The excitement is palpable in Goa even as football’s quadrennial showpiece kicked off 3,542 miles away in Russia on Thursday, with Saudi Arabia taking on the hosts in the opening match of FIFA World Cup 2018. Although India are far, far away from qualifying for the finals, the World Cup magic engulfs the football-crazy state every four years unlike any other sports event.
Though World Cup’s aura has not diminished, one interesting development with regards to Goans has been the growing fan-bases for countries other than the traditional favourites Brazil, Portugal, Argentina and Germany.
Spain, England, Belgium and France have certainly made inroads into the hearts of football lovers here and many feel that they have the wherewithal to go all the way this time around. In the past, most Goans rooted for Brazil or Portugal, followed by Argentina and Germany. But times have changed and most fans are now aware of the progress made by countries like Belgium and France in particular.
The reason for growing fan following of newer footballing forces of the world is the ever increasing influence of League football namely English Premier League and Spanish La Liga. The top players like Kevin De Bruyne, the creative Belgian midfielder, plays for Manchester City; while French attacker Antoine Griezmann wears Atlético Madrid colours in La Liga, Paul Pogba of France is with Manchester United. With their growing stature at the club level, football lovers start tracking their progress with national teams and then develop a bond with their international challenge. That is how Belgium and France have come into reckoning this time around.
It has also been observed that people who grew up watching Pele and Maradona play, have kept their faith in Brazil and Argentina while stars like Neymar and Lionel Messi respectively, carry forward the legacy of the South American countries. These are the people who endured times when there was hardly any telecast of the best of the leagues and hence had to wait for the World Cup to watch their favourite players in action. As such, they find it difficult to connect with other countries by following top-flight league action from around the world on TV. Nevertheless, they are loyal to the countries they started following during the incredible reign of Pele with the Samba boys and then Maradona’s power-packed displays for La Albiceleste.
Football becomes a great uniting factor as people come together to have fun and at the same time get involved in discussions about the players, standard of the game in the country and tactics involved. One may not see the splash and dash of colours on the streets in the magnitude visible in Kerala or West Bengal, but Goa does indeed turn yellow, red and green and sky blue in football fever as most fans sport the jerseys of their favourite countries during the month-long global footballing festival. It’s the heart on the sleeve time for Goans as patriotism assumes a foreign meaning altogether!
