The Argentina-England football World Cup semifinals in Atlanta on Thursday brought the paradoxical colonial history of the ‘beautiful game’ to the fore.
The sport evolved at a time when the British Empire was at its height, and became a symbol of European colonialism. But former colonies took up the sport and turned it into a form of resistance.
Here was Argentina, a Spanish colony, playing against England, a colonial power and won 2-1. And an even greater irony awaits as Argentina faces off against Spain in the finals in New Jersey on Sunday (Monday morning Nepal Time).
After the win, Argentinian players Lisandro Martínez and Giovani Lo Celso celebrated (featured photo) in the field with a ‘Las Malvinas son Argentinas’ banner. Malvinas is the Argentinian name for the Falklands, the tiny island in the South Atlantic over which Argentina and Britain fought a brief but brutal war in 1982. The political gesture may get the Argentinian team a FIFA fine.
The Argentina-Spain clash in the finals on 19 July will show that the colonial footprint is still rooted in the game. Former powers like France, Britain, Spain or Portugal have many players from their former colonies. And other European teams have more recent migrants from Africa, the Caribbean or the Americas.
Although cricket became more popular in India, the British did try once to introduce football. However, the defeat of the East Yorkshire Regiment in Calcutta in 1911 by barefoot players of the Mohun Bagan Sports Club gave them second thoughts. The match played in front of 60,000 spectators inspired the Indian pro-independence movement.