By Danial Golforoush
Generally, soccer and other sports are simplistically understood only as a pastime. They are seen as nothing but loud and sometimes hyper-masculine activities mainly reserved for the weekend or, on occasion, during the week. However, much like many other hobbies and events are simplified to a fraction of their subjective purpose, soccer plays a crucial role not only in the community that it represents but also in its global fanbase. Sometimes it simply is the only factor bringing two strangers together in the same bar to watch a match or even fly across the world to watch live in a stadium. Soccer possesses an extraordinary global reach that cuts across different cultures, languages, and physical borders. In our lifetime, soccer has become an entity of its own with governing bodies, regional regulations, nation-state investor groups, social development programs, you name it. With the world more connected than ever before, the influence of soccer on its international community has never been more prevalent.
For instance, as the world witnessed the murder of George Floyd, the English Premier League and other top European leagues and football associations around the world took it upon themselves to display “Black Lives Matter” and “No to Racism” banners during their matches and players began to take a knee before the kick off of each match. Millions of people tune in from across the world every week to watch these matches. While performance and the scoring of goals may be unpredictable, the message of unity was not. Admittedly, there were some backlashes, much as there have been in the real world. In late December, Millwall fans in the UK booed their team during the BLM kneeling in one of the first matches with a limited number of fans being reintroduced to the stadium for the very first time during COVID-19. More famously, Burnley fans in the UK flew a “White Lives Matter” banner during their team’s closed-door match. Even though these events are few and far in between, it reflects our current state–a movement that started in the U.S. now has supporters and opponents across the world.
Soccer has gone from representing a small regional community to quite literally becoming a microcosm of the world. An echo or reflective bubble if you will. As the miniature version of the world, soccer is a reflection of our society and our surrounding environment. Yet it functions as a bubble as well since many of the events within it may not have a direct and immediate influence on the outside world. This places soccer in a unique position. Although it embodies and represents the imperfections and flashes of brilliance of its environment, it has the opportunity to actively create preventative and long-lasting positive change. Admittedly, it is not helpful to look at soccer through rose-colored glasses because, at the end of the day, it is still a commercial entity. Profits are a necessity for the survival of each club and the many mouths that they feed. However, I would argue that long-term profits and social action go hand in hand. Soccer is not going anywhere any time soon.
Let’s take the women’s game as an example. Currently, women’s soccer is worth a fraction of the men’s game. This valuation has nothing to do with the sex of the players but it purely has everything to do with decades of infrastructure, exposure, and planning from which the men’s game has benefited. These decades of infrastructure have transformed into norms; thus, the women’s game struggles more when seeking fans, funds, and investments to expand when compared to the men’s game. There is an exact parallel in the “outside” world, where, by some estimates, only 2% of venture capital funds go to female entrepreneurs. However, as we have seen with the United States Women’s National Team, with the calculated and well-planned investments in grassroots, brand partnerships, and individual player’s growth, the women’s game has the potential to not only compete with the men’s game but surpass it as well. For the past decade, the USWNT has competed with the USMNT for the highest percentage of revenue generated annually for U.S. Soccer. However, as previously mentioned, while there is an objectively social good created by such investments, in the long-term the investors will without a shadow of a doubt generate more funds as more players and fans join the women’s game.
We can take the diversity of the leadership level, both executive and coaching staff, as another example; well, rather, the lack of it. It is common knowledge that most of the clubs across the top European leagues and clubs have failed–and are actively failing–to form a more diverse executive team and coaching staff. A diverse management team will not only be encouraging to younger generations, but it will, more importantly, bring a more specialized perspective on certain topics. Often individuals recruited for such positions are ex-players or experienced professionals; thus, their own past experiences and expertise can prove beneficial as the clubs or leagues look to resolve issues related to racism, sexism, etc. Their presence and past experiences can prove to be assets as certain aspects of decisions may be overlooked by a less diverse team. However, this is a long-term investment. With more diversity within the board and the coaching staff, we close the gap between different ethnicities and individuals from different socioeconomic statuses. This ideally turns into more active involvement across all communities, which will in return generate more money.
Even though diversity and inclusion open more doors for growth in the social and monetary sense in the long term, we have seen the benefits of a more inclusive environment in recent times. There have been many successful and unsuccessful campaigns held by players and teams; however, Marcus Rashford and his fight against child hunger in the UK is one of the clearest ways that this reflective bubble can change the source of its reflection for the better. Rashford, a 23-year-old Manchester United and England National Team starter who suffered from food insecurity as a child, did not miss the opportunity to battle his past when given the chance. When the UK government voted against extending the free meal program for children in vulnerable families during school vacation and COVID-19, Rashford voiced his disapproval by starting a campaign and petition to feed the children in need. Within weeks, the government changed its decision amidst the economic struggles of the second wave of COVID-19 after the overwhelming support his campaign received from the public. Rashford has since utilized his 4.1 million Twitter followers as a food drive and assistance directory and information page. He and his work have been praised and supported by many celebrities, athletes, and politicians across the world. As a result, Rashford recently earned the title of MBE, one of the highest honors given by the UK’s royal family. The seeds for this moment were planted many decades ago when inclusivity was promoted, and all soccer had to do was to do what it does best–reflect society. It was this reflective bubble that nurtured one of its own from within, who then changed the source of the reflection that dissatisfied him.
Stepping away from the rose-colored glasses again–and the vacuum that each of those scenarios was described in–the question becomes why should soccer generate the voices to define generations? More importantly, who decides what those voices are? And what is “positive change”? These are fair and necessary questions that need answering. However, as a greater global society, our values and understanding of the world around us are ever-changing and always evolving for the better. While the past few years and especially 2020 have made this harder to believe, there are actors within the game who are playing their role in creating a space more perfect than the season before. As we struggle with the issues of diversity, discrimination, and unnecessary social taboos, this conscious microcosm–this reflective bubble–can become the long-term and long-lasting voice for change that each society deserves.
Danial Golforoush is a recent graduate of the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in International Economic Development with a focus on development through technology and entrepreneurship. He is currently working in the personal finance industry. Danial takes a particular interest in analyzing and writing about the social and business aspect of soccer.”
