SPORTS: Football’s Popularity Owes to Democracy, Surprises

By Mario Osava Reprint | | Print |

Analysis Mario Osava

RIO DE JANEIRO, Jun 3 2002 (IPS) - Senegal’s surprise victory over defending champion France in the opening game of the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan, and the fact that, as of Monday, Africa remained undefeated with respect to Europe, serve as signs that football is democratic and popular, “of the people”.

Bitter defeats are suffered by superpowers much more often on the football pitch than in other areas or in other sports, a truth that ensures all football fans a greater quota of hope and prevents monopolies on the joys of victory.

Senegal’s feat Friday in Seoul is emblematic of this reality. The win over France, which had been considered the favourite and was World Cup champion in 1998, also served as a sort of national reaffirmation in the face of domination.

Senegal was a French colony and only obtained its independence in 1960. And this African country’s football industry continues to be “colonised”, as 21 of the 23 players on the national team competing in the FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) tournament in South Korea and Japan normally play for football clubs in France.

Meanwhile, the French national team has one footballer who is a naturalised citizen of Senegalese origin, midfielder Patrick Vieira.

The African continent, in spite of its extreme poverty and dire need for development, has altered the global football landscape in the last decade, with the surprising performances of Cameroon and Nigeria in recent Olympic Games and World Cups.

This year, Senegal and South Africa have joined them at the international tournament finals in which 32 teams are competing to be world champion.

Africa now threatens the dual dominance of Europe and South America, the two regions that have split between them the 16 World Cups played so far.

Football has also rapidly gained popularity in countries where it was considered difficult to find a niche among the dominance of other sports, like baseball in the United States and Japan.

In other words, the passion for football is expanding in the poorest and richest countries alike, although the greatest talent tends to arise from the former.

How can this growth in football’s popularity, equalling or surpassing other entertaining sports, be explained?

The attraction may begin with the ball itself, its “perfect geometric form,” according to the book “Dos Pes a Cabeça” (From Feet to Head), by Mauricio Murad, coordinator of the Sociology of Football Workshop at Rio de Janeiro State University.

However, perfectly symmetrical balls are present in other sports as well, so the characteristic of football that sets it apart is that it offers a broader democratic and universal value of equal opportunity, says Murad.

Football “is not the private property of anyone, of any biotype, of any race, or social class, nor, as we know today, of any gender,” explains the sociologist.

Murad cited the examples of the football superstars like the short-of-stature Romario, of Brazil, the chubby Diego Maradona, of Argentina, and other great players who do not have what is conventionally considered an athletic physique.

The simple rules, the fact that a team is not necessary to practice or play – as baseball requires – are other democratic and attractive factors, says Gilmar Macarenhas, also a professor at Rio de Janeiro State University.

Macarenhas, a social geographer, says the initial international expansion of football was the result of British imperialism. Britain created the sport and used it to disseminate a “work ethic”, fomenting discipline for team effort, obeying orders and schedules, with a division of responsibilities.

But now, having become a giant industry and the “greatest show on earth” (considering its enormous TV viewing audience worldwide), it is the countries that resisted British influence that are attempting to develop their own football markets.

Brazilians Pelé and Zico played an important role in disseminating the sport – Pelé in the 1970s in the United States, and Zico in the late 1980s in Japan.

The wealthy countries tend to dominate the globalised football market, attracting the world’s best players to their professional clubs. The centre of this business – today, and likely for years to come – is Europe, more specifically, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Germany and France.

But their economic advantage is not manifest on the field, and less in the production of talented footballers. This stands in stark contrast with nearly all other sports, and is particularly evident at the Olympics, where the rich countries take home most of the medals.

Football, as an activity that is practically free of costs and possible to practice in any open space, is a recreational pastime for millions of poor children. The tropical countries have the further advantage of warm climate that allows children to practice year-round.

The transformation of a standout player into a well-paid professional has prompted football schools to crop up all over the world.

These schools tend to have a presence also of children from the middle and upper income strata as well, given that talent is not limited to a particular social class.

However, football will probably serve as a channel for the social ascent of the poor for years to come.

To become a professional player requires desire, physical effort and the renunciation of certain comforts. Such sacrifices are of little concern to the poor, but may be more difficult for those who have had a privileged childhood and have other educational and career options once they reach adulthood.