After a guided tour
of all the nook and crannies of Hampshire Hotel, Ballito,
KwaZulu-Natal, where the Super Eagles of Nigeria will camp for the
South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup, which begins from June 11, the
General Manager of the hotel, Rodney Bull, still finds it difficult to
show this reporter, Aisha Falode of AIT Television, and two other
journalists based in South Africa, rooms in the hotel with two separate
beds.
All the rooms we
inspected had single beds. Falode and this reporter insisted on seeing
rooms with double beds, since players normally stay two in room.
For the umpteenth time we asked again. “Just give me a minute, they will get the keys,” Mr. Bull responded.
We were in Ballito for about two hours, and we never saw the rooms with separate beds.
Are the boys going
to be sleeping two on a single bed? We could not answer the question
since Bull did not show us rooms with two separates beds, nor inform us
that the hotel is making arrangements for rooms with two separates beds
before our boys arrive.
But it wasn’t just
absence of double beds in the rooms that arose our curiosity. The
swimming pool in the hotel is the size that you find in most residence
buildings. Small swimming pools that at best, could only be used by two
or three adults at most at a time. When we asked Mr. Bull if the hotel
has another pool elsewhere, he said no. Any plan to build one before
our boys arrive, the answer is also no.
So assuming after training about five or six of our boys and they want to swim, what will happen?
“That is the pool we have. The players and the other guests in the hotel will use it.”
We looked at each other in amazement. Share pool with guests? Other guests in a camp for players competing in the World Cup?
We got the biggest
shock when we got to the gymnasium. Apart from its small size, it
lacked the equipment and facilities one finds in a modern gym for
average athletes, how much more of those campaigning in the World Cup.
Like the swimming pool, Mr. Bull told us our players will share the gym
with other guests.
The rooms, the
swimming pool and the gym are not the only problem with the interior,
when we visited last month. Men were still at work, putting finishing
touches to ensure that the hotel is ready for the Eagles. A manager who
identified himself as Vijay promised that the hotel will be 100% ready
before the Eagles arrive Ballito.
Nature of Ballito
When the Nigeria
Football Federation said it has found a base for Eagles in Ballito,
anybody who is familiar with South Africa will be delighted, because
Ballito is a holiday resort renowned for its excellent hotels.
Established in 1954
as a private town by the Glen Anil Development Corporation, it is about
40 minutes away from Durban. The town has been voted as the most
popular holiday resort many times. Ballito boasts an abundance of
sporting clubs and hotels.
As we drove to
Ballito, we all commend the NFF decision to get a base for the Eagles
in such a popular and exclusive holiday resort.
But our
commendation soon changed into condemnation when our driver pointed at
the hotel from the highway, “that is Hampshire Hotel.” He pointed to
the right, “we just need to turn at the untarred road and we will be
there in two minutes.” No, this can not be the hotel for our Eagles.
Maybe this is just the hotel annex, and the main hotel should be
somewhere.
One thing that
struck one was that the hotel was still under construction, the
security is porous, there is no fence, and there is no plan to
construct one, and it is located by the roadside. In Nigeria where
hotels are very expensive, when Eagles are playing the World Cup
qualifiers in Lagos, they stay in TransCorp Hilton, Le Meriden, Lagos
Sheraton or Eko Holiday Inn and Suites when they play in Lagos. So, in
South Africa, why take them to hotels in the category of two or three
stars?
Ballito is just 40
minutes away from Durban, the city with the highest population of
Nigerians in South Africa, so who will stop fans from invading the
hotels? With Nigerian police that apply force, it is a Herculean task
controlling fans from invading Eagles camp when they stay in fenced
hotels in Abuja and Lagos. How will it be with the South African
police?
If the hotel is not
good enough, the training pitch located at Ashton International
College, Ballito, a few minutes from the hotel, is in terrible shape.
Joe Erasmus, who introduced himself as Senior College Head, said the
entire community is delighted to have the Eagles in Ballito. Erasmus
said the school has made history after being chosen by the Eagles.
