Issue No. 593
Opinion
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4 - 10 July 2002 Issue No. 593 Opinion |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Recommend this page | ||
World Cup politics
The hysteria that accompanied the World Cup has political implications that should not go unnoticed. In both developed and developing countries, a condition known as "football mania" has become an essential aspect of life, developing as it does numerous media, economic, cultural and social dimensions.
One such implication is Olympic diplomacy, through which nations and continents undertake fierce competition without recourse to war. FIFA is, in this sense, a major world power supported by approximately a billion committed spectators. As an organisation it is influential, commanding an enormous budget and supporting, in turn, numerous subsidiary businesses.
The World Cup is as much an export festival as a sports event. Satellite technology and increasingly innovative marketing techniques make for a global exchange that takes only profit margins into account.
Thus are serious concerns consigned to the background. Nobody pays attention to the political realities of life in the 21st century, the mistakes and corruption of those in power. Political dissent is ameliorated and leaders acquire a false popular legitimacy by appearing at the games.
"Football mania" caters to the need for information, news, escapism, celebrity. At the same time it confirms the illusion of global identity in a world where individual and national identities are all but lost. It denies the existence of corpses.
This week's Soapbox speaker is professor of political science at Helwan University.
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