''How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization'' (also published as ''How Football Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization''
) is a book written by American journalist
Franklin Foer
Franklin Foer (; born July 20, 1974) is a staff writer at ''The Atlantic'' and former editor of ''The New Republic'', commenting on contemporary issues from a liberal perspective.
Personal life
Foer was born in 1974 in Washington, D.C. to a J ...
. It is an analysis of the interchange between
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
and the new global economy.
The author takes readers on a journey from stadium to stadium around the globe in an attempt to shed new insights on today's world events, both from political and economic standpoints. Soccer is here the globalized medium that seems to lend itself to explaining the effects globalization has on society as a whole.
Themes
Failure of globalization
In the first couple of chapters, Franklin Foer addresses "the failure of globalization to erode ancient hatreds in the game’s great rivalries," which is associated with football hooligans. The book continues on and talks about
sectarian conflicts between supporters of
Celtic F.C.
The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic (), is a professional Association football, football club in Glasgow, Scotland. The team competes in the Scottish Premiership, the top division of Scottish football league system, Scottish ...
and
Rangers F.C. (the
Old Firm
The Old Firm is a collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded i ...
) in Scotland and the tendency of supporters of
Tottenham Hotspur F.C.
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...
and
AFC Ajax
Amsterdamsche Football Club Ajax (), also known as AFC Ajax, Ajax Amsterdam, or commonly Ajax, is a Dutch professional Association football, football Football team, club based in Amsterdam, that plays in the , the top tier in Dutch football. ...
to appropriate Jewish symbols and terminology, which results in conflicting views between things such as the
antisemitic
Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
chants and taunts.
Rise of corporate hegemons
In the second part of the text, the author uses soccer "to address economics: the consequences of migration, the persistence of corruption, and the rise of powerful new oligarchs like
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; 29 September 193612 June 2023) was an Italian Media proprietor, media tycoon and politician who served as the prime minister of Italy in three governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a mem ...
, the President of
othItaly and the
AC Milan
(), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...
club".
Persistence of nationalism and tribalism
In the final part, Foer uses soccer "to defend the virtues of old-fashioned nationalism", as "a way to blunt the return of tribalism".
Reception
The book received positive reviews in ''The New York Times'' and ''The Washington Post''. Critics for ''The San Francisco Chronicle'' and ''The Boston Globe''
praised Foer's portrait of the soccer world while dismissing his larger arguments.
See also
* ''
The Last Save of Moacyr Barbosa''
* ''
Among the Thugs
''Among the Thugs: The Experience, and the Seduction, of Crowd Violence'' is a 1990 work of journalism by American writer Bill Buford documenting football hooliganism in the United Kingdom.
Buford, who lived in the UK at the time, became interes ...
''
*
Globalization
Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...
References
External links
''How Soccer Explains the World''interview with Foer about the book in ''
Mother Jones''
''How Soccer Explains the World''on
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:How Soccer Explains The World
2004 non-fiction books
Association football books
Books about globalization
HarperCollins books