Asked how the Eagles will train on a pitch that is in bad condition. He
replied that he didn’t want trouble, so he would rather not comment on
that. But there has to be a miracle between now and June 3 before the
Eagles could train on the pitch.
Our opponents’ hotels
Whereas the Eagles
are still talking about the suitability or not of hotel and training
pitch, their opponents have put that behind them. Argentina, the
country Nigeria will play come June 12, seem to have the best base of
all the 32 teams competing at the World Cup.
Diego Maradona and
boys have chosen the University of Pretoria’s High Performance Centre
(HPC), which is Southern Africa’s first elite performance sports
facility. It boasts of world-class training facilities, medical
services, accommodation, nutritional food, scientific expertise,
research and hospitality. The facility has local and international
reputation for excellence and success.
Greece, another opponent of the Eagles, will be staying at Beverly Hills Hotel, Umhlanga Rocks,
KwaZulu Natal. This
hotel is renowned for its superb personal service and luxury
accommodation. It overlooks the Indian Ocean, and offers glorious views
of miles of unspoilt beaches.
South Korea,
another country in our group, will be based at Hunters Rest, a paradise
beautifully situated in the foothills of the Magaliesberg just outside
Rustenburg. This 6000-hectare resort, boasts many splendid facilities
that help to make it one of the most sought after destinations in South
Africa.
For Algeria, they
have chosen Zimbali Hotel, a 370 hectare (925 acre) residential and
resort estate, located on the North Coast of KwaZulu-Natal. The hotel
overlooks the incredible Indian Ocean. Its golf course is the first in
Africa to be designed by former British Open and South African Open
champion, Tom Weiskopf.
Our not so rich
neighbour, Cameroon, will be based at The Oyster Box Hotel in Umhlanga.
A review of the hotel by Sunday Tribune gives an insight into what it
look like: “The grand dame of local hotels, the Oyster Box, is about to
step back on the stage – not treading gently but making a sweeping
entrance. It’s been no ordinary revamp. The new Oyster Box Hotel
splashes of colour, elegant bedrooms, a cool blue terrace, exotic
detail and attentive staff like porter, Smanga Mthethwa.”
Another not so rich
neighbour, Cote d’ Ivore, will be based at Riverside Hotel and
Conference Centre. This unique hotel and conference centre is situated
on the banks of the Vaal River (See box for list team hotels and Google
their names for information and images).
Lagerback on Eagles’ base
Surprisingly, the
Eagles coach, Lars Lagerback, was said to have inspected the Eagles
hotel and was said to have been pleased at what he saw, said the Media
Coordinator, Idah Peterside.
“We visited the
hotel and the coach is very happy with it. The place has been renovated
and put in the right shape for the World Cup and it has been approved
by FIFA. So, we don’t foresee any problems. We also looked at the
training ground and the pitch is in good shape,” Peterside said.
If Lagerback is
satisfied, as Peterside told the media, then the Swede’s standard and
taste must have taken a spiralling fall from the time he took Sweden to
World Cup in 2006.
For the Germany
2006 World Cup, Lagerback chose The Park Hotel, Bremen, as base. The
hotel is one of the Leading Hotels of the World, a perfect combination
of a country idyll and city life (See image of Park Hotel and compare
with Hampshire Hotel).
A diplomat with the
Nigeria High Commission in Johannesburg said he was disgusted when he
saw the hotel. He claimed that NFF members did not contact the High
Commission before they settled for the hotel.
He said the hotel is insecure, and it does not befit Nigeria.
“Go and look at
where other countries are staying and look at where Nigeria is staying;
it does not befit us. There is no security, the gym and the pool are
sub-standard. Well, we don’t have any problem with NFF, we will get in
touch with Rotimi Amechi.
“The Presidential
Task Force seems to have all the money. We will get a befitting hotel
for the Eagles. Lulu and NFF members can stay in Hampshire Hotel,”
said the diplomat.
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