Is Football the New Religion? – Steven Falk
January 15, 2014
When Bill Shankly the legendary manager of Liverpool FC was asked if he considered football a matter of life or death he responded only half jokingly that it was much more important.
Since those days, football has become the global game and there are now more countries affiliated to FIFA than are members of the United Nations. Football fans follow their teams with a passion found in few other walks of life, but does their fervour make football the new religion?
Perhaps the answer lays in comparing the characteristics of FIFA the world governing body of football with the organisation representing the world’s most populist faith, the Catholic Church:
– Both organisations purport to do good in the world
– Both are self-appointed arbiters of dogma, ritual and regulation
– Both leaders claim state/presidential status, pronounce on global issues and are elected by a small male dominated conclave
– Both have suffered their fair share of scandals and accusations of corruption
– Both organisations are immensely wealthy and have been accused of spending more on their respective bureaucracy than on their constituencies
– Both have a reputation for secrecy in the management of their respective voting processes
– But only one is run by an individual demonstrating true humility and answerable to a higher authority
FIFA’s decision to award the 2022 World Cup to Qatar may be seen by some as evidence of its ability to perform miracles although its power to change the local climate to one more favourable to the tournament remains to be seen.
It may be that supporters have to wait a little longer for their football Messiah and until then, it will remain a game of two halves passionately followed by supporters of every creed and credo.
Steven Falk is director of Star Sports Marketing a consultancy providing advice on sponsorship activation, CRM, brand and affinity marketing. He was previously Marketing Director at Manchester United. You can follow him on Twitter @steven_falk
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