Okay okay Jacob Zuma couldn’t make it. Yeah we know – probably a traffic jam.

Anyway, the good thing is most of the stuff we care about means nothing to the kids. At the end of the day what really matters is the smile on their faces, and they smiled a lot! Although some things went wrong on the day, it was a great success!

I think World Cup Tournaments are a little bit like Christmas.

Every year at the beginning of December we start making plans and wish lists, and counting the days until the final day. And when it finally comes, it rushes through faster then we are able to unwrap our presents. And despite all the unexpected accidents and disasters that appear to happen just on these special days, we enjoy every minute of it.

November 4th was no different. Four long weeks we had planned our World Aids Day Tribute Tournament at the ICC; making plans, schedules, checklists, setting up pitches and talking to hundreds of people on the phone. And of course some of our plans didn’t work out the way we intended.

Our well-prepared schedule was ready for the garbage as the players arrived one hour later than expected, the climbing wall wasn’t erected on time, and no one knew how to turn the popcorn machine on.

But instead of sticking our heads under the red carpet in the entrance hall of the ICC, we remembered the famous words in our tournament idiot’s guide. Don’t panic! With a little bit of re-scheduling, we were back on schedule before lunch.

What were the first emergency steps? First: Take a deep breath. Second: Grab a can of Coke. Third: Open it. Fourth: DRINK! And eventually let the sugar relax your brain… and don’t spill it when you realise at lunch time that the guest speakers are missing and 300 kids are about to demolish the arena by trying to eat sandwiches and to kick balls at the same time.

A quantum of solace

Thank goodness the