Answers: A Political History of World Cup Football
What do they know of football who only football know? Adapting what the Caribbean intellectual C.L.R. James wrote about cricket, this quiz explores the intersection of political causes, global geopolitics and the men’s FIFA World Cup. We have seen it in Qatar with the criticism of the host nation’s treatment of migrant workers as well as its LGBT policies. More here, here, here and here.
Iran’s team was also thrust into the political spotlight amid the protests back home and the clash on the field with the United States. Balkan animosities rang out again as Switzerland with its prominent players of Kosovar heritage defeated Serbia in a second straight World Cup.
The Palestinian cause has also been highlighted. More here.
Answers
1) Before Pele, another World Cup winning Black football player was known as the ‘Black Pearl’. He was the top player of his era and his skills first put football on the international map in the 1920s. Name the player and his country.
Jose Leandro Andrade, Uruguay. More on Andrade here and here. More on how Uruguay became the first team to prominently feature Black players here.
2) Four players from a community known as the oriundi who previously played for another country were part of the victorious Italian team in 1934. They were crucial to Italy’s success at home, giving a propaganda boost for fascism under Benito Mussolini. Which country did they previously represent?
Argentina. The players were Raimundo Orsi, Enrique Guaita, Attilio Demaría and Luis Monti. Monti was the captain of Argentina’s 1930 World Cup team and remains the only player to feature for two countries in World Cup finals. Oriundi refers to people of Italian ancestry born or raised abroad. Benito Mussolini’s fascist project restricted the use of foreign-born players in the Italian league but opened the door to the oriundi, granting them dual citizenship. More here
More than 60% of Argentinians claim some Italian heritage, following massive immigration during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Diego Maradona’s mother is of Italian descent.
3) A and B qualified for the 1938 World Cup. A had the bigger reputation during the decade. But country B had annexed A and incorporated some of A’s players into a combined team. But the joint squad fared badly. Name A and B.
Austria and Germany. Austria’s ‘Wunderteam’ reached the semifinal in 1934 losing to eventual winner Italy. Two years later Italy beat them in the final at the Berlin Olympics. The Wunderteam’s celebrated coach was Hugo Meisl, a Jewish Austrian. He died in 1937, a year before the Anschluss, the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany. More about the joint squad’s failure in the 1938 World Cup here.
4) This region became an independent country after a referendum in 2006. The breakaway region and the country it had been part of fielded a common team one last time for the World Cup that year, which was held soon after the referendum. The national anthem sung before each of its games was that of a country that no longer existed. Name the two countries.
Montenegro and Serbia. The ‘Serbia and Montenegro’ banner was unfurled one last time at the World Cup in 2006, which was held after Montenegro became independent. The team did not make it past the group stage. It marked the swansong for the Yugoslav anthem and flag. More here and here. The name ‘Federal Republic of Yugoslavia’ had been replaced by Serbia and Montenegro in 2003. My earlier quiz on referendums here.
5) This World Cup has seen Timothy Weah, son of former footballer and current Liberian President George Weah turn out for the United States. Among the players in 1938 was Raoul Diagne, a pioneering figure whose politician-father Blaise Diagne was also a trailblazer. An airport serving an African capital is named after Blaise Diagne. Which country?
Senegal. The Blaise Diagne International Airport serves Dakar. Raoul Diagne was the first Black player to represent France at the World Cup in 1938. Raoul’s father Blaise Diagne was the first Black African to be elected to the French National Assembly in 1914. More here and here.
6) Joe Gaetjens was one of the many who were taken away by Haiti’s feared secret police under the dictator Francois ‘Papa Doc’ Duvalier, never to be seen again. While he was not politically active, others in his family were involved in plans to overthrow Duvalier. Earlier he scored the lone goal in one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history. Who did he represent and who lost?
USA. Joe Gaetjens scored the lone goal in USA’s upset win over England in the 1950 World Cup. Gaetjens’ parents had sent him to Columbia University in New York. He was not a U.S. citizen and never became one. More on Gaetjens here, here and here. My earlier quiz on Haiti below.
7) A bitter World Cup qualifier in 1969 played in a third country precipitated war between the two competing nations. Thousands were killed and thousands more were displaced. The conflict is known as the ‘Football War’ or the ‘Soccer War’. Name the two countries.
El Salvador and Honduras. More here, here and here.
8) Which World Cup was boycotted by an entire continent and why?
Africa and 1966. Out of the 16 spots FIFA allotted only one for countries from Africa, Asia and Oceania combined. Ghana, the first sub-Saharan nation to secure independence in 1957 led the outcry. FIFA rejected the Confederation of African Football’s demand for a spot solely for Africa and Caf members responded by boycotting the 1966 World Cup. More here and here.
