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Austin F. Mrs. Richards AP Lang. 1-8-14 Why the World Loves Soccer Bill Shankly, a former manager of the English soccer club, Liverpool FC, said, Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I'm very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that. This is best explained by another quote. Arsne Wenger, the current manager of Arsenal, stated that, Football is a beautiful game because it belongs to all of us. The whole world plays it Across every continent, now more than ever, football is a common language and a culture shared: joy, passion, knowing what it is to be in a team; an escape, an inspiration, an affirmation of identity. Everybody has kicked a soccer ball in their life, or imitated the sport, something only unique to soccer. You see it everywhere: impromptu goal posts, bundle of socks, pig stomach, dirt lines; all components of a soccer field. Soccer is hope, an escape, expression, serenity, and suffering all mixed together. The sport is simple; take an object and kick it through a desired target. Because of the simplicity, you can use any given object. Ive used footballs, small rocks, socks, and other things to play with my friends. Weve used small chairs as goals, basketball hoops, trees, really anything we could find to play. Church shoes, jeans, winter coats, bowties; you can play this game in anything as well. Many countries have families that cant afford a soccer ball, cleats, a field, or anything else, and because of this, they play with the bare minimum. Now consider this: European countries have soccer academies where young people can attend school, play soccer

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for hours, and live on campus. They have pristine fields, new equipment daily, and top notch coaches. Two kids could grow up in these separate circumstances, yet play on the same team in a foreign country. This happens all the time. Lionel Messi, considered the best player right now, grew up playing soccer in the streets and in a rundown military base. David Beckham, one of Englands most recognized players, played on teams, went to professional games when he could, and came from a fairly wealthy family. They both have played on top teams in Spain. Soccer is a language that has no barriers. Because its so accessible, everyone plays it, and it doesnt change from continent to continent. Soccer gives us hope. Its no secret that the world is a harsh place with more negative influences than positive. The world sometimes needs an escape, and the easiest way is to kick a ball around with friends. Claudio Surez, a Mexico National team player, said, [Soccer] represented so much fun while I was growing up. The game gave us the opportunity to forget about our problems, to stay away from bad influences. Four and a half miles away from Cape Town, South Africa lives an island made infamous by Apartheid. Robben Island housed a prison that mainly held black South Africans against Apartheid. Prisoners needed an escape from the grind, so they used bundled socks, paper, whatever they could get their hands on and play in a community cell. Eventually, the inmates were allowed to play outside, but they used gravel for a field, and their goals were made of washed in timber and fishing nets found on the beach. In 1969, the prisoners created the Makana Football Association which governed soccer on the island until 1981. Many prisoners went on to hold leadership positions, most notably Nelson Mandela. Mandela later commented on what soccer meant saying, While we were on Robben Island, the only access to the World Cup was on radio. Football was the only joy to prisoners. Soccer creates an escape, an identity, and a sense of hope.

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The United Nations Childrens Fund, or UNICEF for short, works closely with the Federal International Football Association, or FIFA for short, in helping to better impoverished countries children. David Beckham is a spokesperson for the group, and has had remarkable experiences. During a visit in Sierra Leone, he came across a pickup game with players of all ages. He stopped to play. A white, very talented, Englishman played a game with black, poor, Africans in a game played on dirt. He commented, I cant know what was happening in the rest of their lives. I dont even know if they were all friends: they might have been fighting each other an hour later! But, while we were playing, they were all together, sorting themselves out as teams; and all of them up for a game. Wherever you are in the world, it seems to me, thats what football can do. When I was growing up, I would say football was the one thing that was a getout from gang life for all of us. Street football: people from different neighborhoods, different gangs, would put down their weapons and play, commented Benni McCarthy, a South American international player. McCarthy grew up in the projects, and was use to violence and gangs. He found an escape in soccer, much like countless young men and women. The World Cup is more sacred than the Holy Grail. Whole countries shut down in anticipation for these coveted games. The host is always bombarded with criticism, crazed fans, true believers, and usually violence. Families are torn apart for a month due to pride in their favorite teams. We, as Americans, are ignorant to the world of soccer. Sean Winsley, a writer for National Geographic, wrote, [America] has never won. You can pick whatever team you like best and root for it without shame or reprisal. You have not been indoctrinated into unwantedyet-inescapable tribal allegiances by your soccer-crazed countrymen. You are an amateur, in the purest sense of the word. Hes absolutely right. In 2009, the US Mens National team played in the Confederations Cup, a tournament held in the host nation of the World Cup the year before as

