World Cup Fever
We're not letting them take our Joga Bonito in issue #299 of your weekly poetry shot
World Cup fever
has got me in
its claws; despite
the horrible
politics
it's still The Beautiful Game.
With more red cards than goals, Mexico and South-Africa kicked off the 2026 FIFA World Cup. And I watched that match. With a bit of chagrin. In the run-up to this World Cup, the politics, especially the horrible politics of one of the host-nations, and corruption of FIFA seemed to have taken complete control of it all. From extremely high ticket prices, to the refusal to let supporters of some countries actually watch the matches in the stadiums, and then the referee who was refused entry into the United States. Players of Uzbekistan searched with dogs before a friendly match against my favourite team, The Netherlands, whilst the Oranje players were not. It all is sickening. And it should not have a place in football, that, as the FIFA keeps reminding us: football isn't politics.
And then there is the beautiful game. The goals, the skill moves, the supporters creating colourful seas on the stands, and wearing the most beautiful and ridiculous outfits. The excitment of the upset, the star players delivering, the hand of god. That is why I love The Beautiful Game. That is why I'm watching. They will not take our Joga Bonito, our Beautiful Game from us. May the winner take the glory, and I just hope that Curaçao will go very far this tournament. The smallest nation to ever take part. Wouldn't that be something?
PS: the header image is not taken during a world cup match.
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Arjan Tupan is writing poetry, podcasting and incubating empathy
Entrepreneur, dad, European, story teller, poet. Curious, too. I tell stories on different platform and using a variety of tools. Sometimes I explain how I do stuff.Most of my content is free of charg
Poésie de la vie
Here's a reel with some lovely World Cup goals for you to enjoy.
The World Cup has started and we are thinking about our Beautiful Game in this issue of your weekly poetry shot: https://paragraph.com/@trpplffct/world-cup-fever?referrer=0xB31Faa5c1D581C70F4b6ed095c944936cBd2a357
🌴 uci
World Cup fever clashes with politics and corruption surrounding the 2026 tournament, from ticket prices and stadium access to refereeing controversy. Yet the piece champions the beauty of the game—the goals, skill, and vibrant crowds—and roots for Curaçao to go far. @arjantupan