Globalization in Soccer: Good or Bad?

Saria Rudolph

11/26/2014

There are both pros and cons of globalization that are expressed throughout the different themes of Nationalism, Racism, and power of influence, within Foer’s book How Soccer explains the world. There was a gradual increase in terrorism especially considering historical interactions between the different states mainly Serbia and Yugoslavia.

Soccer is used as a tool for terrorism and/ or intimidation in the forms of racially influenced beatings or shouting of insults during games, threatening soccer players lives if they scored for their team. Globalization also leads to an easier spread of information through the media and other forms of technology (Globalization lecture slide 6, Shirk) increasing one’s influence on different states. (pg 14) “An ethos of gangsterism- spread by movies, music, and fashion conquered the world.” “It (Red Star hooligans) borrowed heavily from African American gangster rap, a favorite genre of Serb youth.” (pg 26) “Arkan threatened to shoot a rival striker’s kneecap if he scored against Obilic…At games, they would chant things like, “if you score, you’ll never walk out of the stadium alive...”

There was also the internationalization of domestic conflict and a loss of cultural diversity (Globalization lecture slide 8, Shirk) because they sought to assimilate Nigerian players into dominate culture of the state. As stated one page 25, when Red Star wouldn’t sell the club to him. Arkan set out to create his own Red Star. Dirst, he bought a team in Konsovo and purged its largely ethnic Albanian lineup.”

Racism was always present and there was continuous pattern presented in the book where when a new ethnic group the ethnic group that previously was the main focus of racism was replaced with the newly introduced ethnic group. For example, as stated on page 71 “...One not nearly as likely to kill that has been made less pernicious by globalization’s transformation of Europe. Thanks to the immigration of Africans and Asians, Jews have been replaced as the primary objects of European hate.”  This is eerily similar to the beginnings of the United States when at first Irish immigrants were mistreated by British immigrants who were in the United States longer. Years later the same process continued except during the second “round” of immigrants Italian immigrants who were in the exact same place as the Irish immigrants were mistreated by some of the Irish immigrants who now took on the British immigrants’ place.

One of the pros of globalization is the improvement of global economies. As stated on page 120, “some Brazilian players have flourished in the global economy.” There is also an easier transfer of information and cultural exchange. As stated on page 155 “Without a fight, the easterners had exchanged the Ukrainian language for Russian, intermarried, and embraced the Soviet system.”

When Nigerian players were made additions to the Red Star’s soccer team that have develop a sense of pluralism as the state was becoming less homogeneous however, eventually racism evolved against these new players beginning within their own team. Therefore, although there are both pros and cons to globalization it essential to the improvement of the world.