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a dry run to see if everything is working. America had advanced out of their group and had to play Spain, the number one ranked team in the world. Whoever won was almost guaranteed to play Brazil for the cup final, and the world had already chosen Spain to have an easy win to advance. The Americans fought and won two-zero over the best team in the world, and went down as one of the greatest sport upsets of all time. They played Brazil, and finished the first half up two over the South Americans. Brazil ended up taking the game three-two during the second half to clinch the cup. Point is, America had pulled off the unthinkable almost twice, more of one and a half times, and nobody knew about it or cared. Spain returned to Spain and faced the ridicule of the whole world, and ignorant America could care less. No celebrations, no late night riots, no passion; Americans seem to turn their nose up to what the world has accepted. Heres some more stories to put perspective on what soccer means to the world: in 2000, Ivory Coast had just lost to Cameroon to qualify for the African Nations Cup. Their star player, Drogba, played a terrific game and scored two goals, yet after the game, he received death threats and menacing messages from fans which made him consider resigning from the national team. General Robert Guei held the team in detention for two days as punishment. He then stripped them of their passports and cell phones, publically denounced them, and told the team that they should have spared their country the shame. African teams will actually hire juju men, or witch doctors, to help their teams win. Players can take baths in special potions to enhance their performance, a magic oil can be rubbed on the posts to prevent the ball from going in, and hexes are placed on the other team as a curse. In 1992, the sports minister of the Ivory Coast hired such men to help his team gain an advantage over their adversaries. When he failed to pay, the witchdoctors put a curse on the team who then suffered a ten-year run of crummy results. In

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2002, they were finally paid, and the curse was lifted. That year they qualified to play in the World Cup in the countrys history. Theres a sea-town in southern Thailand called Panyee. In 2003, a band of boys decided that instead of watching others play soccer, they should. The only problem was that they had no space because they lived on the ocean. The boys gathered floating wood and old rafts, and built a field right on the ocean. The pitch was constantly wet. If the ball went out of bounds, youd jump in the water to retrieve it. After a while, the boys entered into a one day tournament. The villagers had pitched in money to buy the team jerseys, shin guards, and cleats. They made it to the semifinals where an absolute downpour and last minute goal took the finals away from them. Since then, the club they formed has won the Thailand National Championship every year, and soccer is now the main past time event. Soccer is politics, war, religion, capitalism, human failure, and inhuman success. Wars have been started and stopped with soccer games. Killings and mass suicides have occurred because of games. The world loves soccer because of the hope it brings. In situations that seem to be intended to break people, you will always see soccer as an escape. The easiest escape is soccer. During genocides, civil wars, slavery, etc you will always find some symbol of hope, and that symbol usually revolves around soccer. Soccer brings people together, tears countries apart, brings suffering, and gives identity to all. Everybody connects through this sport, because its something special to everyone, one way or another. Soccer is not just a matter of life or death its so much more.

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Works Cited Barth, Patrick. "1." Robben Island Soccer League. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Jan. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/07/05/sports/SPTSROBBEN0705-4.html>. "Classic Football." FIFA.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Jan. 2014. <http://www.fifa.com/classicfootball/news/newsid=2239872/index.html>.
TMB Panyee FC short film." YouTube. YouTube, 13 Mar. 2011. Web. 8 Jan. 2014. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jU4oA3kkAWU>.

Watt, Tom. A beautiful game: the world's greatest players and how soccer changed their lives. New York, NY: HarperOne, 2010. Print. Wilsey, Steve. "Soccer." The World's Game. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Jan. 2014. <http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2006/06/soccer/soccer-text>.