Soccer Politics / The Politics of Football

Archive for September 23rd, 2009

Sep 23 2009

Profile Image of Danny Mammo
Danny Mammo

Football Match Used to End Modern-Day Feud

We read about football being used for conflict resolution so often in this course. What we see, however, are epic matches in the EPL which rarely serve such a purpose besides entertainment and victory. I thought it was fascinating that Puma and Adidas used football to create modern day peace between their two companies. By mixing teams with players from each company, football was used as the medium to get employees to interact…very cool stuff.

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Sep 23 2009

Profile Image of Laurent Dubois
Laurent Dubois

“If God Existed, He’d Be a Solid Midfielder”

Filed under Soccer Literature

The most recent issue of Granta Magazine begins with a wonderful essay with this title by Bosnian writer Aleksander Hemon about how, as an exile in Chicago in the 1990s, he found a community in football. Here is an excerpt:

“. . . this, gentlemen, is what this little narrative is about: the moment of transcendence that might be familiar with those who practise sports with other people; the moment, arising from the chaos of the game, when all your teammates occupy the ideal position on the field; the moment when the universe seems to be arranged by a meaningful will that is not yours; the moment that perishes — as moments tend to — when you complete the pass. . .”

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