Nadum Jwad*
This writing is being developed at as the World Cup in its 22ed in the Guff state of Qatar, and the writer, like the billions of people will be glued to his TV set to watch probably all the 64 matches of the grand event which will take place between November 20th and December 18th of this year.
Football (or soccer as it is called in North America) has taken a steady and remarkable progress in its popularity over the years and, certainly, has taken different dimensions much more than only a game between two competing teams. These include social, political, national, and even religious dimensions as it will be shown, and some countries in fact went into an armed conflict because of a football match.
This writer believes that governments across the world, and especially those in with political or social unrest, are waiting anxiously for the tournament to begin so things calm down, and they certainly will, as football has a major tranquility effect. This has been proven over and over again across the world.
This article will show how football was used by various governments across the globe to defuse tensions, tarnish opponents image, and in many instances to brighten their image. In that regard, and it will be illustrated, massive sums of monies have been poured in to build stadiums, football academies, host large tournaments, etc.
