How Soccer Explains the World


How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization is a book written by American journalist Franklin Foer. It is an analysis of the interchange between soccer and the new global economy.
The author takes readers on a journey from stadium to stadium around the globe in an attempt to shed new insights on today’s world events, both from political and economic standpoints. Soccer is here the globalized medium that seems to lend itself to explaining the effects globalization has on society as a whole.

Themes

Failure of globalization

In the first couple of chapters, Franklin Foer addresses "the failure of globalization to erode. ancient hatreds in the game’s great rivalries," which is associated with football hooligans. The book continues on and talks about sectarian conflicts between supporters of Celtic F.C. and Rangers F.C. in Scotland and the tendency of supporters of Tottenham Hotspur F.C. and AFC Ajax to appropriate Jewish symbols and terminology, which results in conflicting views between things such as the antisemitic chants and taunts.

Rise of corporate hegemons

In the second part of the text, the author uses soccer "to address economics: the consequences of migration, the persistence of corruption, and the rise of powerful new oligarchs like Silvio Berlusconi, the President of Italy and the AC Milan club".

Persistence of nationalism and tribalism

In the final part, Foer uses soccer "to defend the virtues of old-fashioned nationalism", as "a way to blunt the return of tribalism".

Reception

The book received positive reviews in The New York Times and The Washington Post. Critics for The San Francisco Chronicle and The Boston Globe praised Foer's portrait of the soccer world while dismissing his larger arguments.