FIFA’s utopia: An analysis of FIFA’s football for hope movement

Abstract

This article offers an analysis of FIFA’s Football for Hope (FFH) movement with a particular focus on the 20 Centres for 2010 Campaign that was connected to the 2010 World Cup, and the FFH Festivals held during the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. Using document analysis and observations made during the FFH Festival at the 2014 World Cup and drawing on Levitas’ ( 2013) Utopia as Method, this article analyzes claims made by FIFA that football can bring hope and build a better future. Ultimately, the hope that FIFA promotes, and their imagined future is one that is essentially predetermined and is based on the current status quo. However, FFH through their documents and their festival, also present glimpses of potentially transformative alternatives.

Keywords

FIFA sport for development hope utopia utopia as method

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