Tag / Soccer
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The Empire Strikes Back: Soccer In A Postcolonial World
As the final whistle blows at a World Cup Quarter Final watch party in Miami, I leave the venue alongside dozens of silent yellow-clad Brazil fans, many on the verge of tears. With their heartbreaking 2-1 defeat to Belgium, Brazil’s elimination narrows the competition to six teams going into the second leg of the Quarter-Finals—all…
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Who Can Change FIFA?
FIFA has finally begun to wake up after a nightmare over the summer, and it looks like change is just around the corner. Following multiple scandals over the summer in which nine current and former members of FIFA were accused and indicted on bribery charges, and Swiss authorities conducted a separate investigation into more than…
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Helping or Hurting the Game?
This summer, soccer fans watched with outrage as the truth was finally revealed: there is a rampant culture of corruption within FIFA. After hosting privileges for World Cups 2018 and 2022 were awarded to Russia and Qatar respectively, many suspected that there was high-level corruption within FIFA. After much criticism, FIFA decided to open an…
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Alexander the Great, Soccer, and Child Labor
You’ve never heard of Sialkot, Pakistan, but you’ve almost certainly seen their product – and maybe even kicked it a couple of times. Sialkot produces half of the world’s soccer balls, including those used in last year’s World Cup. The story of how the city has been shaped by markets serves as a testimony to…
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FC Barcelona vs. Real Madrid: Athletic Rivalry or Political Tool?
BY BRIAN LEIBOWITZ “Més que un club,” reads FC Barcelona’s team motto, signifying that it is more than just a club soccer team. But what exactly is “more”? Throughout Spanish history, the bitter rivalry between the great teams of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, popularly known as El Clásico, has been symbolic of the political…
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Do Sports Wins Equal Political Wins?
BY CHLOE NAGUIB AND LINDSEY WANBERG With the final squelch of the whistle, Brazilian soccer fans erupted into profane chants about their president, Dilma Rousseff. Their national team had just experienced its worst-ever performance in the World Cup, losing 7-1 to Germany in the semifinals. With each angry chant, it seemed that the Brazilians lost…
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QATAR 2022
BY NAHUEL FEFER In 2005, in the throes of a five-year civil war, the Ivory Coast qualified for the World Cup. On national television the players fell to its knees and pleaded with their nation to lay down its arms. The peace that resulted has not been permanent, but the situation has improved. The nation’s…
