Coiffured heads quiver with rage as inch-long, manicured nails stab the air to emphasize pleas to reconsider the unjust call. On the other side of the field, equally coiffured heads tilt sideways, lazily, as huge smiles greet the announced foul. These manicured nails delicately encircle bottles of imported mineral water. Dainty sips are taken. An occasional male belly-laugh is heard in response to the truly impressive invective echoing from across the field.
Silence is called for, and someone proposes a prayer of thanksgiving.
Impatient children scowl as they bow their heads, eyes firmly fixed on the piece of pizza that will be claimed as soon as the interminable prayer is over. Her tiny fingers are stitching together the six-sided pieces of leather that will ultimately become a soccer ball. She earns six cents an hour for her work. Her hands are too small to manipulate scissors, so her older sister does the cutting for her. In Pakistan alone, an estimated eleven million children work for similar wages, in equally squalid conditions.