Introduction: The World Cup as a Mirror of a Disintegrating Social Order
Few events in culture draw the worldwide focus of the FIFA
World Cup. Every four years, billions of viewers watch a month-long event that,
on the surface, seems to go beyond politics, social class, and national
conflicts. It is promoted as a global celebration of humanity, emphasising
talent, creativity, and shared happiness. However, behind this glittering
surface, an undeniable truth persists: the World Cup has evolved into a
powerful symbol of the deepening crisis within global capitalism.
However, the liberal approach in these critiques makes them
politically ineffective. They list abuses but fail to identify their root
causes. They highlight corruption without explaining why it is widespread. They
criticise the 'politicisation' of sport but neglect to recognise that, under
capitalism, sport is inherently political. This leads to moralistic complaints
that do nothing to challenge the social system itself.
A Marxist perspective holds that the World Cup is not
tainted by capitalism; rather, it is a manifestation of capitalism itself. Its
development mirrors the history of the capitalist system, ranging from
imperialist expansion and fascist mobilisation to post-war rebuilding,
neoliberal globalisation, and the current authoritarian decline of bourgeois
democracy. Analysing the World Cup offers insight into the broader world that
shaped its existence.
The World Cup as Commodity-Spectacle
The modern World Cup developed during the rise of monopoly
capitalism in the early 20th century. As Marx noted in the Grundrisse, the
growth of capital leads to the “generalisation of commodity relations across
all areas of life.” Originally a working-class pastime, sport quickly became a
commodity—its worth now measured not by enjoyment but by profit-making.
By the mid-20th century, the
World Cup had evolved into a global spectacle driven by several factors: the
expansion of mass media broadcasting, the integration of sports into
advertising and consumerism, the dominance of multinational corporations, the geopolitical
rivalry among imperial states, and the commercialisation of leisure time. Its
economic framework is closely tied to political aims, serving as a tool for
capital accumulation and perpetuating bourgeois ideology. Behind the festive
public image, the event masks underlying social relations like exploitation,
coercion, and state violence, turning them into a symbolic celebration that
hides these realities.
This explains why every effort to “clean up” FIFA is
destined to fail. The corruption isn't just a flaw; it serves as the system's
way of managing a worldwide commodity spectacle in a world divided by
inequality.
FIFA as a Transnational Bourgeois Apparatus
Many liberal commentators
continue to see FIFA as a once-virtuous organisation betrayed by corrupt
officials. However, historical evidence shows the opposite. Since its early
days, FIFA has operated as a para-state entity aligned with the global
bourgeoisie, serving as an intermediary among imperial powers, emerging
capitalist leaders, authoritarian regimes seeking legitimacy, multinational
corporations hunting for markets, and media conglomerates seeking content.
The evolution from Havelange
to Blatter and Infantino signifies a structural transformation rather than a
moral decline. With the rise of global capitalism into its neoliberal stage,
FIFA grew more centralised, financially dependent, reliant on authoritarian
hosts, intertwined with geopolitical tactics, and increasingly detached from
democratic oversight.
Assigning tournaments to Mussolini’s Italy, Videla’s
Argentina, Putin’s Russia, and the Qatari monarchy reflects not just rare
exceptions but the natural result of an institution that transforms political
influence into economic gain, and economic gain into political legitimacy.
The Trump–Infantino alliance epitomises
this development. The 2026 World Cup marks the first to explicitly embody the
convergence of oligarchic wealth, authoritarian state power, xenophobic
nationalism, militarised policing, and the suppression of political dissent.
The disturbing image of Infantino handing Trump a massive ticket to the
final—“row 1, seat 1, ticket no. 45/47”—is more than a curiosity. It symbolises
the new political landscape: the world’s most popular sport has been taken over
by the most reactionary segments of the global elite.
