Opinion | Football is a mirror on our souls, and reveals in stark terms many problems society faces
Integrity – having recognisable principles that act as a guiding compass – seems to be lacking in football just as it is in public life
Football has never been more popular: three-and-a-half billion people see themselves as football “supporters”; around 250 million people play the game at least twice a month; the English Premier League can be seen in around 200 countries; Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have 641 million and 500 million followers, respectively, on Instagram.
There are times when football and indeed footballers really do seem to be everywhere.
As is obvious to even the most casual observer, football has clearly become big business. It is also a hugely significant social institution. The logics that underpin how football is watched, played, analysed and indeed governed reflect much of what we see in the wider world around us.
Football exerts an outsize influence on many stakeholders and, indeed, we – those who follow the sport – shape and mould it to reflect our own norms and values. Football is a mirror on our souls.
That should make us stop and think. If there is one thing that should lie at the core of sporting competition, it is the notion of integrity. That also applies to public (and indeed private) life more generally. If everyone is in it for themselves, then ultimately everyone suffers.
Yet, in football – as in life – integrity appears at times to be in painfully short supply.
