The FIFA World Cup more than the football World Cup

I read your post that I really liked and was thinking of an interesting opEDin Le Monde (the French FAZ)... which was in line with a piece I read in a swiss newspaper
I put these translate highlights

Overblown, commercialized and Trumpified, the 2026 World Cup has damaged the competition, and the culprits are thriving.

Overproduction and profits. The 48-team, 104-match World Cup (instead of 32 and 64) made FIFA rich, but less so the fans for whom this competition represents a treasure trove of memories and emotions. A victim of its own excess, it was also tarnished by the indecency of Gianni Infantino and his relationship with Donald Trump.

With Spain's victory – the best and most deserving team – it's fair to say that football won on the pitch. Off the pitch, however, football and the World Cup itself lost a great deal. Here's a summary in a few charts.

More Trumpian than geopolitical
Announced ad libitum as "the most geopolitical in history" , this World Cup was ultimately less so than Qatar 2022. The White House instrumentalized it moderately, certainly with the usual Trumpian crudeness, but it reflected the state of international relations less than that of the United States.

From the border incidents and visa refusals, particularly for Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan , and then the treatment of the Iranian team, it became clear that the brutalization of Washington's migration and international policies would not spare the World Cup.

Donald Trump distinguished himself primarily through his deplorable interference with Gianni Infantino to secure the lifting of the suspension of American striker Folarin Balogun. The joint presentation of the trophy by the two men, followed by the billionaire's insertion into the photo, proved particularly embarrassing for them.

(...)

Beautiful stories and a small level
The 48-team World Cup produced some genuine fairytales, such as that of Cape Verde and their goalkeeper Josimar Vozinha , but Europe produced six of the eight quarter-finalists, and the semi-finals consisted entirely of former champions. Occasionally more unpredictable but still hierarchical, and of rather low quality, the 2026 edition reflected the current state of international football.

Disastrous advertising breaks
The misnamed three-minute cooling breaks, which divided matches into quarters, proved as disastrous for the quality of play as predicted. With UEFA announcing its refusal to make these breaks (sometimes whistled in stadiums) a regular occurrence, reserving them for days of extreme heat, let's hope FIFA's innovation doesn't catch on.

The Miraculous Minute
It wasn't enough to offset the increase in game interruptions, but the requirement for players needing medical attention to leave the field for one minute had the miraculous effect of a "Get up and walk" that proved particularly effective for many seriously injured players. This should absolutely be made permanent.

The fatal seconds
This can easily be seen as a symbol of an era where we struggle to experience things together: with the disparity in reception methods (digital terrestrial television, internet boxes, streaming), the goals didn't elicit cheers at the same time, with some people spoiling them for others. Both ridiculous and problematic.

Dystopian stadiums
We were familiar with them, these large American stadiums open to the sky like concrete bowls , with their vertiginously sloping upper tiers, their asymmetries, their super-giant screens. But, in real life, they make a strong impression and have contributed to the particular exoticism of this very American World Cup.

More recent—that is, enclosed and air-conditioned—those in Los Angeles, Dallas, and Atlanta seemed to have skipped several architectural generations while still promising a dystopian future. For the past and authenticity, one had to look to Mexico City's Azteca Stadium , where Pelé (1970) and Maradona (1986) lifted the trophy.

VIPs and upper-class individuals in the stands
Of course, there were the fervent contingents from the local diaspora and the foreign delegations of "real" fans. Of course, the phenomenon isn't new. But judging by the images, the exorbitant ticket prices have accentuated the gentrification of the stands and the touristification of sporting events.

On screen, we see several types of spectators, not always very convincing in their imitation of football fans: entire wealthy families; Americans who have chosen a favorite team and are decked out in its kit; influencers there to show off; more or less international celebrities. And a considerable number of babies, as if, decidedly, no one belonged there.

Infantino everywhere, decency nowhere
The most filmed of the VIPs was Gianni Infantino, a flatterer flattered despite the boos when he appeared on the giant screens.
The private jet provided by Qatar allowed him to make numerous appearances in the official stands, where former stars came to lend their support. Among them, on the French side, were Youri Djorkaeff, Christian Karembeu, and Arsène Wenger.

Hidden balloons
The televised production of matches continued its drift towards an inflation of extraneous shots, with directors less and less afraid to cut out phases of play – leaving it up to the viewer to imagine how the ball could have ended up in a completely different place on the field than where it was left.

The England-Norway incident illustrated the invasive nature of television: a ball cleared by the Scandinavian goalkeeper, deflected by one of the cables of the camera overlooking the field, fell back on England's Elliot Anderson just before Jude Bellingham's equalizer.

A touch of vulgarity
This World Cup has reached an unprecedented level of commercialization, bordering on the trivial. While in 2022 it was limited to official sponsors only, and devoid of annoying animations, advertising boards displayed dozens of different advertisers, with an aesthetic reminiscent of a shopping mall.

This Americanization also involved a very pompous decorum , particularly in the pre-game ceremonies, the count before kick-off (sponsored by Aramco), the music during breaks (from Whitney Houston to Guns N' Roses) and, finally, the mediocre half-time show of the final , which caused a 27-minute interruption.

Football, a secondary element of business
Advertising breaks, late kick-offs, a final half-time of almost half an hour, invasive advertising, television production not respecting the game… this edition will have demonstrated that football is treated as an accessory element of business, put at the service of interests other than its own.

Its power as a tool of soft power and sportswashing is undeniable, and it serves both as a platform for image-laundering sponsorships and for the self-aggrandizement of greedy and cynical leaders. All this with complete disregard for the environmental damage produced and promoted.

To put an end to this World Cup
The World Cup remains beautiful even when it's damaged, unfortunately: the matches take place, the competition unfolds, and it captivates nonetheless . None of FIFA's misdeeds, no deviations, no compromises seem to have yet diminished the allure of football and its major tournament.

Nothing jeopardizes the international federation's control of the beautiful game . Its president, Gianni Infantino, virtually assured of re-election next year, will even have free rein to implement his plan to expand to 64 teams.

The World Cup takes place every four years, but that doesn't seem to be enough to devise and implement ways to reclaim it from those who have monopolized it to satisfy their interests and egos. Yet, the need for such a move is more glaring than ever after these six weeks.

Click here for link at https://www.lemonde.fr/une-balle-dans-le-pied/article/2026/0