As the FIFA Men’s World Cup Qatar 2022 draws to a close, here are some commentaries and multimedia that highlight the globalizing spread of the world’s most popular sport – football (soccer) – from the perspective of fans and nation-states from the Global South, especially from Kerala and India. This post has been inspired by Prof. Stephen Young’s course – The Global Game: Soccer, Politics, and Identity – at the University of Wisconsin-Madison for which I contributed a Guest Podcast on “Indian Football/Soccer”.
KERALA & THE GLOBAL GAME
Articles & Commentaries
MADHAVAN, N. S., Bhaskaran, & Sherrif, K. M. (1992). Higuita. Indian Literature, 35(5 (151)), 55–64. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23337162
Mani, V., & Krishnamurthy, M. (2021). The Work of Sporting Bodies: Football and Masculinity in North Kerala. Verge: Studies in Global Asias, 7(1), 147–169. https://doi.org/10.5749/vergstudglobasia.7.1.0147
Ali, A. (2016). Football in Colonial Malabar: The Introduction of the “Beautiful Game” (1900-1940). Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 77, 748–758.
Column | Why football fervour is a good omen for Kerala | Onmanorama
Lionel Messi’s Argentina, Kerala and the Fifa World Cup – a love story
FIFA fervour turns violent in Kerala as Argentina-Brazil fans clash, video viral
Qatar 2022: A Malayali’s World Cup
Argentina’s biggest fans might be South Asians
The Indian waiter with an ‘encyclopaedic’ knowledge of football
How Maradona’s divine goals marked the birth of a schism among Malayali fans – The Economic Times
How to make sense of Kerala’s Brazil-Argentina football frenzy
Ahead of World Cup, soccer-crazy Keralites kick off a cutout war
Kerala’s passion for football and its links to anti-imperialism
Clerics’ diktat fails to douse football fever in north Kerala
Argentina or Brazil? Football fans in India hedge their bets
When Premier Tyres stars were as popular as Mammootty and Mohanlal
How Kerala shrunk football to make it its own
Football at midnight: The new sports craze of Kerala
For football-crazy Kerala, FIFA World Cup is its biggest festival
Kerala’s hero, Bengal’s icon: Why Maradona won over two states
How Brazil, Argentina became favourites in Kerala’s timeless love story with football
In India, Fiercely Loyal Soccer Fans (of Brazil and Argentina) – The New York Times
Books
Podcasts, Documentaries & Films
Maitanam – The Story of Football in Kerala
Captain: Story of an Unsung Hero
INDIA & THE GLOBAL GAME
Articles & Commentaries
Pele: When India fell in and out of love with the ‘wizard of football’ – BBC News
Pele and India: how the greatest won over a distant nation
How Indian football was murdered — end of a stirring legacy – The New Indian Express
Why Indians love World Cup football, even without India in it
What is ‘phawar’ that Meghalaya sings during the FIFA World Cup?
Football isn’t just Kerala, Bengal, Goa … it’s also Kolhapur
Mohammed Salim: The ‘bare-footed Indian’ who wowed Celtic
In the neighbourhood of former Indian footballer Bhaichung Bhutia
MAJID BISHKAR AND JAMSHID NASSIRI : INDIAN FOOTBALL’S ICONIC IRANIAN DUO
In the Kashmir neighbourhood of Indian football legend Kakroo
Nagendra Prasad Sarbadhikari: The man who kicked off Indian football
Why India lacks a football culture
‘Our team will win’: how so many Indians started supporting Argentina | Football | The Guardian
Books
Podcasts, Documentaries & Films
Mohun Bagan: Indian Football vs British Imperialism
A Football Story from the World’s Most Militarized Zone
The Indian Football Story | The World Is Yours To Take | Chapter 1
The Indian Football Story | The World Is Yours To Take | Chapter 2
The Indian Football Story | The World Is Yours To Take | Chapter 3
THE GLOBAL SOUTH, POSTCOLONIALISM & THE GLOBAL GAME
Articles & Commentaries
Asian and African nations’ progress and future prospects
The globalisation of football: Closing performance gaps among countries, By Yusuf Bangura
In the World Cup, when Brazil wins, Haiti wins
Lessons from Qatar: Are Asian Teams Edging Closer to Soccer’s Top Table?
Why Qatar’s World Cup has been a magnificent success
Arab football is the winner in a truly global game | Arab News
Messi’s moment – The Jakarta Post
What Qatar’s World Cup Tells Us About the World in 2022
The Qatar World Cup and a typology of Europe’s anti-Arab racism | MadaMasr
Qatar 2022: A truly global World Cup
The Qatar World Cup was a victory for Arabs too…
The impact of Morocco’s historic run at the World Cup | PBS NewsHour
Asian highs at Qatar World Cup
The outsiders of world football… the Asian football story
Morocco’s World Cup Run Was a Political Game Changer for North Africa
Why Qatar 2022 was also Africa’s World Cup
France, football, colonialism: Take the best, leave the rest
Lionel Messi’s win is a triumph of genius and tolerance
The Atlas Lions kindled a sense of belonging in Europe
How Lionel Messi’s ‘bisht’ exposed Western media’s racism again
Analysis: Six key takeaways from the Qatar World Cup
Why Qatar 2022 was also Africa’s World Cup
Bangladeshis, Argentina’s biggest fans, gear up for final
Morocco was the World Cup feel-good story we needed
Morocco’s World Cup success sparks a debate about Arab identity
Morocco’s World Cup win lifts a legion of Arab fans
Arab rivalries set aside for Morocco’s World Cup run
Morocco’s World Cup journey is over after France defeat but we will never forget them
How Morocco’s unlikely World Cup success unified Arabs
For African fans, legendary Morocco feat means ‘sky is the limit’
How Morocco gave people from global south the power to believe
France Vs Morocco World Cup Semi-Final Is Getting Political | Time
FIFA World Cup | A politically charged semifinal in France vs Morocco – The Hindu
Walid Regragui is setting the pace for Africa’s football ambitions | The ICIR
Morocco’s World Cup success and sorrow of a Bangladeshi migration-seeker’s family
Morocco’s World Cup victories are historical revenge for subaltern dreamers from the global south
World Cup 2022: Could Morocco win for Africa? – BBC News
World Cup 2022: Palestine beats Israel on football’s big stage
World Cup 2022: Why Morocco’s win over Spain means so much to me
Morocco are rewriting what football means to an African Muslim like me
Is World Cup 2022 moving football’s future further east?
