Tonight, Germany face off Argentina in the final match of the FIFA World Cup. With that, the curtain will fall on an edition of the tournament that, bar some exceptions (Suarez’s bite immediately comes to mind) has generally been enjoyable and memorable.

It’s much more than “just football”

Perhaps no other edition of the World Cup, at least not one I can remember, drove home the fact that this is so much more than “just football”. First of all, the infrastructure required. Twelve stadiums have been used in Brazil, seven of which are new. In order to make this a national event, the Brazilian authorities chose 12 venues spread around the country (which, inevitably, added to the transport and logistics bill).

Not only have the construction and innovation been costly (in both financial and human terms), not only do they come with the controversies one would expect in projects of that magnitude, the question remains: what happens with these sports facilities once events are over? And that’s just for the stadia: just imagine the additional infrastructure required to accommodate supporters and press, as well as the transport connections to make the whole thing work.

Inevitably, the World Cup becomes a lightning rod of all grievances a host country happens to be experiencing at the time. Brazil is becoming a political and economic protagonist on the international stage. Inevitably, with these dramatic changes, some social segments get left out altogether. That protests surrounding the tournament were so vociferous, even in this football-mad country, comes as no surprise.

Football and globalisation

Football has long ceased to be an almost-exclusively European and Latin American affair. The game has made massive strides in Africa and Asia, and even in the United States “soccer” is slowly earning its place along with the traditional “big four”: American football, basketball, baseball and hockey. The development of the game means that confederations, apart from the European and the South American, now deserve more than the two berths each they had just three decades ago.

But with a fixed number of 32 qualifying teams, this means that additional berths come at the expense of European teams. Which, of course, members of UEFA do not like, especially the smaller national federations who’d see their mathematical chances of qualification reduced.

Footballing politics

This is where the issue, as happens even in sports, gets embroiled in politics. The idea of greater representation of Asian and African teams is one that is strongly supported by FIFA president Sepp Blatter, who has ambitions to be re-elected to the post next year and whose power base lies precisely with the confederations of these continents.

Not to be outdone, UEFA president Michel Platini, who is not only said to be eyeing the FIFA top post but is also definitely fit for the job, has proposed a 40-team World Cup. More places for Europeans, Asians and Africans, and the cynics are sure to point out more votes for Platini. There is much to be said about proposed new formulas for the tournament, for and against. But hopefully, it will not be solely political considerations which will determine the outcome.

On the field and beyond it

A book was published right before the beginning of the tournament, The 10 football matches that changed the world”. From the “Miracle of Berne”, when the West German team unexpectedly won the World Cup and lifted the country’s spirits after defeat in World War II, to the 1969 match which sparked no less than a war between Honduras and El Salvador, the book reminds us that “the beautiful game” will always have consequences that go far beyond the field on which it is played.

But of course, tonight everyone will just focus on the hope of a good match that proves worthy of other memorable finals. Fingers crossed and, of course, may the better team win.