Soccer is a universal language that crosses state, religious and cultural boundaries. Therefore, soccer could be a means to promote tolerance, peace and understanding.
By
Sindhunata
·5 minutes read
Soccer is a universal language that crosses state, religious and cultural boundaries. Therefore, soccer could be a means to promote tolerance, peace and understanding. "Play Soccer, Make Peace!" is the motto introduced by the World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (Wango).
Take, for example, World War I in 1914, when Pope Benedict XV called for a ceasefire among the clashing parties. Initially, the call was ignored. But then, at their own initiative, German and British soldiers agreed to a ceasefire in Belgium and played a friendly soccer match as a sign of peace.
It was unclear why the ceasefire was followed by a soccer match. It was like peace had fallen suddenly in the middle of warfare. From documentaries, historians realized the extraordinary event did indeed occur.
German soldiers uttered in broken English: “Merry Christmas. You no shoot, we no shoot.” They exchanged gifts, cigarettes, hats and food. They also attended to their fellow fallen soldiers and then buried them. The British soldiers reportedly won the soccer match.
A similar event occurred in Nigeria. In 1969, Pelé and soccer club Santos visited Nigeria, which was in a state of civil war. Biafra separatists were trying to set up a state independent of the government. The conflict was triggered by political, economic and ethnic tensions that had emerged after the end of Britain\'s colonization of Nigeria. The conflicting sides agreed to stop the war with the arrival of Pelé and his soccer club.
Now, FIFA president Gianni Infantino also called on the world to make the 2018 World Cup a time to enjoy unity and peace. Each participating country should prioritize soccer above all political presumptions, which often result in conflict. Infantino’s statement more or less relates to the stance of European countries, which did not agree with the political condition of the host country under President Vladimir Putin.
Russia under Putin is widely criticized. Putin was considered the man responsible for Russia’s intervention in Syria, which claimed numerous victims.
At home, he is also accused of running an authoritarian government, with human rights violations.
As a result, Human Rights Watch called for a political boycott during the opening night of the 2018 World Cup in which global leaders and politicians attending the event must not sit next to President Putin at the honorary tribune, in order to show their disapproval of Russia’s intervention in Syria.
According to observers, Putin will surely use the World Cup event to improve his reputation. He will show the world that Russia can be a host of a successful World Cup. His slogan, “Nothing we cannot do”, is also applied to the organization of the World Cup.
The soccer event will also be used for political purposes. What had failed on the political table will be retried at the soccer tribune, where he will sit alongside other global leaders. “In Putin’s eyes, the World Cup will become a return ticket back to the negotiation table after he had been alienated from global politics for a long time,” said Russian author Vladimir Kaminer.
Kaminer is very critical of Putin, but he said all Russians should not be seen as being similar to their leader.
“The World Cup is a chance to leave such generalizations. Through the World Cup, the global citizens can see Russia is a country with normal citizens as normal as the citizens of other countries. Also, Russia has a problem with its political leader,” Kaminer said.
Kaminer quoted a Russian proverb: “Soccer is for men, flowers for women and ice cream for children.” Russian citizens, especially men, are happy because they get soccer. Nevertheless, Putin is aware of the fact that this time he cannot give the best soccer for its citizens. Russia’s World Cup team is considered an average squad without the ability to compete with other teams.
As a host country, Russia automatically made it to the World Cup. There were no matches that made them mature. It was feared the team would fail in the qualifying stage. They are trying to build up their team. However, the young players are still unable to show their quality play. They have the privilege of being the host country, and the support from the people is undeniable. If they go to the next stage, it is also because their competitors are also underdogs, such as Uruguay, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. “Russia’s team would win if Putin also plays on the field,” Kaminer joked. Unfortunately, soccer is not politics. It is impossible during the World Cup for Putin to be as aggressive as in politics. Therefore, soccer may negate his words, “Nothing that we cannot do”.
Soccer would hammer home the fact that he cannot do all things. Yet, for some observers, it is acceptable for Russia to fail as long as the World Cup makes Putin aware of the need to release opposition figures from prison so that the people would be happy and get freedom in democracy.