10 minute read
Our Athletes are Ready to Start Again
SPORTS AND SOCIETIES EDITOR: Hala Haider
7 DECEMBER 2020 Sports & Societies
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Re ections on the Spirit as a Society
Millie Glaister, BA Politics and International Relations
In setting out to write this article, and re ect on the Spirit as a society, I went back and looked through as many of the old issues as I could nd. While the Spirit has maintained a presence on campus since 1936, the digital collections only hark back to 2010 (though this still seems a world away).
ere have been many signi cant changes over the Spirit’s tenure: the design of the paper, the structure of the society; at times it was published in a magazine format - there was even an insert, e Global Spirit, for a while. Despite all these changes, the core values of the Spirit have remained consistent, and I see them re ected in the work we are doing today.
I have the privilege of serving as the Executive Digital Editor of the Spirit this year; a new role focusing on the online presence of the paper which brings with it so much opportunity for growth. Having spent the past few months thinking extensively about the future of the Spirit, this article has given me an opportunity to look back and draw inspiration from our predecessors in print. I have chosen three quotes from previous Letters from the Editor, which I nd to encompass the ethos of our society, and what I hope to build on for our future:
Jon Pillay, December 2012: “ e one thing that will never change about the Spirit is the fact that this is your paper, a paper produced by you, but also a paper produced for you.”
Ali Mitib, October 2017: “We aim to hold those in positions of power accountable and produce content which students will nd informative, thought provoking and entertaining.”
Malia Shoaib, November 2020: [on the decolonisation of knowledge] “a theme that the Spirit engages with heavily by transferring the power of knowledge dissemination to students whose voices may otherwise be underrepresented. One of our key values is inclusivity; we want to provide a platform for you to express your views and gain valuable experience, with the hopes of closing the BAME gap in the media industry in the future.”
Having been invigorated by the rich history of student journalism at SOAS, and brimming with ideas for future endeavours, I feel assured of my belief in what we are doing. e most important thing for me is creating an accessible point of information for everyone in our community; especially one that is not tied to the institution or limited in what we can share with our readers. Truly, this retrospection has a rmed that the Spirit is nothing without each and every person in our community, and that together we are able to create a space where people can feel represented and connected to the people around them. My biggest takeaway from this process is that the Spirit grows stronger as it expands, and it can only expand with your help. So, consider getting in touch with any member of our team; there is a place for everyone at the Spirit.
Our Athletes Are Ready to Start Again!
Eleonora Catenaro, BA Social Anthropology and Arabic
e density and crowdedness under the tent of the Freshers’ Fayre marquee re ected the excitement of all sports and societies’ committees during what feels like the rst actual post-COVID year. If you were brave enough to reach the end of the maze without getting lost among the wide array of societies at SOAS, you must have found yourself in front of the tables of numerous sports teams behind which many athletes were enthusiastically ready to sign up as many people as possible. Some might have attempted to draw you in with Snickers and Mars bars, others with bananas and apples, or even by directly throwing a ball at your face. Many take this for granted, but the amount of work behind keeping a sports team alive and running is far from little. To begin with, the patience of the sports teams’ committee members should be prized, as it is an essential element when chasing a er the SU for not responding to emails, not booking pitches for games, and not registering teams for championships. Omar Jahangir Khan, president of the SOAS Men’s Football Team, expressed his frustration as his team was among the SOAS sports teams that were incorrectly registered in the leagues for London universities. Other teams incorrectly registered were SOAS Men’s and Women’s Rugby, Women’s Football, and Cricket. is led to their relegation to the lowest division—which is frustrating considering how well the SOAS Men’s Football Team performed last year. Despite what Khan called a “rough start of the year”, he and the other committee members are still very excited to make this year as enjoyable as possible for everyone who joined the team. e new SU Sports O cer in charge this year is making all the committees very hopeful that this year, the running of sports and societies will be smoother than it was in the past. Mukund Adamson, SOAS Men’s Rugby’s Social Secretary, believes that sports at SOAS will “make a resurgence” this year given that they are more accessible with no COVIDrelated restrictions. Despite the support from the SU, SOAS Volleyball had a slightly frustrating start to the year too. Due to an administrative problem at the school where they train, training only began two weeks a er the agreed-upon date. Marco Iazzetta, the team’s Secretary, shared some of his concerns when he mentioned the games they’ll have this month and the limited time they have to prepare for them. However, he is very excited about the talented new athletes that have joined the team. Iazzetta also expressed his appreciation towards the SU because they are now able to o er three di culty levels—beginner, intermediate, and advanced—, allowing everyone to come and play to the intensity they desire. Competitions will start soon for both SOAS Volleyball and Football Teams; as for the SOAS Table Tennis Society, they began competing in the second week of October. ey have had a terri c start to the year, beating the Queen Mary Table Tennis Society 15-2. e team was established in 2020 however for COVID reasons, it was only able to set o this year, and what a start it has been. ey are also looking to set up a women’s table tennis team, so stay tuned if you’re interested! Another society which only recently got o the ground is the SOAS Running Society, whose central focus as of now is not necessarily competition. e president, Oscar Stapleton, shares that the society aims to “provide a space for destressing and making friends”. e society organizes social runs that start from SOAS if anyone is interested. However, they’re still looking to participate in competitions around London, including cross-country races that will take place in the month of October and beyond. Stapleton is looking forward to seeing this freshly started society grow within the next year given the positive outcome so far. Hopefully, this frustrating start to the year will be forgotten later when, with the new SU team already in place, all will run more smoothly. We wish both old and new teams the best of luck in all future competitions!
