Lessons from Spain’s win

SPAIN have won the FIFA World Cup for a second time but their Sunday victory over Argentina became more rewarding by bringing a much-needed smile to the harrowed Palestinian people in their undeterred fight against the genocidal occupation of their homeland. It might seem a curious alignment of obviously distant spaces between Europe’s Spain and Asia’s occupied Palestine. But then, everyone knows that sports have always been intertwined with their strange political connections. Sunday’s World Cup final represented a contemporary intertwining of sports and politics.

What happened on the field was a stymied Argentina succumbing to a team that moved like a symphony. Off the field, we saw the politically motivated mistreatment of the Iranian team by the host country under President Donald Trump’s watch. Even here, though, the Iranians made their point with quiet grace. The perennially sanctioned country, facing daily bombardments from the US-led military, didn’t shirk from sending a team to the enemy country to stake its claim as a qualified contestant in the fixtures. On the other hand, the outlandishly pampered Israel with its fabled clout and connections was never barred from the contest on political grounds as has happened, for example, with Russia. Only it failed to qualify while Iran passed the gruelling test. And that’s an important comparison to note.

Since 1979, when US sanctions were first placed on Iran, the country has picked up a steady tally including 21 gold medals at the Olympics. By contrast, Pakistan won its last hockey gold in 1984. More recently, it won gold in a javelin event in 2024. India took its last hockey gold in 1980 when all major players were boycotting the Moscow Olympics, again for political reasons. India also got a gold for an air rifle event in 2008 and a javelin throw in 2020. Both countries spend a fortune on military preparedness. Economising on defence budget without compromising sovereignty is another lesson our countries could learn from Iran, should they feel the need to invest in sports and education as they ideally should.

So, what triggered the polarisation over football following their Sunday contest? It’s a given that Argentinian captain Lionel Messi is one of all-time greats. But his country’s public embrace of Israel coincided with Spain’s strident opposition to the Trump-backed war on Palestine’s Gaza Strip. It’s no secret that Benjamin Netanyahu’s support for Argentina in the World Cup final was driven primarily by politics, not sports. It was a public show of support for Argentine President Javier Milei, a newfound ally of Israel. Netanyahu said it loudly: “President Milei has revolutionised Israel’s relationship with Argentina, and we have no greater nor better friends. Which is why we support them [in Sunday’s match].”

What happened on the field was a stymied Argentina succumbing to a team that moved like a symphony.

On the other hand, a broader pro-Palestinian sentiment in football came with Lamine Yamal, the Spanish sensation. Yamal famously waved a large Palestinian flag while riding on an open-top bus during Barcelona’s La Liga title victory parade earlier this year.

As in politics, preferences for sports stars and teams change with time and occasion. Spain is riding a crest of successes in football. In 2023, it lifted the FIFA women’s cup for the first time by defeating England 1-0 in Sydney. The British press at the time found a handy digression to mask the embarrassment by targeting a kissing scandal in the Spanish team. And now it’s the Yamal effect carrying the day. But in 1986, the politically preferred football team was Argentina. While Spain remains the toast of the global resistance to Trump’s brand of buccaneer imperialism today, Maradona’s Argentina was celebrated for its football skills and politics alike. The Falklands war had secured widespread sympathy for Argentina. The bonds only strengthened when the country discarded military rule and opted for democracy in 1983, the year after its military defeat by Margaret Thatcher’s Britain. The 1986 FIFA quarter finals are thus etched in memory as a pivotal moment when the British press once again bared their fangs in a fit of crass nationalism. Maradona’s goal against England in the match set the ground for Argentina’s eventual widely cheered victory in the finals.

Football, unlike cricket and rugby, which had their origins as elite sports, owns a working class history from northern industrial England. While colonial Britain encouraged rugby and cricket among the colonial elites, football got step-motherly treatment. India and Pakistan have patronised cricket since independence with rugby being assigned mainly to Anglo-Indian-run elite schools. By a quirk of colonial providence, football is a preferred (though not necessarily patronised) sport in India’s north-eastern and south-western states. Do the non-elites have a better physique for the rigour of football?

There was a time when Indians cheered for Pakistan cricketers against England, and vice versa. Innate in the stance was a political message of solidarity against a historical memory of colonialism. It was politics again that South Africa was barred from international cricket until Nelson Mandela was freed.

Let me leave you with an instructive story that illustrates how countries prepare for sports events when they are determined to put up a good show. China imported large quantities of high-grade iron ore from private miners in the Bellary-Hospet region of Karnataka. From 2005 to 2009, India exported some 322 million tonnes of iron ore to China. In 2008 alone, about 80-90 per cent of India’s iron ore exports went to China, a major share coming from BJP-ruled Bellary.

China used the ore to build its fabulous ‘bird’s nest’ stadium for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. And India? It’s struggling to live down the scandal the illegal mining of iron ore caused. In 1993, China signed a major border pact with India, but it also inserted a request for 24 water buffaloes. It had no idea about dairy then, and was setting up an alien industry for the milk-guzzling Olympians it was eager to host.

The writer is Dawn’s correspondent in Delhi.

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2026 ...