The Beauty of Football, Uniting Ethnicities, Races, Religions

Yes, football is a universal language that crosses national, religious and cultural boundaries. Football can be a means of promoting tolerance, peace and mutual understanding. This is the fact that football data unites the world.

During the first world war in 1914, Pope Benedictus-15 called for a ceasefire between the warring parties. The call was initially ignored. However, then on their own initiative the German and British troops held a ceasefire in Belgium.

And as a sign of temporary peace, they held a friendly football match. This also happened in Nigeria in 1969. Pele and the Santos club visited Nigeria which was hit by civil war. The diafra group wants to separate itself from the government and establish its own country. This conflict was triggered by political, economic and ethnic tensions that emerged after Britain released Nigeria as a colony. The warring parties agreed to stop fighting, because Pele and his football came.

Football can do more to end civil war than any politician. Just look at how contagious the excitement was in the summer of 2006. Ivory Coast qualified to take part in the finals of the world cup for the first time.

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In fact, in the last six years before this incident, the regime based in southern Ivory Coast had mobilized hatred towards immigrants and Muslims. But so many of this country's best football players come from immigrants and Muslims. Until the national team becomes a symbol of unity. At that time, the players begged their president so that the Ivory Coast national team's victory could be a catalyst for peace to unite society.

War also couldn't stop football in Angola. This is miraculous for a country that was badly damaged by Portugal's long colonial rule and after independence was torn apart again by civil war. 8 October 2005, with 10 minutes remaining, substitute player Zekalaga, who came on with minutes remaining, made a surprising and brilliant cross, in a match that would determine whether Angola would qualify for the world cup finals. Kalaga's pass was caught by Sabris Miyeko who headed perfectly and scored the only goal of the match. Angola's victory boosted the war-torn country's self-confidence.

When Croatia was still part of Yugoslavia, football was an expression of ethnicity, political orientation and self-identity. The match between Dinamozagrep and Reptazograp in 1990 is widely considered to have marked the start of Croatia's war for independence. Croatia's independence was recognized in 1990, but the region remains associated as a war zone or former Yoguslav republic.

The 1998 world cup brought another recognition, joy spread throughout the country when Croatia beat Germany in the quarter-finals. This victory took them to the semi-finals against hosts France. Since then Croatia has started to get the recognition it deserves. Unfortunately, in the final match, the Croatian people's wild fantasies about the final match were shattered. However, Croatia managed to get a consolation prize for their fantastic performance by beating the Netherlands 2-1 to win third place. Since the declaration of independence, there has not been a celebration that unites the entire country like that time. Now no one can deny Croatia's presence on the map.

Balls can provoke violence. But football has also proven capable of bridging differences and overcoming hatred of certain races. The fact that the World Cup can be held in South Korea and Japan, as in 2002, is a victory for tolerance and understanding.

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In less than half a century, South Korea changed. During the 1954 World Cup qualifying round, South Korea did not allow the Japanese national team to cross its borders to compete. But in 2002, they hosted this tournament, together with the country that once colonized it. Football is also a ticket for every citizen of the world to experience peace and unity through the 2018 World Cup. FIFA President, Gianni Ifantino, called on each participating country to prioritize football above all political prejudices that cause division.

This statement is related to the attitude of European countries that do not agree with the political conditions of Russia, the host of the 2018 World Cup under Fladimir Putin. Russia under Putin is widely criticized, Putin is considered responsible for Russia's intervention in the civil war in Syria. In his own country he is also accused of running an authoritarian government that violates human rights.

Russian writer Fladimir Caminer said the World Cup could be Putin's ticket back to the negotiating table. The World Cup is also an opportunity for world citizens to see that Russian citizens are the same as citizens of other countries. And for the first time since the World Cup was held in 1930, the 2018 final round was attended by 4 teams from the Arabian peninsula. Namely, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco.

This means that there are seven countries with Muslim majority populations appearing in the 2018 world cup. Apart from the 4 Arab teams, there are Iran, Senegal and Nigeria. There are also other national team squads that contain a number of Muslim players. Such as Germany, France and Belgium.

The phenomenon of Mohamed Salah, a star from Egypt who once played for Liverpool, England. Eroding British society's bad view of Islam. The best English football player of the 2017 season, the 2018 season is considered a hero for England, after scoring 44 goals, and bringing Liverpool FC to the European champions league. Salah emerged as a phenomenon at the right time. A series of terrorist attacks, including bombings in London and Manchester last year, has seen the UK's Islamaphobia figure reach 47%. Football sites ranked stadiums in England as the site of the most incidents of racism and Islamophobia in Europe during 2014-2017. Why was Salah able to overturn perceptions in less than a year? Of course because of the goals.

Greetings always compact.

By @midiagam