What do football matches reveal at every stage and across all their competitive levels — from the rudimentary games played by neighbourhood boys, all the way to the most important leagues in the world: the English, Spanish, Italian, German, and French leagues, and so on, then to the global competitions that every nation, every national team, every player, every coach, and every fan dreams of participating in and attending — namely the World Cup matches and qualifiers?
This game reveals, every day and every moment, that no sport or activity has yet appeared in the history of humanity that equals it, rivals it, or replaces it in the degree of interest it commands among the young and the not-so-young — in its news, the news of its players and clubs — transforming it into a global human obsession shared by all the peoples of the earth without exception. I honestly do not know whether the Eskimo peoples of the North Pole have a football team that uses dog sleds or not!
The World Cup competition held in Qatar in its last edition aroused, and continues to arouse, admiration and respect for the effort, decisiveness, and strict adherence to the rules that went into its organisation, with no violations or transgressions whatsoever.
Qatar, small as it is in area and limited in its history and relationship with football compared to large, established, and historically rich nations, managed to accomplish what three major countries — the United States, Canada, and Mexico — are tackling together today. How did Qatar manage to do what three countries are doing today? That is something truly worthy of admiration.
The human stories that seep out daily amid the published news of matches, competitions, players, their lives, and their transfer deals help one understand the secrets behind this game's popularity — those billions, the stardom, and the fame enjoyed by young men who, in a miserable childhood, were unable to afford anything at all.
When today's youth around the world — amid this economic deterioration, wars, closed horizons, and absence of opportunity — follow the news of football stars who once dreamed of simply owning a pair of boots, yet now own private jets, palaces on the most beautiful islands, investments, and the finest cars, how could those young people not think about football, follow the news of its stars, and cling to it? For them it is hope far more than it is merely a game.