Stories like this make me glad I decided to add Frank Foer’s How Soccer Explains the World to the reading list for next semester’s comparative politics course. It’s a story about Iraq’s national soccer team (by Time magazine’s Tony Karon), which plays tomorrow (against Saudi Arabia) in the Asian Cup final. Could a victory help bring an end (even a temporary one) to the violence? The Ivory Coast’s civil war ended in similar circumstances last year. The combination of sports (and other elements of pop culture) & politics is often underappreciated.
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PS. Iraq won the 2007 Asian Cup, it’s first ever.
Miguel -- thanks for the link to my story. If you're looking to get your students a great read on football and politics in international perspective, I'd suggest Simon Kuper's "Soccer Against the Enemy" which has greater reach and authority than Foer's book, which has some very strong parts, but also misunderstands a few things... And, of course, seeing as how you're teaching about Latin America, Eduardo Galleano's writings about soccer are indispesnable, and also Alex Bellos's book on Brazilian futbol...
I know what you mean. The Kuper book has more depth, particularly for discussion on nationalism and how states sustain themselves w/ such displays (I instantly think of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, as well as the 1934 Italian and 1978 Argentine FIFA World Cups, to which we can include the 2008 Beijing Olympics). But I wanted an easier textbook that my students could parse through, and that would spark discussions, all the while they work on their semester papers. I also wanted something that would apply more broadly to globalization, rather than more focused discussion of nationalism & the role of the state. But, yes, the Kuper book (and other materials, including those you mentioned) will be introduced in lectures.