28/05/2026
From Humanitarian Crisis to Football Delusion
ETHIOPIA ― In a country ranked 100th out of 123 nations on the 2025 Global Hunger Index, where the FAO and WFP have classified entire regions as hunger hotspots, Ethiopia’s leadership appears dangerously detached from reality.
Roughly 13 million Ethiopians, including 4 million internally displaced people, urgently require humanitarian food assistance. Across large parts of the country, communities continue to endure conflict, displacement, drone strikes, kidnappings, and collapsing public services.
Yet Deputy Prime Minister Temesgen Tiruneh travelled to Bahir Dar, the capital of one of the country’s poorest and most unstable regions, not with a plan for reconstruction or recovery, but with a fantasy worthy of a development policy.
Standing before thousands, he promised that the ruling "Prosperity Party" would transform Bahir Dar stadium such that one day, it would be capable of hosting clubs like Arsenal F.C., Manchester United F.C., Liverpool F.C. and other elite clubs whenever Europe’s weather becomes cold.
For millions of Ethiopians struggling to survive, the speech landed not as an inspiration but a mockery.
People who cannot safely travel between towns were promised Premier League tourism. Families mourning relatives lost to war were offered fantasies about elite European clubs playing exhibition matches in a conflict zone.
Citizens living without reliable healthcare, electricity, or security were told to dream about English Premier League while their daily reality continues to collapse around them.
The cruelty is not merely in the promise itself. It is in the staggering disconnect between the suffering on the ground and the fantasies being sold from the podium. Absolutely unhinged.
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