Football Fever

Yesterday’s Asian Cup Final in Jakarta and the repercussions in Iraq, provoked news correspondents from the BBC to claim that Iraq’s defeat of Saudi Arabia had temporarily united the divided country. Iraq beat Saudi Arabia 1-0 yesterday and celebratory gunfire was heard in Baghdad.  Thousands of Iraqis had been following the match in Indonesia on TV and then rushed out into the streets to celebrate the victory all over Iraq, dancing in the streets and waving their national flag.  These days, corporate sponsors of the game either forget or don’t really understand what the game of football can actually achieve.  They invest money in corporate hospitality to see their brand slapped all over merchandise, shirts and banners, but they underestimate footballs’ power to unite people.  The premier clubs plunder the corporate buck and entertain executives in VIP areas who have no partisan passion for the club matches they are attending.  This game has temporarily unified Iraq, and VIP executives are just happy to be seen at a high profile match while their company is missing the potential of grass roots issues that surround clubs with a real fan base. If they could understand what football can really achieve, then they could magnify that passion and turn it into real wealth.