Soccer is a reflection of greater contradictions of the world playing out on a football pitch. Most importantly, the primary contradiction that has grasped the world tightly; the contradiction between the countries that dominate by imperialism and those that are subjected to this domination. Yet fans, being fans, have historically risked it all for a brief moment of exuberance. In 2014, Brazilian fans bicycled through the Amazon region to watch the games in the Manaus. In 2022, Argentinian fans sold their houses to go watch Messi play his last tournament in Qatar.

A perfect example is the 1986 quarterfinal match between Argentina and England. Diego Maradona, arguably the greatest player to have ever played the game, scored one goal with his hand, which was later dubbed the “Hand of God,” and then scored a second goal, splitting apart the entire England team; this goal was dubbed the “The Goal of the Century.” The quarterfinal was held four years after the English war on Argentina over the Malvinas, an Island territory of Argentina. The Argentine team leading up to the quarterfinal faced racist attacks from the English, and after their humiliating defeat, Maradona said, “Although we had said before the game that football had nothing to do with the Malvinas war, we knew they had killed a lot of Argentine boys there, killed them like little birds. And this was revenge.”

“The history of football is a sad voyage from beauty to duty. When the sport became an industry, the beauty that blossoms from the joy of play got torn out by its very roots. In this ‘fin-de-siècle’ world, professional football condemns all that is useless and useless means non-profitable,” said Eduardo Galeano, author of Soccer in Sun and Shadow.

Soccer in the developing world

Growing up in India, football (or soccer, as dubbed by the Americans) was essential. Children piled up on the streets in narrow alleyways with torn flip flops with no goal posts and played soccer for hours and hours, with scraped knees and bloodied elbows from falling on concrete. Local club rivalry between the East Bengal and Mohun Bagan was the dominant topic of conversation amongst the people.

In the early 2000s, the English Premier League was broadcast on Indian television, bringing the English game to an Indian audience and resulting in the broadening of the interest in international league soccer. But no other form of sport commanded as much devotion as the FIFA World Cup.

At the time of the World Cup, flags of Brazil, Argentina and several other countries could be seen everywhere. Latin American, European and African soccer idols found themselves on murals across the streets of Kolkata. Despite India never qualifying for the World Cup, soccer fans have for generations lived vicariously by supporting international teams in the World Cup.

Diego Maradona was banned from participating in the tournament in 1994 for taking stimulants and protests erupted across the world. Galeano notes this and says, “In places far away as Bangladesh, where a sizable demonstration repudiating FIFA and demanding Maradona’s return shook the streets.”

Soccer in the current political climate

In December of 2025, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, was awarded a “peace prize” by the governing body of the soccer World Cup, FIFA, to appease him after the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the right-wing U.S.-backed candidate Maria Corina Machado. He was awarded the “peace prize” while threatening a war against Venezuela. Then in January, the U.S. attacked Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, and kidnapped Nicolás Maduro and Cilia Flores i.e. the president and first lady of Venezuela.

Also in January and late December, ICE murdered Alex Pretti, Renee Good and Keith Porter. In March, ICE agents were deployed at several major airports to cover the work of TSA agents who were unpaid and couldn’t afford to come to work. The partial government shutdown and the increased border militarization pose additional challenges for World Cup games being scheduled later on in the summer.

In the summer of 2026, the Soccer World Cup is scheduled to happen in the United States, Mexico and Canada. 11 major cities in the United States are scheduled to have games.

Among several countries who participated in the qualification stage, Israel, the Zionist entity, was allowed to participate despite a global call to ban the country from entering the tournament due to the entity’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians. FIFA and UEFA (the governing body of European league football) in 2022 unilaterally banned Russia from participating in the World Cup due to the intervention in Ukraine. Israel has not been barred from participating, nor has the United States been barred from hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The Department of Homeland Security, via FEMA, has been granted $625 million to deploy ICE agents across the 11 major venues in the US.

According to the U.S. government, “The FIFA World Cup Grant Program (FWCGP), administered by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Grant Programs Directorate (GPD), provides $625 million in federal funding to enhance security and preparedness for the 2026 FIFA World Cup events in the United States.”

The United States alongside Israel is currently waging a war against Iran. The U.S. have murdered at least 160 young girls by bombing a high school and have destroyed civilian infrastructure, killing thousands of innocents.