The Working Class: From Invisible Victim to Revolutionary
Subject
A notable aspect of liberal commentary on the World Cup is
how it largely omits the working class as an active political force. The
migrant workers who died in Qatar, the displaced residents of Rio’s favelas,
the shack dwellers evicted in Cape Town, and the North Korean labourers
building stadiums in St. Petersburg are all depicted solely as victims, rather
than as agents with agency.
This is not an oversight;
rather, it is a political necessity for bourgeois journalism, which may reveal
abuses but cannot recognise the social force capable of ending them. A Marxist
perspective emphasises that the migrant worker in Doha, the favela resident in
Rio, the shack-dweller in Cape Town, the stadium labourer in St. Petersburg,
and the fan priced out of 2026 are not isolated victims. Instead, they are part
of a single, international class. Their exploitation is systemic, not
accidental, and their suffering is integral to the functioning of global
capitalism.
The working class pioneered modern football by building
stadiums, producing players, and cultivating the culture that turned the sport
into a global phenomenon. The takeover of football by oligarchs and
authoritarian regimes reflects the larger trend of social life being
appropriated by finance capital. The goal isn’t just to reform FIFA but to
rally the working class as a revolutionary force to reclaim both sport and
society from capitalist control.
Nationalism as Bourgeois Ideology
Wilson’s cultural analysis of national football styles—such
as Argentina’s pibe mythology, Brazil’s futebol arte, and Dutch
totaalvoetbal—is perceptive but not comprehensive. It views national identity
mainly as a form of cultural expression rather than as a political tool.
Nationalism in sport isn't a
vibrant tradition but a bourgeois ideology that serves specific functions: to
obscure class conflicts, divert collective emotion from political struggles, legitimise
the nation-state as the core of capitalist growth, divide workers with shared
interests, and provide a controlled outlet for aggression and identity. The
'black-blanc-beur' myth of 1998 and the racialised accusations of 2010 aren't
contradictions but different expressions of the same ideological toolset. The
ruling class uses multicultural symbols when convenient and racial scapegoating
when advantageous. Both serve as instruments of control.
The World Cup serves as a key tool for promoting nationalist
ideology today. It makes workers experience their collective emotions primarily
as Argentines, Brazilians, or Englishmen—not simply as members of a global
class.
The 2026 World Cup and the Authoritarian Degeneration of
Capitalism
The 2026 tournament signifies
a significant shift. The merging of sport, state violence, and oligarchic
influence has advanced to a point where liberal illusions are now outdated.
Some notable features include: ICE agents stationed at stadiums, Iranian players
banned from spending a night in the US, Haitian players ordered to remove
symbols commemorating Napoleon’s defeated slave-reimposition army, Somali
referees detained for eleven hours and expelled, dynamic pricing excluding the
working class, and Trump threatening military action against co-host Mexico
while accepting a “Peace Prize” from Infantino. This is not an anomaly but the
logical culmination of a process that has been developing for decades: the
authoritarian decline of global capitalism. The World Cup now serves as a stage
on which the crisis of bourgeois democracy is vividly displayed.
Historical Case Studies: The World Cup as a Political
Instrument of Capitalist Rule
1934: Mussolini’s Fascist Pageant and the Birth of the
Political World Cup
The 1934 World Cup in Italy is often dismissed as an
embarrassing anomaly—perceived as a moment when an authoritarian regime politicised
the event. However, it actually marked the first explicit display of the
tournament’s political role within a capitalist context. Benito Mussolini
viewed the World Cup as an instrument of statecraft. The fascist government organised
mass rallies, choreographed crowds, militarised police, propaganda posters,
diplomatic pressure on referees, and intimidation tactics aimed at opposing
teams. Their goal was to turn the tournament into a showcase of national unity
and imperial ambition. Italy’s victory was not just a sporting achievement but
a carefully staged celebration of fascist ideology.
The idea that FIFA was “helpless” before Mussolini is proved
false upon closer examination. FIFA actively collaborated with the regime, with
officials praising its "efficiency” and “organisation.” The tournament
showed that, from its early days, the World Cup could be exploited by
authoritarian regimes because its centralised, opaque, and commercially driven
structure made it susceptible to political influence. The 1934 tournament
wasn't an exception; it revealed the true nature of the World Cup’s vulnerability
to political misuse.
