http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog Soccer as a second language Mon, 05 Jan 2009 23:50:30 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 en hourly 1 ©The Global Game admin@theglobalgame.com (The Global Game) admin@theglobalgame.com(The Global Game) 1440 football, soccer, world cup, women soccer, world football, world soccer, fifa, football culture Interviews on world soccer culture. Interviews on world soccer culture. The Global Game The Global Game admin@theglobalgame.com No no http://www.theglobalgame.com/images/dembaksm.jpg http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog 144 144 http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2007/12/update-on-high-altitude-football/ http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2007/12/update-on-high-altitude-football/#comments Fri, 21 Dec 2007 15:39:02 +0000 John Turnbull http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/?p=331 Patrick McSharry of Oxford University, analyzing scores from 1,460 international matches played at different altitudes in South America, concludes that differences in altitude do produce advantages for the acclimatized team (“High-Altitude Football Teams Have Big Advantage over Opponents," AFP, Dec 21). But McSharry, a mathematician, looks at statistical evidence only, not whether high-altitude football entails a health risk (see also Jul 6 and Jun 15).]]> http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2007/12/update-on-high-altitude-football/feed/ http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2007/12/fifa-execs-reach-heights-of-indecision/ http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2007/12/fifa-execs-reach-heights-of-indecision/#comments Sat, 15 Dec 2007 21:53:50 +0000 John Turnbull http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/?p=319 tweaked a baffling decision it took in May to ban FIFA-sanctioned matches at high altitudes. The new altitude limit, established by the committee at the FIFA Club World Cup in Japan, is 2,750m (9,022 ft). (Dec 15)]]> http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2007/12/fifa-execs-reach-heights-of-indecision/feed/ http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2007/11/invisible-chain-of-solidarity-football-generated-passions-says-coelho-will-propel-brazil-toward-2014/ http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2007/11/invisible-chain-of-solidarity-football-generated-passions-says-coelho-will-propel-brazil-toward-2014/#comments Fri, 09 Nov 2007 03:30:17 +0000 John Turnbull http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/?p=281 Football-generated passions, says Coelho, will propel Brazil toward 2014 Paris, Nov 8 | Within 24 hours of writing about Brazil's successful presentation to host the 2014 World Cup and the role of writer Paulo Coelho in the bid effort, we received a message from one of Coelho's assistants, taking note of our comments. We speak with Coelho about his role in the bid and the place of football in Brazilian life.]]> http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2007/11/invisible-chain-of-solidarity-football-generated-passions-says-coelho-will-propel-brazil-toward-2014/feed/ 18:06 Interview with writer Paulo Coelho on Brazil\'s successful bid to host the 2014 World Cup. Interview with writer Paulo Coelho on Brazil\'s successful bid to host the 2014 World Cup. Brazil,,FIFA,amp;,Governance,,Language,amp;,Literature,,Podcast The Global Game no No http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2007/11/garbage-will-be-collected-selectively-banal-wordplay-leads-to-inevitable-end-brazil-in-2014/ http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2007/11/garbage-will-be-collected-selectively-banal-wordplay-leads-to-inevitable-end-brazil-in-2014/#comments Fri, 02 Nov 2007 05:07:58 +0000 John Turnbull http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/?p=279 Banal wordplay leads to inevitable end ... Brazil in 2014 Rio de Janeiro, Nov 1 | Should a nation's literary talent be enlisted as part of a state's quest for sporting laurels? One might ask the question following novelist Paulo Coelho's appearance on behalf of the Brazilian football federation Oct 30 in Zurich, backing the country's successful quest for the 2014 World Cup finals.]]> http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2007/11/garbage-will-be-collected-selectively-banal-wordplay-leads-to-inevitable-end-brazil-in-2014/feed/ http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2007/07/lofty-discussions-moraless-maneuvering-in-zurich-may-earn-reprieve-for-la-paz/ http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2007/07/lofty-discussions-moraless-maneuvering-in-zurich-may-earn-reprieve-for-la-paz/#comments Fri, 06 Jul 2007 17:40:14 +0000 John Turnbull http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/?p=259 Zurich, Switzerland, Jul 6 | Is it safe to play football on the Andean altiplano or the Tibetan plateau? FIFA has not decided yet, but it continues to modify its judgment, originally decreed in May, that FIFA competitions could not be staged above 2,500m. We interview, as part of our third podcast, Eduardo Ávila of Global Voices Online to learn about Bolivia's reaction to FIFA's decision-making process.]]> http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2007/07/lofty-discussions-moraless-maneuvering-in-zurich-may-earn-reprieve-for-la-paz/feed/ 00:01:01 The Globo network in February reports on Flamengo's visit to Real Potosiacute;shy; in Copa Libertadores, a 2ndash;2 draw. Toward the end of the report, Flamengo ... The Globo network in February reports on Flamengo's visit to Real Potosiacute;shy; in Copa Libertadores, a 2ndash;2 draw. Toward the end of the report, Flamengo players are seen receiving oxygen and collapsing from the strains of high altitude. Potosiacute;shy;, Bolivia, is 4,070m, or 2frac12; miles, above sea level. Zurich, Switzerland #124; Is it safe to play football on the Andean altiplano or the Tibetan plateau? FIFA has not decided yet, but it continues to modify its judgment, originally decreed in May, that FIFA competitions shall not be staged above 2,500m (see Jun 15). On Jun 27, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said medical consultations had influenced the governing body's executive committee in raising the limit to 3,000m, thus excluding Bogotaacute;, Quito and portions of Mexico from the high-altitude ban. In a convoluted statement at a Zurich press conferencemdash;see podcast belowmdash;Blatter said FIFA would