In many occasions and instances where either religion or politics have filed to foster national unity and cohesion, soccer has succeeded tremendously. In fact, more often than not, instances of which religion and politics have instigated violence, soccer has been one of the most used avenues to bring the people back together. More so, there isn’t a single instance in history that soccer instigated bloody wars and violence in a certain state. As a means and mechanism of avoidance of eruptions of political divisions with the potential of erupting to become full-blown civil wars, international bodies such as the United Nations have been at the forefront of using soccer as a mechanism of integrating the people and thus fostering national unity …show more content…
In definition, soccer diplomacy can be referred to as the ability to create and foster networks with common goals and interests as the basis. Through the creation of such networks, soccer can, therefore, aid in building political diplomacies through businesses, development, education, and tourism. Even though soccer is not specifically a powerful tool in regard to politics, its diplomatic nature both within the players and the organizers can thus provide a supporting role in state diplomatic endeavors and thus ensure the promotion of national identity. As of recently, globalization has critically ensured that the world is a global village and as such soccer arenas dotting across the globe have provided the required medium which plays an important and crucial role in ensuring diplomatic relations of different states. By using soccer as a medium to foster diplomacy, the sport can thus redefine and improve a certain state’s image, boost peaceful correlations through amplification of friendships, promote business partnerships through trade and tourism, encouragement of development both nationally and internationally, and last but not improve and foster international …show more content…
Before the match, the two countries had broken diplomatic relations, in fact, their borders had closed access for an approximately fifteen years prior to the match day. Despite the two countries being in a critical place diplomatic wise on that day, Serz Sargsyan, the Armenian president, invited Abdullah Gül, the Turkish president, to attend the match. As result, for the first time in 15 years, a Turkish president thereby visited Armenia and as a sign of goodwill, an approximate 5000 Turkish football fans traveled to Armenia to watch the next match. As a result of diplomatic relations that resulted from a football match, the two countries eventually signed the Turkey-Armenia Protocols (Eden 2013,
Foer vowed to show us how the game of soccer can impact different regions and cultures. He indicated us how these relationships (between different nations and beliefs), while there, are hard to apprehend on the global scale. But trough soccer, these relationships reveal themselves in a hesitant fashion.
The sociological imagination is the ability to connect your own life and experiences to other people as well as history. When you take a deep breath to think about what you are doing and where you are at in life to see how it fits into your ultimate path you are using your social imagination. It is actually frightening in some cases to think how painstakingly average what you are doing is. I think that is part of the reason many people seek for something in life that gives them a sense of individuality. For example, while attending soccer practice, you do something that you think is extraordinary, but then another player steps up and does the same thing. If you stop and think about how many other kids are able to perfect and perform the same
Franklin Foer the author of How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization is an important contributor of the small topic of the how soccer is related to the world. Foer from the New Republic who writes from time to time in the well known newspaper of the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal had traveled around the world especially the continent of Europe, Asia, North and South America. Going from the topic of why the Islam religion, Islamic law, and religious paramilitary militia prohibits the passionate, die-hard Islamic women fans; from attending and/or watching soccer games and then partying hard like the men after the game if their country or favorite club wins. To the topic of how America relates to soccer when the middle class accepted this sport because of the little violence that they thought the sport contained and to how some Americans support writers such as Tom Weir from USA Today’s “that hating soccer is more American than apple pie, driving a pickup, or spending Saturday afternoons channel surfing with the remote control” (Foer 240). The majority of Americans that support this quote are the lower class, liberals, majority of sports reporters, and narrow minded Americans. These topics and/or chapters really show how soccer is creating more globalization around the world especially with Islamic women getting rid of their traditions and trying new things such as showing their passion for soccer. In addition, America is trying to pass its apple pie and watching American Football on a Sunday to watching beautiful game of soccer. How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization is really divided into three groups; the first being the rivalries between clubs and human beings, sec...
Franklin Foer wrote “From How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization” which was published in 2004. The book talks about different aspects of globalization and “culture wars”. Franklin is an American journalist who used to work as an editor of The New Republic. He belongs to a family of writers as one of his younger brothers is a novelist and the other is a freelance journalist. In his book Franklin elucidated the impact of globalization on the society. He has used soccer to elaborate the main ideas in the text and because of this link between globalization and soccer, the book has fascinated several sportspersons. Furthermore, this chapter is branching out into three parts and each part scrutinizes a different aspect
Kaplan, Daniel. "The Soccer Theory of Globalization." Aidwatchers.com. Aid Watchers, 15 July 2009. Web. 04 Dec. 2013.