1978: Videla’s Argentina and the Counterrevolutionary
Function of Sport
The 1934 World Cup showed its susceptibility to fascist
influence, while the 1978 tournament in Argentina exposed how it also served
the counterrevolutionary strategies of the bourgeoisie. After a US-backed
military coup in 1976, the Argentine junta, which took power, was responsible
for 30,000 disappearances, organised torture, the killing of trade unionists,
students, and left-wing militants, and suppressed all democratic rights. The
World Cup was a key part of the junta’s political plan to internationalise the
dictatorship, build national unity, silence the voices of the tortured within
the ESMA detention centre near the stadium, and shift social unrest into
nationalist fervour.
The junta’s interference in the tournament grew grotesque.
The notorious 6–0 win over Peru—achieved through diplomatic pressure, economic
incentives, and military threats—was a political move by the regime. It secured
Argentina’s place in the final and gave the dictatorship a symbolic victory
amid worsening economic conditions. The 1978 World Cup was more than just
"tainted"; it was a covert counterrevolutionary effort. It showed
that the tournament could serve both to legitimise authoritarian governments and
to suppress revolutionary movements.
3. 2014: Brazil, Neoliberalism, and the Militarisation of
Urban Space
The 2014 World Cup in Brazil exemplified the integration of
the tournament into the neoliberal framework. While the Workers’ Party (PT)
government promoted it as a symbol of national progress and global stature, it
actually functioned as a testing ground for urban militarisation and the displacement
of impoverished communities. This included the forced eviction of over 200,000
residents, destruction of informal housing, deployment of militarised police
forces, creation of “exclusion zones” near stadiums, criminalisation of
protests, and the transfer of billions in public money to private firms.
The PT government, praised by Western liberals as a model of
“progressive governance,” functioned as an agent of FIFA and the Brazilian
bourgeoisie. It used tear gas, rubber bullets, and mass arrests to suppress
widespread protests. The favelas were militarised under the guise of
“pacification.” The 2014 World Cup exposed neoliberalism's true nature: the
merging of corporate influence and state violence, the commercialisation of
public spaces, and the prioritisation of global capital over social needs.
2018: Putin’s Russia and the Normalisation of
Authoritarian Capitalism
The 2018 World Cup in Russia received widespread praise from
Western journalists for its “smooth organisation” and “friendly
atmosphere." However, this praise was not just naive; it was politically
motivated. It helped normalise Vladimir Putin's authoritarian capitalist regime
and hid the social conditions that enabled the tournament to take place.
The Russian state used forced labour, including North Korean
workers, along with mass surveillance and suppression of political opposition.
It also cleared homeless populations from city centres and built stadiums amid
corruption and exploitation. The tournament aimed to: restore Russia’s
international image following the annexation of Crimea, strengthen Putin’s
political legitimacy domestically, showcase the ability of an authoritarian
capitalist regime to organise large-scale events, and deepen Russia’s
integration into global financial markets.
The enthusiastic coverage of the 2018 tournament exposed the
ideological failure of Western journalism. It demonstrated that authoritarian
regimes are often justified—sometimes even praised—when they produce a
spectacle that aligns with FIFA's commercial goals and entertains the middle
class.
2022: Qatar and the Apotheosis of Oligarchic Power
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar marked a significant shift in
the event's political and economic landscape. An authoritarian government did
not just host it; it was supported by a labour system that can be characterised
as neo-slavery. Construction workers faced a tragic toll, with over 6,500
migrant workers dying during the process. The event was built on practices such
as the kafala system—binding workers to their employers, confiscation of
passports, unpaid wages, extreme heat, hazardous working conditions, suppression
of trade unions, and criminalisation of dissent.
