Although every sport is different, each has its own beauty. I like and watch football as it gives me immense pleasure. The game is intense, it’s gripping, and perfect in every aspect. There is no other sporting event that is more global than football because of its wide popularity.
Watching football means we’ll be spending more time with friends and loved ones. At the same time, it is always better to watch matches with others than to spend that time alone. Perhaps more than any other pastime it rewards the time we spend on it!
Now don’t get me wrong for using the word football alone albeit soccer is widely used, especially by the media. I prefer to call it football because it is more descriptive of the game like kicking a ball with the feet!
According to a 2014 paper by University of Michigan professor Stefan Szymanski, the word soccer is a British invention that the people of Britain stopped using only around 40 years ago.
To Szymanski, soccer was a term coined in late 19th century England as a means to distinguish variations of the game that didn’t have a fully agreed on set of rules. The word soccer comes from the use of the term “association football” in Britain.
In 2005, Australia’s association football governing body changed its name from soccer to football to align with the general international usage of the term. In 2006, New Zealand decided to follow suit. There are also many other languages where the common term for association football is phonetically similar to the English term football.
Now, out of the total 45 national Fifa affiliates in which English is an official or primary language, 43 use football in their organisations’ official names, while Canada and the United States use soccer. In those two countries, other codes of football are dominant, and soccer is the prevailing term for association football.
However, Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America are considered to be the most popular regions for football.
Coming to football as a game, as I have already mentioned, it is my favourite sport and along with millions of people, I too watch this sport of beauty played by international teams or by local clubs.
Whether it’s Brazil against Argentina or Manchester United versus Chelsea, we don’t want our favourite team to lose. Not only that, these big matches tend to be something special that everyone can enjoy. Especially games in which we have Lionel Messi square off against Cristiano Ronaldo.
Look at the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022, which is continuing to engage audiences around the world with record-breaking numbers. Since the inaugural edition in 1930, the current tournament has also benefited fans, teams, and media representatives, with the option of attending several matches and entertainment activities everyday.
According to Fifa, football has about 3.5 billion followers across the globe. For instance, Fifa audit shows that 3.572 billion people watched the 2018 Fifa World Cup held in Russia.
Over 111 million viewers watched the Qatar opening ceremony and 900 million watched the first 16 group-stage games. The figures indicate a 113 per cent increase over the same period in comparison to the Fifa World Cup Russia 2018.
With an ever-growing fan base, football is undoubtedly the most admired game. It is no secret that football is not just a game but an emotion for many people. It is a game that does not discriminate between the rich and the poor.
Football can bring warring communities together. We have the example of British and German soldiers playing football as part of a Christmas truce during the Great War. So, the reach of football is beyond national borders. It is beyond language or culture. The craze for football is eternal!
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