Editor in chief’s pick:
A Better Alternative for International Football
James Ethan Byrne, BA Global Development Studies & Economics
FIFA’s scandals have been widely publicised. But, even if you’re unaware of the fraud and money laundering of 2015 within the organisation, you are likely to have heard about at least one of the controversies surrounding this year’s World Cup in Qatar.
It would be an understatement to say that the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup hasn’t met universal approval. Clearly, in an organisation of this magnitude and in uence—football has over 3.5 billion estimated fans—cracks will form, and it makes the beautiful game an ugly business.
Out of these murky shadows, the Confederation of Independent Football Associations (CONIFA) has gained some traction, even though many devoted football fans may have never heard of it before. is is to be expected. As a nonpro t organisation formed nearly a decade ago in 2013, currently representing 55 regional, ethnic and de-facto national teams, it’s mostly only known to those involved.
Despite representing over 700 million people through their members across the globe, their vision is simple. Let people play football. In fact, watching an organised game will surprise and possibly confuse most, with possible matches including Yorkshire vs. Kiribati or Matabeleland FC vs. the Australian First Nations.
FIFA is such a large organisation with such a massive cultural and economic in uence that corruption will take hold of it no matter what. In 2006, it was reported that bribery had been commonplace for decades, with the former chair of the FA, Lord Triesman, describing their behaviour as being “like a ma a family”. were paid to senior o cials to persuade their decisions over marketing contracts. During the 2000s, FIFA made bidding nations agree to tax exemptions, special laws and limitations to workers’ rights for both them and corporate sponsors for the duration of tournaments.
In 2011, during internal elections, the heads of the Bahamas and Surinamese football associations said that they were both paid $40,000 in cash to vote for presidential candidate Mohamed bin Hammam. He was involved in the Qatari bid for the 2022 World Cup.
At this time, FIFA’s secretary general, Jérôme Valcke, had allegedly said that Qatar had bought the 2022 World Cup. Both he and Qatar denied this, with Valcke suggesting that they had “used [their] nancial muscle to lobby for support”.
Qatar has also been criticised by the Carbon Market Watch (CMW) regarding their claims of a ‘carbon neutral’ tournament. CMW reports suggest emissions will be 8 times greater than the Qatari analysis.
World Cup chief Nasser Al Khater recently gave rm reassurances that gay fans will be welcome to display a ection and rainbow ags and that everybody will feel safe. But many during the build-up to the tournament have viewed FIFA authorities as seeming disinterested in safeguarding the rights of those in the LGBT+ community who might be attending the 2022 World Cup.
CONIFA isn’t riddled with as many problems as FIFA. ere are no pro t motives, transparency issues, nor is there any jostling for power—the size and vision of the organisation simply do not hold space for corruption to become embedded or for monetary pro t to undermine the game. sponsors, and teams must raise the required funds to travel to matches. A crucial aspect of this World Cup is that the competing teams are simply unable to compete in the FIFA tournament, which can be down to their relative size and funding, but it’s usually an issue of politics.
e CONIFA World Cup is a tournament for places and people with little to no political representation, such as Tibet, having been repressed by China for decades. Northern Cyprus, South Ossetia, and Kurdistan are examples of nations with no o cial recognition by the UN and therefore, FIFA. e teams of Matabeleland, Kárpátalja, Punjab, and Romani people all represent minority ethnic groups. Also, teams from small regions like Sicily, Cornwall, and Hawaii are included in the tournament.
e event allows these teams to not only play but also celebrate their culture and identity without the fear of repression, dismissal, or prejudice. is may be the only time when a group of people can proudly y their ags and sing their national anthems whilst cheering on a team representing them in an o cial competition.
Watching a match between any of these nations, you can see and feel that there’s more than football happening on the pitch. e rich cultural traditions of these groups, many of which will never be known to most people, are put on full display.
Ultimately, CONIFA’s vision of an ethical football association creates an environment akin to a local Sunday league game: there’s little to no sponsorship or real money in it; no one needs to bribe the organisers to keep their job, and there’s no underlying resentment from anyone.
It’s football, and that’s all people want.
Fifa’s ‘Cup of Life’ (credit: Fauzan Sari)