Donald Trump proudly claimed that a “whole civilization would die” indicating a significant attack against Iran, but Tuesday rolled around and he chickened out and agreed to a ten point deal that uplifted sanctions on Iran.

Israel continues to perpetuate a genocide against the Palestinians, while simultaneously bombing Southern Lebanon killing hundreds and displacing hundreds of thousands of people. Israel however did not qualify for the World Cup. They faced humiliating losses against every country they played. Israel is also facing humiliating losses by the axis of resistance across West Asia.

The U.S.-Israel war against Iran has sparked an energy crisis across the world, and working people are suffering. In the U.S., cost of living was already on the rise, but with the addition of increasing gas prices, the $625 million allotment to ICE at various World Cup stadiums seems even more ridiculous. Price gouging has also been a major complaint from U.S. soccer fans; Kansas City residents apparently saw a 87% increase in prices for the Algeria v Argentina game ($765 at minimum).

The sport has become a playground for rich investors from the U.S., Europe and the Gulf monarchies to snatch a pretty dime from the hands of working people. The same investors who are invested in wars and keeping people poor. The sport of soccer is ever increasingly being robbed out of the hands of working people.

Average ticket prices for the World Cup range upwards of multiple thousand dollars. The U.S. is set to make upwards of $13 billion in revenue from the World Cup. How much of this will benefit working people or bring the game closer to fans is gravely in doubt.

A World Cup year with such tremendous global upheaval, i.e. genocide in Gaza conducted by Israel, the energy blockade on Cuba, the kidnapping of the Venezuelan president and first lady, and the war on Iran perpetuated by the United States, has sidelined any joy for the game of soccer.

Galeano writes about the 2010 World Cup and reflects on the political climate in Soccer in Sun and Shadow, “Iran was fast becoming the gravest threat to humankind, thanks to an international campaign declaring it might have or maybe even does have nuclear weapons, as if it had been the Iranians who dropped the bomb on civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Ships in international waters carrying food, medicine, and toys to Palestine were being machine-gunned in one of the habitual criminal acts by which Israel punishes the Palestinians, as if they, who are Semites, were to blame for anti-Semitism and its horrors”

Much of the climate 16 years ago is reflected in the conditions in Palestine and Iran today.

The joy of sport is diminished by the decline of empire.

Localities unsuitable for games

The immense infrastructural pressure a tournament of the size of the World Cup puts on cities with limited public transportation is another big concern for working people. One example is the city of Arlington, Texas, which houses the AT&T Stadium (home of the Dallas Cowboys). The stadium is reportedly going to see upwards of $300 million in refurbishments to accommodate soccer-style seating for nine of the games it is scheduled to host.

The stadium is ill-equipped to handle tens of thousands of people flooding the streets. Local Arlingtonians have no ability to access the stadium without having to drive there. There is no public bus in the city. Arlington is in fact the largest city in the United States without public transportation. It is a city in the Dallas-Fort Worth area without a rail connection. The decision to host the cup in Arlington seems to have been pushed by the mayor and city council members, local bureaucrats of the Dallas sports commission, local team owners (Jerry Jones owner of Dallas Cowboys and Dan Hunt owner of FC Dallas). Arlington itself is set to spend upwards of $400 million to accommodate the games. The ones pushing the expenses expect a high return ($2 billion). It's pretty obvious that these expenses would have been better spent in uplifting the local community (for example, by building local transportation, healthcare, and promoting community programs and local sports).

From personal observations and conversations with coworkers there still seems to be a fair interest in the games, less so about physically attending but more so of watching the games online. Many were surprised that Arlington was even a choice to host the Cup.

Working people's joys are marred by the crushing blow of economic hardship. Gas prices and cost of living expenses are on the rise. In mid-April North Texans in Arlington paid between $3.55 and $3.80 a gallon for unleaded gasoline, and the median rent is $2519 (per December 2025 reporting). People are seriously stretched and are struggling to put food on their table. It's easy to see that those who enjoy the sport are being speedwalked away from consuming it. FIFA, however, are licking their lips at the prospect of making billions of dollars from the sport being held in the U.S.

Galeano said, “Football is a pleasure that hurts,” and in today's age, football is hurting the pockets of millions of fans locally and internationally who are willing to risk it all to enjoy the sport.

#Culture #Sports #Opinion #Commentary #Soccer #Football

Diego Armando Maradona died November 25. One of the most universally known people in the world, Maradona passed away at age 60 while recovering from surgery.

