How Soccer Connects The World
Updated: Aug 18, 2020
Soccer is the most widely played sport in the world today. The sport has over 3 billion fans and is played in more than 200 countries. It is a simple sport to learn as you can get your head around it after 2 minutes of watching.
However, soccer is a lot more than just a sport as it illustrates many real world ideas. For instance, the Protestant Glasgow Rangers Football Club versus Catholic Celtic Football club is an opportunity for fans to come watch the game and express their beliefs through supporting their respective teams. In addition, it is a sport where fans from different cultures come together to support their favorite clubs such as FC Barcelona or Manchester City. This sport establishes a sense of belonging and unity for the fans which is something that the world outside of soccer lacks. People are not targeting certain cultures or personalities but are coming together in an effort to support their soccer teams.
In most games, some fans are delighted while others are unhappy but the beauty of soccer makes it so cherishing to watch the beautiful acts that occur after the game. For instance, I was watching a World Cup game between Senegal and Colombia where Columbia won the game 1-0 and kicked Senegal out of the World Cup which disheartened so many Senegal fans. However, it was so satisfying to watch Colombian fans hugging the Senegalese fans as they cried in their opposition's arms. Fans coming from around the world are tied into a common culture that soccer establishes despite supporting different teams.
While soccer does cause some fights between fans of opposing teams, the overall effect of millions of fans coming from around the world allows people to meet new cultures, unite together, and gain so many more benefits in such a positive environment. The effects that this sport has had on billions of fans shows the beauty of humanity.
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Works Cited:
Kruschewsky, Gabriela. “Wake Up, America: Here's Why Soccer Is The World's Best Sport.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 14 May 2014, www.huffpost.com/entry/soccer-worlds-best-sport_n_5248061.
O'Reilly, Niall. “Junior Soccer - Blog.” Techne Global Sports, 28 Oct. 2016, www.techneglobal.com/blog/tag/junior+soccer.
Foer, Franklin. How Soccer Explains the World. HarperCollins, 2004.