Right: Zidane's famous anti-racist headbut during the last World Cup Final
The World Cup is here. Workers in the western hemisphere, where our games air at 7 AM and 11AM, will be trying to catch a game before going to work. Some lucky folk will be able to watch while at work. Four years ago I wore my “don’t tell me the score of today’s game!” t-shirt to construction sites. (So that I could go home and watch the game, taped.)
Even the least-viewed game of the last tournament in 2006, Togo v. South Korea, was watched by 108 million people, far more than the Super Bowl. In previous decades the Cup could be said to be a European/Latin American affair. Now, like all else, it’s become globalized. Some 670 million people are expected to watch the World Cup final, one-tenth of the entire world’s population.
The World Cup’s host, South Africa, are keen to promote their country for investment. Huge, new, state of the art stadiums have been built to prove the country is “world class.” And somewhere between 1-2 million tourists will join a similar number of South Africans attending live games during the following month.
South Africa has changed. In the 1940s, Nelson Mandela attended cricket matches in the caged-off area for black people. He always cheered for whomever was playing against South Africa. The country’s racial apartheid policies eventually led the country into sports isolation. And today that’s all changed. Its teams are no longer all-white.
According to one research company on soccer statistics, it’s also no longer simply a sport followed by men. In Venezuela, are were more likely to watch TV soccer games than men.
So the World Cup is international. It’s universal. And of course, it’s soccer! What is there not to like?
The World Cup doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It is only as inclusive as any other entity under capitalism. The vast poor of South Africa have already been excluded from the games. And not by accident, nor simply because of money.
Ticket sales for local South Africans went on sale many months ago. However, all tickets were online. In many shanty-towns people often don’t even have stable electricity or telephone landlines, let alone a computer. Eventually, an uproar ensued. But in reality it was luke warm ticket sales that forced Fifa, the international football agency, to allow tickets to be sold at local retail centers. Ironically, most of the cheaper tickets were by then sold out. Games such as Paraguay (population 6 million) verses New Zealand (pop. 4 million) were still available! : ) But how many South African workers could afford the $144 tickets that were remaining?
The fabulous new arenas were built by construction workers. Those workers’ final day of work would likely be the last time they’d be inside those stadiums. I know the feeling. The goal of Fifa and the South African government was to exclude the working class from the games and attempt to have the emerging middle class populate the arenas. Like all sports under capitalism they are about promoting the superficial impression of affluence. Along with the pretense of national glory. And after the games? Most of the huge stadiums will remain empty, while families double-up in shacks that they can barely afford.
South Africa has an incredible story. It’s black working class rose up, built huge unions and through its mass stayaways (strikes) it eventually brought the racist regime to its knees. So if your country is not in the qualifying 32 teams, maybe that’s a reason to cheer for the South African team. Up until recently they were ranked 90th in world soccer, but that has already changed.
Many socialists will likely be rooting for the underdog. A friend I know is cheering for team of the extremely-isolated, horribly-stalinst North Korean regime. They are likely to be relegated in first round. However, you’ve got to feel sorry for their players – the stories of the strange cult-like behavior of the squad are all over the internet. Scottish, Irish and Welsh soccer fans, whose teams all failed to make the top 32, will probably be rooting against England. Many more globally will hope to see the US make a slip up, although ironically the US is a soccer underdog. Most will be rooting for their home teams.
Others? They are simply supporting the likely winners: Spain or Brazil. I’ve not yet decided who I am backing. My two young girls have picked Portugal and Brazil.
I love the World Cup for its internationalism and the incredible team talent that we’ll get to witness. A bonus will be seeing a small nation win against a large one. Everyone likes that! I will be watching as many games as I can cram-in for the next month, which in the end is always less than I hoped for.
Rob
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