The articles for this week including one assigned to the Clutch group highlights the further connection between soccer, politics, and economics, particularly the relationship between political issues and the World Cup as an avenue of entrepreneurship. From the ESPN article that gave graphic depictions of torture and violence and the effect of that on the Argentinian people under the dictatorship of the junta to expansion of regions included in the participants for the World Cup as a result of the effects of decolonization, the growth of soccer as an international sport and the World Cup as the major source of income for FIFA has linked not just the countries participating in the international competition, but the political and societal issues that present themselves among these nations. In the ESPN article, prisoners under the regime of the junta in Argentina had shared their opinions in whispers to each other since communication among inmates was punished. Some desired for the victory of the Argentinian national team in the World Cup while others hated that the dictatorship was utilizing the national soccer team to further legitimize their rule after their successful coup. While televisions were advertising products licensed for the World Cup, Argentinians were being brought to concentration camps and being sodomized in torture chambers. The issues in Argentina brought about by the junta military dictatorship were overshadowed by the World Cup which served to aid the regime as the focus shifted from the camps to the performance of the national team. They mocked the international community fighting against the torture and kidnapping, turning human rights into a slogan of “We are human, and we are right.” Accusations of the rigging of a match against Peru in favor of the Argentinian team in 1978 caused the FIFA entrepreneurship to launch an investigation into the potential foul play in the Argentinian victory against Peru. The Peruvian goalkeeper was born in Argentina and Henry Kissinger and General Videla visited the locker rooms before the match, yet the goalkeeper denied any accusations of corruption and rigging of the match. Soccer was being used as a means of political power while growing FIFA into an economic powerhouse of its own.
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