I added another pin to my personal world map as I touched down in Vilnius, Lithuania this week - I am here to work on the FIFA Futsal World Cup (basically indoor 5-a-side), so that’s a new country and a new sport! Mercifully there is no bubbling, so I am looking forward to making the most of my time off to do some exploring. I managed a brief walkabout on the afternoon I arrived, and early signs suggest this is a very pretty part of the world.
I haven’t had a chance to write until now because the prep days have been horrendous; There are three pairs of ops at different venues, and I’m partnered with DJ, who is operating match/TV graphics while I am in charge of the ‘cube’ inside the arena (see below). We’ve had little to no help from some of our Lithuanian colleagues, whose severe lack of urgency/understanding made things so much harder than they should have been. The list of charges is far too long to write out, but it made for a couple of late, frustrating finishes.
My cube role falls under the umbrella of ‘infotainment’, i.e. roles that bring some information+entertainment to the capacity 500-strong crowds, and even my co-workers in this area barely did anything to assist me (or even glance my way). I had no idea what was expected of me even as game 1 kicked off, but I started to get a feel for things and in the end things sorta worked out. Only at the conclusion of play did the infotainment manager invite me to their debrief meeting, which I found hilarious in a laughing-maniacally-now-you-want-to-talk! kind of way.
For the matches themselves, they weren’t too bad for an introduction to the sport. Each matchday consists of two games (per venue), and the rules are pretty-much akin to football, except a match consists of 20-minute halves and the clock stops whenever the ball goes out of play. We had the tournament opener featuring Russia RFU v Egypt, and I quickly learned that either RFU are pretty good, or Egypt are pretty crap. It finished 9-0, and I was probably busier than the Russian goalkeeper!
Uzbekistan v Guatemala followed, which was a far better spectacle; a rip-roaring start saw Guatemala 3-1 up after 7 minutes, before adding a fourth two minutes into the second half. Uzbekistan pulled one back soon after, but then there was a bit of a lull to proceedings. Almost as soon as had DJ texted me to say how boring this was, the match took off! Having dominated possession, UZB finally got another goal back for 4-3, and then switched their goalie for another who essentially acted as a fifth outfield player to pile on the pressure in search of an equaliser. Guatemala escaped several close calls before the pressure told with one minute to go; one of their players diverted a cross into his own net, sending the noisy, flag-swathed Uzbek contingent in the stands berserk! UZB reverted to their ‘normal’ goalkeeper, no doubt feeling immensely chuffed with their efforts, only for Guatemala to suddenly snatch the win with 14 seconds left on the clock! It was an utter gut-punch for UZB, who had worked relentlessly to find a way back into the match, and I did feel for them. On the other hand, the dramatic final few minutes were undeniably delicious as a neutral.
The quickfire start, drab middle and frenetic finale made me think of a quote by a musician (can’t remember who) about playing concerts – as long as you start and finish the show strongly, no one will remember the middle if it’s below par! I’m hoping a similar thing will be said of our involvement in this tournament – if we successfully navigate the rest of our matches, then the fraught beginning will hopefully seem a lot less significant.