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Writer's pictureAboud Onji

Political campaigns in soccer

We have become accustomed to hearing almost “mandatory” mentions in the speeches of political candidates referring to issues such as: women, security, the price of the basic food basket, sports and support government to athletes…. Etc. In this sense, sports and, in our case, soccer are classified as a subject that touches the sensitive chords of youth and of society in general; For this, any candidate has to reflect to their target audience how much they support and will support the sport.

I dare to think that the aforementioned is an application of a classic speech in a political campaign. Are you a candidate? You must mention your opinion and strategy regarding the most interesting topics for society. Always remembering that a successful political speech is an emotional speech.


US, Mexican and Canadian authorities in Qatar, by Reuters
US, Mexican and Canadian authorities in Qatar, by Reuters

Many politicians stick with the classics, while others go ahead and plan to burn the stages with a strategy to incorporate the issue of sport into their political campaigns in a much more efficient way, expecting promising results.< /p>

Far from using technical language, I would like to explain that there are two important actions in a political campaign: political communication and political marketing. Both actions, relevant to the success of a campaign, must be embodied in football, when we talk about a joint strategy.

In this same context, political communication seeks to maintain the linkage of forces between the different political actors, while political marketing focuses on generating and exploiting competitive advantages. of a candidate compared to the competition. In the Latin American context, why is the soccer platform so attractive to use in a political campaign, and what commonalities do soccer and political campaign objectives share?

A candidate should include in his strategy the methods to articulate at different levels: 1) With the bulk of the population, considering that the higher the desired political position is by hierarchy, the larger it would be the population that has to be covered; 2) With the published opinion and what is reflected in the different media; 3) With the main political actors and all government elements that play an important role in the electoral process.

Football is not only an international language, it also has something even more important politically: it is alanguage that is used by the entire population, it is a sport that spans the entire social pyramid, including economic classes, from children who play in the street with a ball made of newspapers to professional players who earn millionaire salaries. In Latin America, soccer is the safest way not only to connect with this bulk of the population, but also to caress their emotions and offer them the necessary dose of pleasure to keep dreaming

In the same vein, it is almost certain that if you connect your political figure as a candidate to the soccer process, you would not only open the hearts of the population, but also the doors of the most important media ; with this you already have the majority of the published opinion in your favour.

The published opinion is very difficult to control, because it does not depend on a candidate but on the media, which are mostly accessible to all candidates. In the published opinion is where the news of political scandals pass and where they affect public opinion in general in different ways. In this case, wouldn't it be a great advantage that published opinion and the media have their sights on the ball in certain seasons?

Media investment and large sponsorships are concentrated to publicize everything that happens on the field, and what happens around the field... It's simple, for the strategy to work It will be necessary for the political product to be at the entrance door and exit of the field.

In modern history, and in parallel with technological advances in the fields of information and communication, many politicians have used football as a platform to broadcast their campaigns and connect with the public. population. Many have managed, through soccer, to stimulate the effectiveness of public services, build a character closer to the people and have preferential attention to popular opinion, strengthening andprotecting the public image of the main political actor

Far from the destructive opinion, and from a personal point of view, I consider that the political use of sport, whether in political or social campaigns, is an intelligent strategy as long as it seeks to connect with the people, through different ethical tactics, taking into account the feedback of the results without separating the main political actor and his image from his actions.

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