Saluto,
Football and geopolitics are more intertwined than most people think. But first, here are three articles on what this year’s edition represents geopolitically.
🗞️ The articles
A World Cup for a continent that’s coming apart - Politico
An article on how this World Cup is failing to showcase the intended unity between Mexico, the US, and Canada.
Instead of a soft power coup, the World Cup could be an ‘own goal’ for Donald Trump - The Conversation
An article on how this World Cup is backfiring on Trump’s soft power ambitions.
The diplomacy and realist politics of the World Cup - GIS
An article on how football acts as a substitute arena for political conflict, where rivalries between nations play out symbolically.
💭 My takeaway: The World Cup has always been a Geopolitical event
Nations send their teams to a massive, globally televised tournament with a single winner crowned at the end. This makes it a geopolitical event by nature. The more interesting question is how.
The World Cup as a Tool for Geopolitical Objectives
A clear example is the 1938 World Cup, hosted by France, which took place amid growing tensions in Europe with a major conflict looming.
Mussolini weaponised football as a propaganda tool, placing enormous political pressure on the Italian team to win. Meanwhile, Austria had been absorbed into Nazi Germany following the Anschluss and could not compete as an independent nation. The 1938 World Cup was used by those regimes to advance their aims on a global stage.
This is an extreme example, of course. But the underlying logic applies far beyond fascist regimes. Countries use the World Cup precisely because it offers a unique platform: billions of viewers, global media attention, and the chance to showcase their culture and project influence.
So the first way is clear: countries use the World Cup as a tool for their foreign policy objectives.
The World Cup as a Trigger for Geopolitical Events
The most striking example here is the Football War between Honduras and El Salvador in 1969. It’s a case study sometimes used to show how sports can become a trigger for geopolitical events.
The two countries already had deep-rooted tensions: land disputes, border issues, and a migration crisis. But those tensions simmered beneath the surface, until the two nations met in a series of World Cup qualifying matches…
During the games, riots broke out among fans, with both sides reporting violence against their nationals in the opposing country. Tensions escalated to the point where the rivalry on the pitch triggered an actual war, with El Salvador, on the 14th of July 1969 launching a full military invasion of Honduras.
The conflict lasted only four days, but it did cause thousands of deaths and tens of thousands of displaced.
I do want to emphasise here that I’m saying triggered, not caused. It’s more that politicians then used the event for ulterior motives.
But the relationship between football and geopolitics is not always a destructive one.
In 2006, during a civil war, Ivory Coast qualified for their first-ever World Cup. Many credit that qualification with creating the emotional and political opening needed for a ceasefire, which was signed just months later. The national team then even played a match in the rebel-held stronghold of Bouaké, requiring authorities on both sides to cooperate to make it happen.
Which brings us to the second way: the World Cup can act as a trigger for geopolitical events (for better or for worse).
⚽️ This World Cup
This edition is no different. A Somali referee was denied entry into the United States despite holding valid documentation. Iran's national team faced significant visa delays for their support staff. And Trump has made little secret of his desire to use the tournament to boost his domestic popularity.
What we are seeing today is not unusual, if anything, it is slightly less dramatic than some previous editions. Geopolitical tensions at the World Cup are not an anomaly. They are the norm.
Enjoy the readings and Hopp Schwiiz,
Dr Cedric Pfanner
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