Is Morocco redefining Africanness? – Daily Trust
Morocco’s foreign-born contingent deliver at Qatar World Cup
Why Europe and South America dominate World Cup | Football News – Hindustan Times
Morocco breaking Europe and South America stranglehold – DW
Why underdog Morocco is ‘the Rocky of this World Cup’ – Los Angeles Times
Morocco’s World Cup fairy tale a ray of hope for underdeveloped | Daily Sabah
With Morocco leading, the World Cup tide is tilting against Europe – The Washington Post
Spotlight Africa at the FIFA World Cup, but darkness lurks underneath – The New Indian Express
Mercenaries? No, Morocco loves their ‘plastic’ players
Palestine Is All Over The World Cup | Defector
The politics of the magical game!
Has the Qatar World Cup begun reflecting the shift in geopolitics?
Morocco Has Given the Arab World Something to Cheer for Again
Africa’s World Cup: how a continent that usually underperforms finally got it right
An unfamiliar trope: On African, Asian nations’ performance at Qatar World Cup
World Cup final 16: African performances mark a definitive moment in football
Diverse World Cup knockout stage a leap forward for Africa and Asia
Opinion | Why the World Cup Belongs in the Middle East – The New York Times
Something Remarkable Is Happening in African Football
ANALYSIS: World Cup of the underdogs – Newspaper – DAWN.COM
FIFA World Cup 2022 | Beware the Asian march – The Hindu
Ringside view by Tushar Bhaduri: World in the Cup
Asian And African Teams Have Best Ever World Cup Group Stage
FIFA World Cup 2022 – Qatar World Cup: Home truth for old order – Telegraph India
How Europe Decides Who Wins the World Cup
World Cup 2022: Capitalism can’t kill football — try as it might
Numbers game: Should Africa have more teams at the World Cup?
2022 World Cup: Asian teams an emerging force against football giants – BBC Sport
Why We’re Watching Japan and South Korea at the World Cup
Morocco Win Brings Cheers Heard Across Africa and the Middle East
A postcolonial World Cup showdown for the ages
Opinion: How Morocco’s World Cup run goes beyond sports
World Cup 2022: Morocco’s success sparks debate about Amazigh erasure | Middle East Eye
World Cup 2022: ‘Finally football smiles back at Arabs’ – BBC News
Are Moroccans Arab or African? Geopolitics, football, and the future of Africa
FIFA World Cup 2022: The spirit of football and a beautiful solidarity
Asian, African fans relish ‘affordable’, close-to-home World Cup
Qatar’s World Cup is a festival of cosmopolitanism — not nationalism
How Qatar 2022 gave home game advantage to the Global South – Doha News
Taking the temperature of the Middle East’s World Cup
The World Cup has always been a political football – spiked
Qatar and the bonfire of the virtue-signallers – spiked
Survival and the distraction of soccer
Qatar World Cup: Has politicisation undermined the beautiful game? | Middle East Eye
Qatar World Cup 2022: The beautiful game meets ugly western bigotry | Middle East Eye
Bangladesh and the Qatar World Cup – The Diplomat
Qatar World Cup 2022: Palestine 1, Israel 0 | Middle East Eye
Qatar World Cup, alcohol and gays | The Cable
What the West gets wrong about Qatar’s World Cup – Asia Times
Football, The Global Binder| Countercurrents
Qatar World Cup: White outrage, colonialism and a game of capitalist greed | Middle East Eye
World Cup 2022: What’s behind the sustained condemnation of Qatar? | Middle East Eye
Qatar World Cup: Western hypocrisy knows no bounds | Middle East Eye
World Cup 2022: The Middle East’s relationship with football and using the sport as a soft power
World Cup 2022: ‘Hypocrite West’ ignores Qatar’s progress on human rights | TRT World
From Beijing to Qatar: The New Geopolitics of Sports in 2022 | ISPI
Qatar 2022: Western ‘Hypocrisy,’ Politics and the World Cup
FIFA World Cup 2022: Why The West Must Stop Hypocrisy Of Bashing Qatar
A game of two halves: how ‘sportswashing’ benefits Qatar and the west
The massive hypocrisy of the West’s World Cup ‘concerns’
The Qatar World Cup is about to shatter colonial myths
World Cup: Africa knows Qatar’s pain and joy
‘Hypocrite reader – my twin – my brother!’
The double standards of Western morality are on show at the World Cup
Qatar World Cup provides rare source of unity to Arab states
Pelé meant the world to us Africans
Pele’s Breakthrough Gave Soccer a Black Star – The New York Times
Pele: One of the sports greatest, helping to uplift African’s image globally
Pelé was the epitome of Black grace in soccer
LITERATURE & THE GLOBAL GAME
Urban & Economic Geographer 