While it may not seem like it, the World Cup has historical relations to politics as well as culture. There is also a distinct connection to economic profits for the famous event as well. An interesting note about the 1986 World Cup in Colombia is that they had to back out of hosting the event and cited financial reasons for doing so which dealt a blow to the pride of many Colombians. Their football scene had already dealt with corruption and forms of match fixing. This establishes a connection between the economics and culture for the host nation of the World Cup. Football in America was struggling, and the denial of their bid in 1986 and the relocation of the World Cup to Mexico dealt a blow to the pride of those trying to bring professional soccer to American audiences. Steve Ross, head of NASL (National American Soccer League) said ““I will not put in another dime, I’m out, it’s the end of football for me.” Since soccer is an international sport, it would be nearly impossible to be completely avoidant of geopolitical issues, such as Ulster loyalists noted in the article discussing the 1994 USA World Cup, where they raised images such as the Ulster flag and the cross of Saint George. The World Cup in 1978 in Argentina was used to mask murder and torture going on within the country, and the junta military forces tried to get closer and closer in association with the national football team in order to mask the societal issues the nation was suffering from and legitimize their rule. The issues in Argentina were put on full global display after overplaying their hand and challenging the British led by Margaret Thatcher at the time. The conflict between England and Argentina made for interesting tensions when Argentina played against England in 1986. Some of the newspapers and commentators covering the match used military language as well as images in the build up to the event. This highlights how international affairs can have an effect and an impact on the matches of an international, globalized sport.
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