World Cup weary?

I always feel happy when I see an array of different national flags like this around town (outside the Tib Street Tavern in this case) rather than the intimidating giant St George Cross flags - which put me off ever going inside.

Like it or not, the football World Cup starts today. There was a fascinating BBC World Service feature on how South Africans were let down and lied to after hosting the event in 2010- they were promised improved healthcare, housing and facilities but all they got were stadia. 

It looks like the same could happen in Brazil, with major disturbances by the people demanding the billions (including £3 Bn of public money ) wasted on the World Cup be put to better use for education, health and housing. Having travelled in Brazil for two months, admittedly a long time ago, and although the dark days of military dictatorships are now long gone, the inequalities that I saw in 1987- from Rio to Salvador, from Foz de Iguacu to Recife do not seem to have been tackled to this day.

On a football matter the BBC World Service's Sportsworld fan forum did well with some unbiased coverage - inviting fans from 24 of the 32 competing countries to their Manchester studios last Sunday to discuss the football side of the World Cup.

I'll always support small countries who have not won before:  So I hope that Bosnia Herzegovina, Costa Rica, Croatia, Chile and Honduras do well in particular. Failing that, I would want any country from a continent who have never won it, so an Asian, African or Australasian nation. Unlikely...