a well known and popular singer in Pakistan, the song has been designated as the official song for the 2011 World Cup by Pakistan TV. The song calls for patience, calm and accepting the result of the game. It also reinforces our belief that sport can give us a rare opening to a common path and promote understanding of differences.