Issues around the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia: A showcase of how sports and politics mix: Wie die FIFA Fußball-Weltmeisterschaft 2018 in Russland exemplarisch belegt, dass Sport und Politik nicht voneinander zu trennen sind

Danyel Reiche

doi:10.1515/sug-2018-0013

Article

Issues around the FIFA World Cup 2018 in Russia: A showcase of how sports and politics mix

Wie die FIFA Fußball-Weltmeisterschaft 2018 in Russland exemplarisch belegt, dass Sport und Politik nicht voneinander zu trennen sind

Danyel Reiche

Published/Copyright: December 31, 2018

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From the journal Sport und Gesellschaft Volume 15 Issue 2-3

Summery

The 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia was another demonstration in how sports and politics mix. In protest of Russian politics, few leaders from Western countries attended. For this World Cup, public resources were misused in that half of the stadiums built in Russia were left as “white elephants” with no longterm use. The tournament in Russia marked a shift from the West to the East with sponsors from authoritarian countries having saved the business model of FIFA. The policy of fining misconduct during the World Cup showed FIFA’s commitment to protect its remaining sponsors while proclaimed values, such as fighting racism, were of minor importance. The case of Iranian women using the opportunity not only to attend their national team’s games in Russia but also to advocate for the right of women to enter stadiums in Iran showed that football can also be an agent for social change. In two countries (Germany, United States), World Cup matches hosted female commentators on television for the first time. In Belgium, players operated largely above the Flemish-Walloon divide. The article concludes by comparing the last World Cup in Russia with the next one in Qatar and identifying topics for future research.

Zusammenfassung

Die FIFA Fußball-Weltmeisterschaft 2018 in Russland war ein erneuter Beleg dafür, dass Sport und Politik nicht voneinander zu trennen sind. Aus Protest gegen die Politik Russlands blieben die meisten westlichen Staatsoberhäupter bewusst der WM fern. Die Fußball-Weltmeisterschaft 2018 war ein Beispiel für die missbräuchliche Verwendung öffentlicher Gelder. Die Hälfte aller WM-Stadien wird nach dem Wettbewerb ohne langfristige Nutzung als „weiße Elefanten“ zurückbleiben. Das Turnier in Russland markierte eine Verschiebung von westlichen hin zu Sponsoren aus autoritären Ländern, die das Geschäfts-Modell der FIFA gerettet haben. Das Vorgehen der FIFA, Fehlverhalten während der WM zu ahnden, verfolgte das Hauptinteresse, die verbliebenden Sponsoren zu schützen. Proklamierte Werte wie der Kampf gegen Rassismus mussten dem hintenanstehen.

Der Fall iranischer Frauen, die die Möglichkeit genutzt haben, Spiele ihrer Nationalmannschaft in Russland zu besuchen und dabei gegen das Stadionverbot für Frauen in ihrem Heimatland zu demonstrieren, hat gezeigt, dass Fußball durchaus auch als Vehikel für sozialen Wandel dienen kann. In zwei Ländern, Deutschland und den Vereinigten Staaten, wurden WM-Spiele im Fernsehen erstmals von Frauen kommentiert. In Belgien haben flämische und wallonische Nationalspieler die einstmalige Binnen-Trennung überwunden.

Am Ende vergleicht der Artikel die letzte WM in Russland mit der nächsten in Katar und identifiziert Themen für zukünftige Forschung zu Fußballweltmeisterschaften.

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Published Online: 2018-12-31

Published in Print: 2018-12-19

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https://doi.org/10.1515/sug-2018-0013