Football and politics: fair play?

June. The grip of football fever will soon engulf the globe as all eyes turn to South Africa, the host nation of one of the biggest events on the planet: FIFA’s World Cup 2010. Whether one supports the mighty Spanish, the spectacular Brazilians, the creative Dutch or the resilient Germans, emotions always run high; the results can make or break a country’s morale. The popularity of the game is such that it transcends borders, language barriers and social classes. What was once regarded as the common man’s sport of choice has become a multi-billion dollar business controlled by a few men (it is still largely a man’s world) who yield the power to assign lucrative broadcasting rights and grant countries the privilege to host an event capable of attracting hundreds of thousands of spectators and scores of companies vying for a piece of the pie. The popularity of football and