It is no
secret that FIFA is a dominant force on the world stage. Drawing in billions of
viewers from across the world and able to enforce pretty much any conditions
they want on the venues, FIFA has taken its place as a policy creator in some
respects.
The World
Cup symbolizes this in every way. For Brazil, the World Cup brought a promise
of international respect as a nation that was thoroughly developing and coming into
its own. For FIFA, they were victorious at obtaining a much larger audience
from developing nations and scored massive increases throughout South America.
However the
power of FIFA and how they use it bring into question the very nature of
multinational corporations and organizations. How much power should they have
over countries and is their ever increasing power a good or bad thing? People
are familiar with Walmart’s and McDonald’s expansions across the world and how
they are major deciders in national and international policy. The same is true
for many mining corporations, oil corporations, and technological corporations
that elicit beneficial conditions.
Do these
multinational corporations represent multinational interests? Or are they
simply the expansion of a small group’s power? When one looks at FIFA, they may
see an organization that represents the countries of the world and fair
competition which is the epitome of what many of us desire. Or they may see an
organization that enriches itself by attracting a greater audience but by
giving little back to the communities which support it.
It will take
more time to tell how powerful FIFA truly is and whether this power is good or
bad for us. I am not saying not to watch the World Cup. That would make me the
biggest hypocrite. But I am saying that after the World Cup, think about what
FIFA really did for Brazil and South America. Maybe it helped. Maybe it did
not. That is why we must wait and see.
No comments:
Post a Comment