Reading · The Pessoptimist

Lina Hakim wrote a wonderful review of my book Design Otherwise: Transforming Design Education in the Arab Region for the Design Issues Journal (42.2). Read it here.

I am one of the jurors for the 5th Art, Architecture & Design Awards (ADA) in Pakistan.

Books:

Design Otherwise: Transforming Design Education in the Arab Region is available for purchase online, or order it at your favourite bookstore.

Designerly Ways of Knowing is available with a new cover (big up Pali!), and is now on its third print! Order here.

*Idea developed while hanging out (another method) during the DRS conference last month.

In my last newsletter, I semi promised a discussion on conferences. But in the spirit of big spectacle world events, I am focusing on football instead. Unlike the Olympics, I am consumed by the World Cup1.

I do not actually watch football nor do I support a team nor did I care that Arsenal won some championship that closed down some streets in London. Professional sports have become an outrageous businesses and I do not find watching regular season or even playoffs exciting. The World Cup however is all about the politics on the pitch, which is what makes it interesting.

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Brazil used to be my team because my favourite uncle was obsessed with Brazil, so as child during the 1994 World Cup, they had my heart. My only other memories of that World Cup are Roberto Baggio’s hair (he is a great player of course), the great uniforms of the Netherlands, the mascot, and the news coverage of Andrés Escobar, the Colombian player who was murdered for scoring an own goal.

Back then, only 24 teams competed. 32 became the norm in 1998, and 2026 sees 48 teams competing. This is both good and bad: good because it enables nine Arab teams to qualify, amongst others you’re not likely to see on the stage (Cape Verde, Curaçao, Uzbekistan), bad because FIFA is a James Bond villain type organisation and there are always ulterior motives behind its decisions. Then this article came out so yeah. Some key players were visibly tired by the quarter final, and expanding to multiple hosts and adding an additional 16 teams could have negative effects.

The tournament is not over yet, but I’m outlining a list of observations and questions so far:

Watching the Canadian team’s performance at this World Cup demonstrates investment in the sport over the last 30 years. Eight-year old me was part of the generation where ‘soccer’ started becoming a thing, and only now has it really transformed the sporting culture. By 2030, I’m sure the Canadian team will play less like apologetic and uncertain Canadians and acquire the confidence they need!
The sport having these insanely expensive players has transformed the game into one that is no longer so physical because players are in fact brands. Watching Paraguay’s match with France was a good example of physicality in a match.
Privilege and European exceptionalism comes out more staunchly during the world cup. For example:
- British commentators love to remind you how some players playing for DR Congo, Senegal, Morocco, and other non-Western European countries, are born in Europe or North America and chose to play for these countries (bitterness in the tone). Only once did I hear a commentator say that about a white Australian player who could have played for Scotland but ended up playing for the socceroos.
- Egypt and Argentina: Egypt was robbed and it cements my conspiracy from Euros 2024 when Croatia played Italy. In that game, over seven minutes was added to extra time (it should have been max 4), and this allowed Italy to score a late goal and proceed to the last 16. Croatia had to wait and see if they would proceed. Italy is a big team that draws more viewers and sells more merchandise. Croatia is a great team but not as big as Italy so it’s a better business strategy to let Italy move on. Messi is huge business, much bigger than Salah, and FIFA cannot afford not to let them move forward.
Hossam Hassan <3 <3 <3
Funny things: stadiums are ‘renamed’ because the sponsors are not sponsoring the World Cup. It seems they did not have much time to brainstorm renaming Metlife Stadium and chose “New York New Jersey Stadium”.
Football is the only space where men are called old when they reach 35.
Argentina is the only South American team without any Black players on the squad. This has been dissected all over the internet (algorithm started pushing these reels when I wrote this…)
Why does China never qualify?
- Better question why are there no East Asian players on any squads in countries with large East Asian populations?
England’s team has strong players but some play like a team while others play like individuals which feels disconnected. Their start is slow and most England matches are boring. But I am rooting for them against Argentina!
Keir Starmer is able to make quick, swift decisions around football. Would have been good to see more decisiveness during his leadership…
People are calling the increase in African teams who qualified as ‘decolonising’ football. That’s cultural decolonisation. If you want to decolonise football you start with abolishing problematic institutions like FIFA and having viable alternatives (not just rip it up without a strategy).
The 2030 World Cup might just use VAR as the main referee.