Soccer is not just a game. It is big money, and it’s serious politics. You cannot discuss FIFA and soccer in isolation from imperialism, coloniahhlism, racism and the structure of global capitalism where Europe and North America are the receivers of value from global production and division of labour. The core and the periphery capitalism. France and Belgium for example have mined talent to their national teams big time from their global spheres of influence across the world.
I am no longer struggling with Africans who love their colonial masters more than they love themselves. I have met Kenyans who ask for the return of colonialism, or who the Colonial power left too early. And the colonial powers really succeeded in the education and propaganda.. So much that Africans do not even understand why the ruin and plunder if African countries continues.
In this World Cup, The North uses the South’s resources and labour to continue the control, dominance and exploitation of the Third World, the South. Chinese companies were the largest advertisers and sponsors of the World Cup even without a team. WC is a market. And Europe controls that market, who plies his wares there and who earns the value from the market.
Russia spent nearly 4 trillion to build Stadiums. It has the money from petro Rubbles to do this. But DRC, Libya , Nigeria too have resources, but who mines these resources? Europeans, Chinese, Canadians, Americans! DRC is where Lukaku hails from, its a failed state. Why is it a failed state?
Without EQUITY you cannot achieve justice. But most Kenyans do not understand justice. My work is to educate. The rest is yours. Africa cannot build great stadiums, pay players well without having a soccer economy. Europe has a soccer economy. Messi , Neymar , Wanyama etc go to Europe are paid tidy sums but also taxed heavily to support the European soccer economy. Africa cannot do this with 1.8% of global trade. Soccer is part of the economic enterprise for Europe.
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