The Geopolitics of Football

Can sports – and football in particular – be globalization’s answer to deeply rooted conflict? Do football matches unleash or build tensions between countries who struggle diplomatically? Rituals of the match, such as waving flags or singing anthems, can inject new passion into national rivalries or also diffuse hostility. Games reflect larger issues and allow “for symbolically limited confrontations.” With confrontation on specified terms, animosity is expressed as sport. Yet defeat is mostly symbolic and can result in greater understanding between two teams. Political emotions can be spent without political risks, and the game can have a cathartic effect on violent relationships. Like a pressure valve, football matches let off steam without harming the real machinery of international relations. When that game is over, countries at odds can negotiate serious issues independently – and hopefully with the honest and sportsmanlike conduct that’s displayed on the field. Though a football match is not, thankfully, a battle with real political consequences, this very quality of the event lends itself to appeasing international tension and can ultimately serve as an unlikely mediator between warring factions. – YaleGlobal