Three Interesting Stories
My favorite newspaper, the Christian Science Monitor, rarely covers soccer (heck, they don’t even have a sports section). But when they do, they have just the kind of story that fascinates me: all about the intersection of soccer and culture. Three such articles have popped up recently.
The first article deals with the Palestinian women’s national soccer team (did you know one existed? I didn’t) and their struggles to field a team, let alone be successful. Many obstacles hinder the formation of the team, including the Israeli occupation which separates West Bank and Gaza-based players and the negative attitudes of some religious authorities to the idea of women playing sports.
Both of these hindrances reflect other work I’ve encountered. The struggles of the team to bring together players from the West Bank and Gaza is the central issue of the film Goal Dreams. It documents the doomed attempt of the Palestinian men’s team to qualify for the 2006 World Cup. The most memorable moment of this film is the rage which overcomes the players as they are not permitted to pass through Israeli checkpoints in order to get to Egypt, where the team is training. The issue of religious opinion about soccer reminds me of the work of University of Florida sociologist Tamir Sorek. He has researched, among other things, the “Islamic Soccer League,” which is an attempt by some Muslim religious authorities to appropriate soccer for religious goals, and remove less desirable aspects of the game (men in this league are required to wear Islamic clothing when playing). Given the reluctance of some to permit men’s soccer to be played, it is a testament to the will of the women in the Christian Science Monitor article that they have formed a Palestian team at all.
A second article, headlined Nike’s Dilemma: Is Doing the Right Thing Wrong?, looks at the debate over the sportswear giant’s recent decision to pull out of contracts with a Pakistani company accused of using child labor. The article problematizes the issue, making it more complicated than the usual arguments, which focus on human rights versus economic development. The central question is: will pulling out from this part of Pakistan because of some violations of child labor laws truly help eliminate that problem or will it simply plunge the region (which produces 70% of the world’s soccer balls) into poverty?
The third article deals with Ecuadorian star Agustin ‘Tin’ Delgado’s attempts to help his native Chota Valley. This impoverished area of Ecuador is populated almost exclusively by Afro-Ecuadorians and the article discusses race relations in the South American country (also check out the excellent photo gallery). Kudos to Delgado for building a soccer club and health clinic in the Chota Valley. And, now that he’s been suspended for a year after getting his Mike Tyson on in a recent game, he’ll have a lot more time to help out.
May 28th, 2007 11:20
[...] Nike put out a press release this week saying that it had found a new subcontractor to produce its soccer balls. The sportswear giant had suspended its contract with its chief supplier, Saga Sports, due to allegations of child labor and other mistreatment of workers. Many worried, however, that ceasing all production would throw the impoverished Kashmir region of Pakistan into even deeper poverty. It was, as I wrote at the time, a difficult dilemma for Nike. [...]