only intervene in World Cup qualifiers. Qualifying in South America begins in September, by which time, Blatter said on Julnbsp;5, the "topic ... must be resolved in a very logical way." "We do not want to keep people from playing football," Blatter has said on several occasions, making one wonder why FIFA has tried to devise a solution to a problem that does not exist. At the same Jun 27 press briefing at which he proposed a FIFA-sponsored conference in late October to consider scientific evidence on high-altitude sportmdash;a conference now seemingly on the back burnermdash;Blatter acknowledged that "this is not a scientific or medical decision, it is a sports/political decision." Morales and Blatter meet for a low-key, media-friendly kickabout on Jun 28 in Zurich. Both appear to violate Lawnbsp;4 governing players' equipment. (Andreas Meier #124; Reuters) The political aspects triumphed the following day when Bolivian president Evo Morales jetted from Caracas, Venezuela, where he had been attending opening ceremonies of Copa Ameacute;rica, to meet privately with Blatter at FIFA headquarters. Afterward, Morales appeared to have won a concession allowing FIFA matches to be played in La Paz. "The winner is our country, the winner is La Paz," Bolivian soccer chief Carlos Chavez exulted. The La Paz exception was made explicit on Julnbsp;6. As part of our third podcast, native Bolivian and Global Voices regional editor Eduardo Aacute;vila comments on Morales's unaffected passion for the sport. Aacute;vila recalls attending a barbeque when Morales was campaigning for the presidency. "He was a different person on the football field," Aacute;vila says. Morales picks out the number 10 jersey, likes to score and frequently provides the winning goal in his matches, whether by accident or design. "That's one of his signatures. He wants to play football against journalists, play against exndash;football players, play against kids from the street. That's sort of a uniter." Whether the country is fully united by Morales's lobbying on football remains in question. The nation, as Aacute;vila notes, is divided ethnically among mestizo and the various indigenous communities (Aymara, Quechua, Guaraniacute;) despite the rallying cry from the 1952 revolution, "Somos todos bolivianos" (see Andrew Canessa, "Reproducing Racism: Schooling and Race in Highland Bolivia," Race, Ethnicity, and Educationnbsp;7 [Jul 04]: 185ndash;204). Morales himself is Aymara and cherishes his highland roots, although Canessa's article on schooling in highland communities points to the gradual loss of Andean traditions due in part to a classroom quest for uniformity in thought and language. "The mountain spirits have left us," mourns one young woman. From the perspective of science, whether Bolivians maintain a physical advantage over opponents in competitive football at altitude is difficult to establish with certainty. Aacute;vila posits that the benefit is more psychological. Bolivian players based abroad... Bolivia,,FIFA,amp;,Governance,,Latin,America,,Podcast The Global Game no No http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2007/06/into-thin-air-where-llamas-and-footballers-prosper-fifa-fears-to-tread/ http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2007/06/into-thin-air-where-llamas-and-footballers-prosper-fifa-fears-to-tread/#comments Fri, 15 Jun 2007 21:07:06 +0000 John Turnbull http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/?p=256 La Paz, Bolivia, Jun 15 | On May 27, FIFA's executive committee announced the ban on competitive international matches 2,500m above sea level. For once united internally and with their Andean neighbors, Bolivia—the country most severely affected—is organizing. A manifesto sponsored by several Bolivian newspapers concludes, "Bolivians are a poor people, we play football with humility, but we are dignified and we have a national character such that we will defend our rights when we are not at fault."]]> http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2007/06/into-thin-air-where-llamas-and-footballers-prosper-fifa-fears-to-tread/feed/ http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2007/04/talisman-of-the-throw-fifa-searches-for-new-moniker-to-proclaim-blatters-reign/ http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2007/04/talisman-of-the-throw-fifa-searches-for-new-moniker-to-proclaim-blatters-reign/#comments Sun, 01 Apr 2007 05:05:10 +0000 John Turnbull http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/?p=246 Zurich, Apr 1 | Suits at FIFA, the governing body for the world game, apparently are a bit miffed at the license being taken with Joseph "Sepp" Blatter's honorific. Gliding unopposed into a third term as FIFA president, Blatter has on occasion been heralded in press reports as the FIFA "boss," "supremo" or, sometimes, "kingpin."]]> http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2007/04/talisman-of-the-throw-fifa-searches-for-new-moniker-to-proclaim-blatters-reign/feed/ http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2007/03/coverage-abroad-in-islamic-world-head-scarves-not-always-compulsory-football-equipment/ http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2007/03/coverage-abroad-in-islamic-world-head-scarves-not-always-compulsory-football-equipment/#comments Sun, 11 Mar 2007 23:49:16 +0000 John Turnbull http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/?p=242 Rabat, Morocco, Mar 11 | A cursory survey of women's use of the hijab within football, in both Muslim and non-Muslim lands, shows variance that likely defies a systemic approach.]]> http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2007/03/coverage-abroad-in-islamic-world-head-scarves-not-always-compulsory-football-equipment/feed/ http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2007/02/whose-heads-are-covered-rules-addled-quebecers-keep-hijab-but-not-politics-off-the-field/ http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2007/02/whose-heads-are-covered-rules-addled-quebecers-keep-hijab-but-not-politics-off-the-field/#comments Thu, 01 Mar 2007 03:46:07 +0000 John Turnbull http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/?p=241 Laval, Québec, Feb 28 | Eleven-year-old Asmahan (Azzy) Mansour walked onto an indoor field at a youth soccer tournament in suburban Montreal Sunday and into the maelstrom of Canada's identity politics.]]> http://www.theglobalgame.com/blog/2007/02/whose-heads-are-covered-rules-addled-quebecers-keep-hijab-but-not-politics-off-the-field/feed/