Globalization of Soccer

1051 Words3 Pages

Globalization is erasing country borders. It’s expanding something to a worldwide scale, and generally making the world a little bit smaller. When you think of globalization in terms of sports, the best example is soccer. Soccer is something that started in 1863 as a simple game played in England by people of humble beginnings and not long after that turned into a worldwide phenomenon (Parrish). Soccer has over 3.5 billion fans worldwide. When you really think about that number you realize how big of a deal that is. That’s about 50% of the world’s population. Meaning that 1 in every 2 people watch, play, and generally enjoy soccer. The globalization aspect of it comes in when you know that its regional popularity is in Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas: basically, almost the entire world.
Soccer was globalized when the FIFA World Cup was established in 1928. Being the single most watched sporting event in the world, the World Cup is a way to bring the world together in a delightful way. According to FIFA’s website, “It fulfills FIFA’s objectives to touch the world, develop the game, and build a better future through a variety of ways.” They also mention, “As of mid-2007, FIFA has grown to include 208 member associations, thus making it one of the biggest and certainly the most popular sports federation in the world” (“FIFA World Cup”). The World Cup has been held every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when WWII stopped it from being held (“FIFA World Cup”). Countries compete against each other in these tournaments in a process of elimination until one country comes out on top and is titled champion.
Every four years the World Cup is held in a different country known as the host cou...

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