9) Which contest in 1974 was crucial for FIFA’s global expansion? Apartheid South Africa was a major factor that helped tilt the scales.
Joao Havelange defeated Stanley Rous to become FIFA President. Rous was an international referee who went on to become secretary of England’s Football Association and by 1961 FIFA’s president. Rous lost out for his failure to appreciate the developing world’s aspirations and accommodative approach to Apartheid South Africa. More here and here. Disqualifying the Soviet Union for refusing to play in Chile just after General Pinochet’s coup also affected Rous’ chances (next question).
Under Havelange, FIFA expanded the number of teams in the World Cup from 16 to 24 in 1982 and 32 in 1998.
10) Country A refused to play a World Cup qualifier in country B in November 1973 because the stadium had been used to detain and torture political opponents of country B’s new government. Country A was disqualified by FIFA while B made it to the 1974 World Cup. Name the two countries.
A is Soviet Union and B is Chile. The match in Santiago's National Stadium was to be held on November 21, just two months after the coup that brought General Augusto Pinochet to power. More here and here.
The Chilean players turned out on the field, passed the ball among themselves and finally shot the ball into an unguarded net. You can watch a sample of the ‘match’ with just one team below.
11) On June 4, 2020 - the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square crackdown - a video was released on YouTube in which a Chinese football legend called for the ouster of the Communist Party. He is considered the greatest-ever Chinese to play football till date and the national team’s all-time top goalscorer with 41 goals from 1992 to 2004. He was part of China’s lone World Cup appearance in 2002. Since his remarks, he’s been airbrushed out of Chinese social media. Name the player.
Hao Haidong. More here, here and here. My earlier quiz on China’s Communist Party below.
12) Another 2002 World Cup participant is his country’s top scorer in international football with 51 goals. He holds a particular World Cup record as well. After retiring he took up politics and became an MP. But he is now in exile in the U.S. after falling out with his country’s leader. Who and which country?
Hakan Sukur, Turkey. He scored the fastest goal in World Cup history in 2002. More on his life in exile in the U.S. after falling out with President Erdogan here and here.
13) A World Cup qualifier in 1989 led to FIFA imposing a life ban on goalkeeper Roberto Rojas from playing football. Evidence for the decision emerged from pictures taken by Argentinian photographer Ricardo Alfieri. What did the goalkeeper do and which were the two teams involved?
Brazil and Chile. Chile’s goalkeeper Roberto Rojas concealed a blade inside his glove and deliberately injured himself when a flare was thrown into the ground. He pretended he was hit by the flare. More here, here and here. The game was ruled in Brazil’s favour and Chile was banned from the qualifiers for the 1994 World Cup.
14) This country is the only one to withdraw after winning hosting rights for a World Cup. Its president cited economic considerations, even as the government was battling left-wing guerrillas as well as drug gangs. Which country and which year?
Colombia and 1986. Colombia withdrew in 1982 and was replaced by Mexico.
15) This country was the first from sub-Saharan Africa to qualify for the World Cup in 1974 and was the African champion at the time. They gave a tough fight to Scotland only to lose 2-0. But a pay dispute arose before their second game with the players accusing officials of stealing money due to them. They surrendered 9-0 to Yugoslavia. One of the players later said the country’s dictator warned they would not be allowed to return home if they conceded more than three goals to Brazil, their next opponent. Name the country and the dictator.
Democratic Republic of Congo (then Zaire), Mobutu. The third match against Brazil saw this bizarre moment.
Terms like ‘African innocence’ and ‘clowns’ were used to describe the Zaire team but the reality under Mobutu was more sinister. More here, here and here.
1974 was the biggest sporting year for the Democratic Republic of Congo, with victory at the Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup qualification. But these were overshadowed later in the year by the ‘Rumble in the Jungle’ boxing bout it hosted featuring Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.
16) I mentioned the notorious West Germany-Austria ‘contest’ in 1982 known as the ‘Disgrace of Gijon’ in my previous quiz here on Football and the Middle East. Four years earlier A had to beat B by at least four goals to eliminate C, which was ahead on goal difference. A beat B by a suspicious 6-0 margin. Collusion was never proven. An opposition politician at the time from B alleged in 2012 that the dictators in power in both countries had agreed on the result before the match. Name A, B and C.
Argentina (A) defeated Peru (B) 6-0 eliminating Brazil (C). More here, here and here. Argentina went on to win the World Cup it hosted under the military junta in 1978. More here and here
17) Supporters of country A raised red-and-white ‘Solidarnosc’ banners during a match against country B in 1982. The live feed was censored back home. In the second half, Spanish police removed the banners. The match was drawn, eliminating B while A made it to the semifinals. Name A and B.