Maradona, who wore number 10 on the Argentinian national soccer team, is widely regarded as one of the greatest soccer players of all time. At his peak he led Argentina to a 3-2 World Cup victory in 1986 over West Germany. And he nearly accomplished an incredibly rare back-to-back World Cup victory in the 1990 World Cup, leading Argentina back to the finals in a rematch between Argentina and West Germany. In that game Argentina lost to West Germany 1-0 on a late penalty kick.

The iconic Argentinian soccer star rose from the poor shanty towns outside of Buenos Aires to a global icon. People around the world identified with Maradona’s rise to stardom while maintaining his rebellious spirit and staying a ‘man of the people’ who never forgot where he came from. In the inevitable debate over his legacy, in Argentina the saying “Diego belongs to the people” spread quickly. People identified with his glorious moments on the soccer field, but also identified with his iconoclastic personality as well as the struggles in his personal life off the field. Maradona struggled at times with serious issues including drug addiction, and he was the father of children with several women who he did not acknowledge until later in his life.

Maradona was as passionate about politics as he was about the beautiful game. There is much pressure on athletes to avoid controversial political positions that could alienate some fans. Maradona ignored that pressure and was outspoken in support of anti-imperialist and socialist movements, including those that are most demonized by Washington.

The most iconic game in Maradona’s career was the quarterfinal game between Argentina and England in the 1986 World Cup. This game brought together Maradona’s incredible ability on the field with anti-colonial politics, as he scored both of Argentina’s goals in their 2-1 victory over England. Argentina’s victory, and Maradona’s performance specifically, were seen as revenge for Margaret Thatcher’s England’s 1982 war against Argentina over the Malvinas, or the Falkland Islands as England calls them, off Argentina’s coast. In that war Argentina tried to exercise their sovereignty over the islands off their coast, while England aimed to maintain their colonial control over the territories from across the ocean.

After England won the war and reimposed their colonial control, anti-colonial resentment was strong. Maradona’s play in the 1986 matchup personified that, with his first infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal and his second goal where he blasted past five British players to score and secure Argentina’s victory. The second goal of that game is considered by many to be the ‘goal of the century’. That performance cemented Maradona’s iconic stature by defeating the colonial power that Argentina hadn’t been able to defeat on the battlefield.

Maradona was outspoken in support of socialist Cuba and was personal friends with Fidel Castro, visiting Cuba many times. He had Che Guevarra’s image tattooed on his arm and Fidel Castro’s image tattooed on his leg. At low points in the 2000s, Maradona flew to Cuba for drug rehabilitation treatment because of Cuba’s world-class health care system.

Upon Maradona’s death, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez wrote on Twitter, “Sad news, Maradona, the ‘kid of gold’, singular player, friend of Fidel, has died. Cuba mourns and will always remember the sincere friend and soccer virtuoso that he was.” Because of Maradona’s strong support for Cuba and friendship with Fidel Castro, who he called a “second father” – it didn’t escape notice that he died four years to the day after Fidel Castro had died in 2016.

Maradona was also a staunch defender of Venezuela’s Bolivarian socialist movement and was personal friends with Venezuela’s Presidents Hugo Chavez and Nicolás Maduro. In one well known photo, Maradona sits next to Hugo Chavez as they both laugh, while Maradona is wearing a shirt declaring U.S. President George W. Bush a war criminal. Chavez had also infamously mocked Bush when he spoke right after Bush at the United Nations, saying the podium “smelled like sulfur,” metaphorically tying the figurehead of U.S. imperialism with the devil in a way that resonated around the world.

When Hugo Chavez died in 2013, Maradona said, “What Hugo left me was a great friendship, an incredible political wisdom. Hugo Chavez changed the way Latin America thinks. We were bowed to the United States and he showed us that we can walk by ourselves.”

Maradona strongly stood by President Nicolás Maduro as well, as Maduro fended off increasing attacks from U.S. imperialism. Maradona had said about Maduro, “Don't give up. In soccer it doesn't matter if you lose three to zero, never give up. You never gave up and you're giving everything for Venezuelans. Long live Maduro! We're soldiers of Nicolas, I came here to give him my support.”

Upon Maradona’s passing, Maduro wrote on Twitter, “The world is mourning for our brother Maradona, the best soccer player of all time. A man who was simple, loving and a rebel against social injustices. The people of Argentina, Venezuela and the world love him and will always remember him. ¡Viva Diego!”

