They are faces who symbolised life in the UK in the 1980s. One spent her time with world statesmen such as Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, the other had Alex "Hurricane" Higgins and Cliff "Grinder" Thorburn for company. Politics and snooker may not be natural bedfellows, but Margaret Thatcher and Steve Davis had a lot in common 20 years ago.
The former British Prime Minister was known as "The Iron Lady", while Davis was titled "The Nugget" as he embraced six world titles. At the peak of their powers, both were ruthless in their decision-making. They were also regarded with some trepidation by their foes. Thatcher's name continues to prompt affection or derision. Yet she is estimated to have spent less time on British television than Davis in the good old days. Before the explosion of satellite, the UK had only four TV channels.
The 1980s were a time when snooker ruled the world, or at least Great Britain. Like Thatcher's Conservative party, the sport fell into decline in the 1990s despite attaining new standards with the emergence of Stephen Hendry and Ronnie O'Sullivan. But like the cyclical nature of politics, there appears to be as much hope for snooker in 2008 as the modern day Tory party. Managing to evolve appears to be the key to survival.
The sport, according to the chairman of World Snooker Sir Rodney Walker, appears to be trying to prove it is no longer a relic of the British Empire. Preston, Sheffield, and Wembley were the typical bastions of the game, but today snooker is more popular in China's Beijing, Shanghai and Jiangsu. Davis's 18-17 defeat to Dennis Taylor in the World Championship ended on the final black early in April, 1985 when 18.5million viewers stayed with it until 12.25 on a Monday morning.
That remains snooker's most celebrated final, but 110million in China witnessed the Chinese player Ding Junhui win the China Open three years ago. It is easy to decipher that the future of the game lies away from its traditional heartland. Walker is a man from Thatcher's era, and like Davis, probably benefited from free enterprise and entrepreneurial spirit. As Thatcher once famously, sort of, blurted out, the gentleman is not for turning.
Snooker announced the withdrawal of sponsors for the World Championship and the Masters, but there will be a new ranking event in Bahrain in November, the first professional tournament to be held in the Middle East since 1994. It has a purse of £250,000 (Dh1.69m). Walker is hopeful it will lead to further events being staged in the Middle East, including the UAE. "We are absolutely delighted that the members of the Royal family in Bahrain have been keen to accommodate us, and we are very much looking forward to being there in November," said Walker. We had been in discussions with people in the United Arab Emirates as well as those in Qatar. If the tournament is a success we will not only to be able to hold other tournaments in Bahrain, but in other parts of the Middle East.
"I'm fairly hopeful that once Dubai Duty Free, Emirates Airline and the Jumeirah Group see the success of the tournament in Bahrain, then the discussions we have with them will see a tournament return to the UAE." Walker, 65, became chairman of World Snooker four years ago, and is content with the progress the sport has made. He intends to restore the tour to at least 12 tournaments, and believes Hong Kong and South Africa are ripe to hold such events.
He is also hoping to attract overseas sponsors for the major events. "Knowing the huge interest there is in the Far East, we must look to take it to different parts of the world," he added. "We now broadcast our UK tournaments in more than 80 countries. "One of the big advantages of having a tournament in the Far East and now the Middle East is that hopefully we can start to appeal to global sponsors, rather than just domestic ones."
To move forward, it appears that snooker, like the European golf tour realised in the 1980s, that it must go out and spread the word. In 1985, Wham's Careless Whisper topped the charts, Thatcher topped the polls and people tried to get their heads around a Rubik's Cube. In such enlightened times, snooker seems ready to follow the lead of that year's most famed film and go Back to the Future. @Email:dkane@thenational.ae
