It is, simply expressed, the reflection posed by the book “the big football, the excesses of football explained in 15 games” published by Solar editions. Collective work that alerts in one question: is football shooting itself in the foot?
Human rights, environment: societal issues flouted during the World Cup.
Driven by journalists Mickael Correia and Sébastien Thibault, this collective work is prefaced by Pierre-Louis Bass who, although he has long since ended his career as a sports journalist, remains a great football lover.
It is precisely because we love football that we do not want to see it collapse body and soul. I have been writing for a long time about this very concrete disfigurement of our sport. The first example is during the 1990 World Cup, we are in Italy and I have to comment on a match in front of my television screen, in my hotel room, with noises from false supporters in Paris. And then I say it’s over. But my passion will lead me to the final of July 12, 98. This book is wonderful because it is written by a young generation, in any case a generation that reacts faster than ours – Pierre-Louis Basse
Should football lovers boycott the World Cup?
Between enthusiasts the debate is there and even between the authors of this book. This was the case in the show it’s tonight on France 5 between the economist Pierre Rondeau and Pierre-louis Basse ! Eric Cantona told him that he would not watch any match of this mundial. Is football guilty of going to play in Qatar or a victim of reflecting the evils of our society: dictatorial regimes, racism, sexism and other financial abuses? The historian’s response Paul Dietschyauthor also in the “grand footoir”
Football is still often chosen as an expiatory victim of all the ills of society, of its developments. Firstly because it was, and still I think, despised by a certain number of intellectuals and media men because it is first and foremost popular entertainment. Then what he also suffers from today is media overexposure, an inflation of the image of football. There’s football everywhere, non-stop, every day, so it’s something that becomes almost obsessive. And at the same time, football is not only that, it’s also the millions of young people, young girls who play and I think that despite everything, our big stars still have this pleasure of playing and that that’s why we still watch them on TV. It’s still a game, even if obviously, all the excesses of the contemporary world are present in it. – Paul Dietschy
Too much football, kills football? One of FIFA’s roles is to develop football everywhere on the planet! Should it do so in defiance of issues as fundamental as human rights, freedom of expression, climate change? If not, who and in the name of what dogma say that such and such a country can or cannot organize the World Cup? The question is complex, the stakes colossal. So will play and passion be able to resist it? Some answers and many avenues to think about are in “le grand footoir”