Politics is the art or science of government or governing, especially the governing of a political entity, such as a nation, and the administration and control of its internal and external affairs. The Olympic Games is an event held every 4 years, which includes a variety of sporting activities in which different countries compete against one another. “Sport is frequently a tool of diplomacy”. By sending delegations of athletes abroad, states can establish a first basis for diplomatic relations or can more effectively maintain such relations” (Espy 3). One might think that politics and the Olympics have nothing to do with each other, but in fact, they do have a lot in common.
In the world of sport, soccer and football with respect to demographic has had numerous controversies. Although both sport are known famously around the globe, for many years fans from both sides are known for asking, is American football same as soccer? What’s the time limit on both sports? What’s the game objective? Do they use the same ball? However they both have similarities and differences which I will be talking about in this essay.
I believe the question posed by Prebish asking whether sport is a parallel to religion or identical means that sport is very closely related to the same principles. It is an organized institution dealing with faith, discipline, tradition, rituals, and has devout followers, as does the religious institution. When a sport can bring its followers to an experience of the ultimate plateau of complete focus, oneness, devotion, and the quest for salvation, I believe this is identical to religion.
Research guided by conflict theory generally falls into the following categories: 1) studies of how athletes become alienated from their own bodies; 2) studies of how sports can be used to coerce and control people; 3) studies of sports and the development of commercialism in society; 4) studies of sports and various forms of nationalism and militarism; and 5) studies of sports and racism and sexism. (Coakley, 1998) In the book, Meggyesy provided examples of each of these categories which occurred during his footba...
From the early ages in history to the present day, sports have always been an important part of society. It teaches discipline, how to be a team player, how to interact with others and is a good source of physical activity. In specific, football utilizes all of these aspects of sports and it’s a great source of teaching self-restraint and perseverance. Some may say that football is a violent sport or it’s not beneficial in any way, but in reality it gives a person the basic tools needed not only for playing the game, but also how you interact with people in society.
Soccer has proven to be a notable sport throughout the years starting with its unique history. Soccer began all over the world tracing back thousands of years. The Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Ancient Greek, Persian, Vikings, as well as other nationalities all played a form of the game soccer. In China and Rome, games that were similar to soccer were played around 200 B.C. (Helmer and Owens, 5). People believe that soccer started more than a thousand years ago when villagers killed attacking pirates by cutting off their heads and kicking them around (Helmer and Owens, 5). As time went on, people in Europe also played a game similar to soccer during Medieval Times. In fact, soccer was used to prepare warriors for battles in Ancient Greece and Rome (Dilov-Shultheis). In later history, the English called the game “Football” because soccer was played by kicking the ball with the foot (Helmer and Owens, 6). The name “soccer” came to be when the American’s Association Football was shortened to assoc., and later to soc. Eventually in 1895 it was called soccer (Helmer and Owens, 9). By the late 1700s and 1800s, soccer was played in many universities, but the rules were not ...
Soccer is a sport that has a history dating back three thousand years ago. Its professional major leagues have gained millions of fans all around the world. This sport is played widely around the world by men, women, and children. Soccer is a well-known sport and played in almost every region of the world except for Canada and in the United States. It is one of the most popular sports that is played.
Looking back in history to the 19th century Europe, colonization and global expansion created a sense of competition amongst European nations. This sparked global rivalries over territories and was a catalyst to the age of nationalism in Europe. The competition between countries venture of manifest destiny was the leading catalyst in the rise of nationalism. It is no surprise that the nationalism and competitive nature of 19th century expansionism, created a platform for the rivalry and competition in modern sports (Bottenburg). Global rivalries in sports are played out in, major events such as the world cup and the Olympics. These events bring out the die-hard and the casual fan together in a global celebration of sporting and national pride. The World Cup of soccer is a great place to begin looking at the impact modern sports have on nationalism and national identity. Every four years 32 teams from across the globe come together in celebration of the worlds most popular game, in hopes their country wins the worlds most coveted trophy. Nationalism in this tournament comes in an array of positivity and negativity. The atmosphere, colors, flags, fans cheering and chanting songs shows the role of symbolism. On the other hand, hooliganism and violence amongst fans show us the negative aspect of attaching such strong nationalistic ties to a
The game of football has been associated with violence since its beginnings in 13th century England. Medieval football ma...
As the crowd begins their chants and anthems, the teams take their places upon the pitch. The ground is shaking underneath you and smoking flares are lighting up around the stadium. Welcome to the world of football. Soccer has become a way of life for many and an escape from reality. It is the game for any class and will steal your heart with the art that comes with it. Soccer isn’t just a sport, it is a religion many follow, but most importantly it brings masses around the world together. We call this, the Beautiful Game. If this claims to be the most popular sport around the world, why is soccer not considered a big sport and why has it never caught on in America?