Qatar spent more than £200 billion on the tournament,
exceeding the GDP of many nations. This wasn't a reckless spend but a
calculated move by a petro-monarchy aiming to gain geopolitical influence,
international legitimacy, integration into Western security frameworks,
economic diversification, and to strengthen its ruling elite. The 2022 World
Cup exemplifies how modern tournaments serve as platforms to turn human
suffering into geopolitical leverage and commercial gain.
2026: The Trump–Infantino Axis and the Authoritarian
Degeneration of Bourgeois Democracy
The 2026 World Cup, jointly hosted by the United States,
Mexico, and Canada, signifies a political shift in the tournament. It is the
first to openly reflect the merging of oligarchic wealth, authoritarian
government, xenophobic nationalism, militarised policing, and suppression of
dissent. During the Trump era, the tournament has become a stage for ICE agents
monitoring events, Iranian players being banned from overnight stays in the US,
Haitian players ordered to remove symbols honouring Napoleon’s defeat, Somali
referees detained for eleven hours before expulsion, and pricing strategies
excluding the working class. Trump has also threatened military action against
co-host Mexico while accepting a “Peace Prize” from FIFA’s Infantino.
The shocking image of Infantino handing Trump a large ticket
to the final—“row 1, seat 1, ticket no. 45/47”—is more than just an oddity. It symbolises
the decline of global capitalism into authoritarianism. The 2026 World Cup is
not a break from its past; it represents its inevitable culmination.
Looking at these six instances—1934, 1978, 2014, 2018, 2022,
2026—the pattern is clear: the World Cup consistently serves as a political
tool for the ruling class throughout different stages of capitalism. The World
Cup is not corrupted by capitalism. It is capitalism.
Marxism, Sport, and Ideology: Why a Marxist Theory of
Sport Is Necessary
The liberal perspective views sport as a pure domain—an
independent cultural space driven by merit, creativity, and fairness. When
issues such as corruption, exploitation, or authoritarianism arise, they are
seen as external influences. The goal of this approach is to "shield"
sport from political interference.
Marxism starts from a different assumption. Sports, like all
aspects of society, are influenced by the material conditions of their
creation. It is not an independent domain but a social relationship intertwined
with capitalism's economic, political, and ideological systems. To grasp the
significance of the World Cup is to understand: the commodification of leisure,
the perpetuation of bourgeois ideology, the function of the nation-state, the
global division of labour, the methods of social control, and the
contradictions inherent in capitalist modernity.
Sport and the Commodity Form
Marx’s analysis of the commodity form provides the
foundation for understanding modern sport. Under capitalism, human activity
becomes a commodity—something produced for exchange rather than for its
intrinsic value. Sport is no exception.
The transformation of play into a commodity
In pre-capitalist societies, games served as communal
recreation. With capitalism, they transformed into: ticketed events, broadcast
products, advertising platforms, vehicles for corporate sponsorship, and
instruments of state diplomacy. The athlete becomes a commodity, with their
labour bought and sold. Fans become consumers whose emotional ties are monetised.
The match itself becomes a product, its value realised through broadcasting
rights, merchandise, and worldwide distribution.
Just as commodity fetishism hides the social relations of
production, the sporting spectacle masks several realities: the exploitation of
workers, state violence, capitalist interests, and ideological control
mechanisms. The World Cup is presented as a celebration of unity, yet it relies
on migrant workers' labour, displaces people with low incomes, and reinforces
oligarchic power.
Obscuring class antagonisms
Sport serves as a symbolic space where class conflicts are
projected onto harmless rivalries. Workers facing exploitation at work are
often encouraged to identify not with their class but with a club, a nation, a
team, or a star player. This form of identification masks the genuine conflict
between labour and capital.
The World Cup serves as a potent means of reproducing
nationalist ideology today. It converts the nation-state—originally a tool of
capitalist dominance—into a source of emotional pride. Workers from different
countries, who share similar interests, are led to view each other as
competitors. In reality, workers do not have a direct conflict; their ruling
classes do.
