Football Remains a Working-Class Political Tool Despite Elite Capture
Source: David Goldblatt. "Football’s Soul Belongs to the Working Class." March 31, 2026. jacobin.com
The Gist
Even though rich people and corporations have tried to take over football and make it all about money, the sport still belongs to ordinary working people. It remains one of the most powerful ways for communities to express their political views and come together, as shown by events like Morocco's World Cup success that sparked celebrations across the Arab world.
Conclusion
Despite corporate and elite attempts to commercialize and control football, the sport retains its essential character as a working-class cultural space and remains a powerful tool for political expression and community building
Premises
- Football has been inherently political throughout its history, from village folk origins to Victorian empire-building to modern global spectacles
- The sport is the world's most popular spectacle, making it an unparalleled platform for political communication and collective expression
- Elite financial control is incomplete - football clubs consistently lose money and operate by different rules than traditional businesses
- The game's cultural foundation remains rooted in working-class participation and community, with growing grassroots participation especially among women
- Recent examples like Morocco's 2022 World Cup success demonstrate football's continued power to mobilize political solidarity across communities
- The professional spectacle remains connected to grassroots 'life worlds' that create the culture and appetite for the sport
Assumptions
- Cultural authenticity can coexist with commercial exploitation
- Working-class origins create lasting cultural DNA that resists elite capture
- Popular participation and spectatorship constitute meaningful political action
- Financial control does not automatically translate to cultural control
- Global spectacles retain local and community meanings despite commercialization