Beyond Venezuela and Cuba, Maradona was a supporter of left movements throughout Latin America, also developing friendships with leaders like Bolivia’s Evo Morales and Brazil’s Lula da Silva.

Evo Morales, former Bolivian President and head of the Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party, described Maradona as, “a person who felt and fought for the humble, the best football player in the world,” and “Diego was a great defender of football in the highlands, and he loved Bolivia very much. He was a great friend of just causes. Not only the world's football mourns him, but also the people of the world.” Current Bolivian President Luis Arce, also of the MAS party, wrote on Twitter, “We deeply regret the sad passing of the great 10 of football and Latin American brother Diego Armando Maradona. The world mourns his irreparable loss – our condolences to his loved ones and the entire football family.”

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo of the Sandinista party said in a statement, “We are losing another giant, an exalted militant of the revolutions of love.”

Maradona didn’t just side with anti-imperialist movements in Latin America. For example he spoke out against the U.S. war in Syria, saying, “You don’t need to go to university to know that the United States wants to wipe Syria out of existence.” He also declared his support for the Palestinian struggle, famously saying in 2018, “In my heart I am Palestinian.”

Through Maradona’s struggles on the soccer field and off, he was a rebel who sided with the poor and with struggles against imperialism. His legacy will live on the field as well as in the streets among people struggling against injustice.

#Argentina #Remembrances #PeoplesStruggles #Sports #Soccer #Maradona

I walked into the tavern. At first I seemed to be in Green Bay on an autumn Sunday. Everyone was wearing green and gold. But it wasn’t the Packers they were there to see, but Brazil. The most glorious most skilled players in world seem to come from Brazil. If your country’s soccer team is ‘no good’ or you want to adopt a new country for any reason, Brazil is the overwhelming choice.

Like a Chicago Bear fan in northern Wisconsin, I joined the hundreds wearing green and gold, but to root for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The DPRK were heavy underdogs. However, by using a strategy that focused on defense, they were able to prevent the Brazilians from scoring until well into the second half.

The Brazilian players’ footwork was dazzling, yet there were no goals until the 54th minute when Maicon curved the ball around the post just outside the Korean goalkeeper’s reach. It was a phenomenal goal. The fans in the tavern went crazy. Even we few DPRK fans couldn’t help but clap. Suspense… suspense…Goal! Celebration! You got to love it.

Soccer is primarily a working class sport in most places around the world. It inspires passion like no other sport. Soccer has speed, strength, but most especially grace and balance. Brazil’s Pele correctly called it, “the beautiful game.”

The World Cup takes this game and puts it on an international stage once every four years. For Americans, think of having the Super Bowl only once every four years. That means four years of buildup. Think of not just the United States, but teams in every city in the world. Then each country takes its very best players to make up a national team. That is the World Cup.

The political discussions at the pubs around the world are fabulous. Workers discuss South American powers like Brazil and Argentina beating imperialist countries from Europe. The controversial Argentine coach Diego Maradoni regularly speaks out on behalf of the poor and the working class. He praises Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez.

The business pages of the bourgeois newspapers blame the European countries they have labeled PIGS (Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain) for the world’s current economic problems. All of these countries have qualified and are predicted to do well at the world cup in South Africa.

Here in the USA, immigrants gather to root for their country of origin and debate the quality of the USA team. The USA was a joke until recently. Since the 1994 World Cup was held here in the United States more and more resources have gone into soccer development. Today, American youth participate in soccer more than any other sport.

Finally, hats off to the hosts, the people of South Africa. They root for their team, the Bafana Bafana with pride, enthusiasm and of course, joy. They cannot stop blowing their vuvuzela horns. At first this annoys the hell out of you, but then it grows on you. It wouldn’t be South African without them.

And then there is the politics of South Africa…the struggle to bring down the racist system of Apartheid, a system supported by U.S. and European imperialism. People of conscience around the world stood with the oppressed people of South Africa to end apartheid. How is South Africa doing today? Why?

It is halftime. Time for a beer. Time to talk to the other workers in the tavern about the world situation, working class solidarity and…oh yeah…wasn’t that a great goal by Ji Yun Nam (DPRK)? Of course communists love the World Cup. What’s not to love?

#UnitedStates #Sports #WorldCup #Soccer