Sport is not an escape from capitalism but a key tool of
capitalism. The World Cup exemplifies the influence of global capitalism's
political, economic, and ideological systems, rather than being tainted by
politics.
Conclusion: The Socialist Reappropriation of Sport
The World Cup at the End of Capitalist Modernity
It is hoped that the reader concludes from this article that
the World Cup is not an anomaly within capitalist society but a concentrated
expression of it. Its history—from Mussolini’s fascist mobilisation in 1934 to
the Trump–Infantino authoritarian spectacle of 2026—reflects the evolution of
global capitalism: the ascent of imperialism, the consolidation of monopoly
capitalism, the use of mass spectacle as a political tool, the neoliberal
commodification of all aspects of life, and the authoritarian decline of
bourgeois democracy.
The World Cup exemplifies capitalism worldwide: a spectacle
based on exploitation, controlled by oligarchs, sanctioned by governments, and
watched by a public whose enthusiasm is more about national pride than class
struggle. The liberal criticism that “football has turned political” overlooks
history; football has always held political meaning. What changes is the
current phase of capitalist decline in which this politicisation happens.
The Working Class as the Agent of Reappropriation
The working class isn't just a victim of the injustices
surrounding the World Cup; it is also the origin of modern football and the key
social force to reclaim it. Modern football developed from Britain's industrial
working class, the communal culture of factory towns, the collective rhythms of
proletarian life, and the desire for recreation amid exploitation. The sport’s
beauty—its spontaneity, creativity, and collective intelligence—stems from
working-class culture. Today, the working class constructs stadiums, produces
players, fills stands, creates the atmosphere, sustains the global fanbase, and
provides the labour that makes matches possible. Meanwhile, the oligarchs who
dominate football offer nothing culturally; they only extract value from it.
The working class must reclaim the game.
Reclaiming football is intertwined with the wider fight for
socialism. It involves expropriating FIFA, ending the profit motive in sports,
establishing democratic control over sporting institutions, enforcing
international labour standards, dismantling nationalist competitions, and
transforming sport into a public good. This is not an impractical ideal but the
logical outcome of the historical analysis outlined in this article.
4. What a Socialist Reorganisation of Sport Would Mean
A socialist transformation of sport would not abolish
competition or eliminate excellence. It would liberate them from the
distortions of capital. Under socialism, sport would become: a form of
collective self-expression, a means of physical and cultural development, a
site of international cooperation, a public good accessible to all.
The beauty of football—the creativity of the dribble, the
intelligence of the pass, the collective movement of the team—would no longer
be subordinated to the demands of profit, nationalism, or authoritarian
spectacle.
Internationalism instead of nationalism
The socialist reorganization of sports would shift focus
from nationalist rivalry to international cooperation, aligning with the true
interests of the global working class. The Argentine and English workers are
not enemies; their oppressors are. A socialist sports culture would reveal this
reality instead of hiding it. As Peter Schwarz mentioned in the WSWS’s critique
of the Qatar World Cup, “Cultural progress and genuine sport, which are
unaffected by commerce, are only achievable through the fight for socialism.”
This statement is factual, not just rhetoric. To restore the true essence of
the game, we need revolutionary change, not nostalgia, moral appeals, or
reform.
The task ahead
The socialist reclaiming of sport is part of a larger effort
to expropriate the oligarchy, abolish the profit-driven system, dismantle the
nation-state, build an international socialist movement, and reorganize society
around human needs. Football belongs to all of humanity and must be taken back
by the people.
The current shape of the World Cup stands as a symbol of
capitalist decline. However, the passion it evokes—manifested through
collective joy, creativity, and shared humanity—transcends capitalism. It
demonstrates that ordinary people can craft beauty, solidarity, and purpose
even amid exploitation.
Socialism's goal is to free these abilities from capital's
control. The working class created modern football, keeps it running, and must
take it back. Only through global socialism can the beautiful game and the
world that cherishes it be truly enhanced.
