World Cup Blind Spot
“How is it Jonathan, that as a life-long anti-capitalist activist you have such a blind spot when it comes to football, an industry that is contemptuous of fans, synonymous with financial skulduggery, and the very epitome of the type of corporate greed that normally leaves you incandescent with rage?” I am of course not alone in my short-sightedness. I did think of trying to boycott this World Cup as I did with the one in Qatar in which thousands of migrant building workers were imprisoned in camps and died in an insane construction project that advanced the end of the world. Clearly there are many reasons to switch off. Orchestrated by the grotesque sycophant Infantino, this is the biggest and most brazenly corrupt world cup ever and is taking place in a country with an openly fascist president in love with bombs, guns and fossil fuels. Fans face exorbitant ticket, transport, and accommodation costs. Then there is the appalling discrimination against supporters from African and Muslim countries, and indeed anyone who has criticised the US government or supports Anti-Fascist causes. We should also mention the environmental damage caused by the ludicrous necessity of air travel between the different venues. This should be enough to walk away. But then the referee, who is not from Somalia, blows the whistle and cognitive malfunction begins. It isn’t helped by the fact that in Brasil, supporting the national team is akin to a religious duty and can even ignite the passions of atheists who normally loathe the game. The contradictions come thick and fast. Yesterday I bought a new shirt. I searched high and low in the market for a red version resplendent with the Brasil motif and a hammer and sickle. But in the end, I opted for tradition. The problem with this, is that the far-right highjacked the famous jersey, and if you remember the attempted coup of 2023, you will have witnessed thousands of evangelical crazies, resembling football fans, who invaded Congress. The theft of the shirt as the uniform of those dedicated to the overthrow of democracy was depressing. From a universal symbol of the “joga bonito”, immortalised by the magnificents of 1970, it suddenly became associated with fanatics who believe in the literal truth of the bible and the imposition of dictatorship. For this reason alone, it is time to reclaim the shirt. Vamos Brasil, Vamos Escócia… “No Pasarán.”