stand by their conclusion no matter what the evidence to
the contrary, but an unconscious effect of sport results. In
the short-term, sports victories create a false sense of accomplishment and security which translates into irrational
voting patterns.
But what about the long-term? While the evidence of
sports victories altering the short-term mood of voters is
definitive, researchers are less sure about their significance
in the long-term. This is because the electorate, on the
whole, tend to be highly short-sighted. Voters pay much
more attention to the country’s economic performance
during election year, for example, than during the other
years of the term; a small faux-pas in the middle of a political campaign will likewise appear more significant than an
important misstep by a candidate years prior. This is why
a country’s long-term political stability is arguably not
decided by the number of goals it scores in the World Cup.
The Brazilian attitude towards its World Cup loss,
however, is likely to have a more marked impact on its
politics than an average college football loss. This is due in
part to the highly politicized nature of soccer and in part
to more long-standing grievances by the Brazilian people.
struck a deal for rising Colombian soccer star di Stefano.
Franco proceeded to outlaw the purchase of foreign players by Spanish teams, before then brokering a deal for di
Stefano to join Real Madrid through the state. In 1943,
when Barcelona appeared to take the lead in a semifinal
game against its archrival Real Madrid, which Franco had
increasingly made into a symbol of Spanish nationalism, a
director from state security paid the team players a visit.
Despite having won the previous game 3-0, Barcelona
went on to lose the match 11-1.
relations between the two countries soon followed, leading
to speculation that the game had been fixed.
Understanding the Politicization of Soccer
At first glance, there appears to be nothing so particular about soccer as a sport that would make it such
a popular target for politicization. To understand the
sport’s influence in politics, it is important to understand
its popularity. The World Cup final always tops the list of
most watched sports events around the world, far surpass-
Summer 2014 • H A R V A R D I N T E R N A T I O N A L R E V I E W
33
E lections
“More than any other sport, soccer has been able to mobilize
entire nations around its cause. Dictators and democratic leaders alike have not failed to notice its political potential.”
and
More than any other sport, soccer has been able to
mobilize entire nations around its cause. Dictators and
democratically elected leaders alike have not failed to
notice its political potential. Generalissimo Francisco
Franco of Spain perhaps went the greatest lengths to politicize soccer. While in power, he saw Barcelona, one of
the two famous Spanish club soccer teams, as a dangerous
rallying point for the Castillan independence movement.
Franco had the official name of the club translated from
the Catalan “FC Barcelona” to the Spanish “Barcelona
CF,” a change that was met by protests from the independence movements. Franco regularly intervened to
heighten the status of Real Madrid, Barcelona’s archrival
and a symbol of Spanish nationalism. In 1953, Barcelona
S occer
The Most Political of Sports
While not all manipulations of sports have been so
egregious, any political leader can see the potential for
soccer to galvanize a nation. In 2010, when a controversial
goal from France landed it a qualification to the World
Cup at the expense of Ireland, the Irish Justice Minister Dermot Ahern was quick to tie the referee error to
broader lack of respect for the small European nation.
“We are minnows in world football, but let’s put them
on the spot,” he said of FIFA officials, to great applause
from social media. On the eve of its 2014 World Cup,
the Argentine team opened its game against Slovenia by
presenting to the world a massive banner reading “The
Malvines (Falkland Islands) are part of Argentina.” The
dispute over the Falkland Islands is long standing, but the
recent focus on it is not. President Cristina Fernandez de
Kirchner has made the issue a rallying point for nationalism since her election in 2007, leading to speculation that
the Argentine government was behind the national team’s
decision to display the banner.
Like government officials, opposition leaders understand the power of soccer to draw not only national but
international attention to their cause. After receiving a bid
to the 1978 World Cup, the military junta in Argentina
made sure to step up measures to suppress political dissent. The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, an organization
of mothers whose children had been targeted by the government, found their way around that. Carefully timing
their protests with the arrival of foreign dignitaries, they
attracted unprecendented attention to their cause: the
regime was unable to remove them in front of thousands
of foreign journalists. It was suspected, however, of intervening on the field. The World Cup having become a
symbol of national pride, and in particular, of the success
of the dictatorship, Argentina found itself needing to defeat Peru by a margin of more than four goals to advance
to the next round. Despite the strong record of Peru in
the tournament until that point, the Peruvian team lost
the game 6-0. A large shipment of grain and a thawing in
SAVED BY THE GOALKEEPER:
FEATURES