Football and Society

Football was officially invented by English people in the 19th Century, but actually its is played all over the globe. In fact, FIFA (International Fedaration of Associated Football by their French meaning) has more members than the United Nations distributed in 6 Confederations: UEFA, CONMEBOL, CAF, AFC, CONCACAF and OFA.

Football can unite or divide neighborhoods, cities, and even countries. Some of the strongest rivalries are among same region teams. For example River Plate vs Boca Jrs in Argentina. .

There are football rivalries that imply religious, political or ethnic differences, which give the game an extra passion dosis. So, every single match has much more meaning than a simple sport. "Classics or Derbies" such as Rangers vs Celtic (Catholics vs Protestants), Real Madrid vs FC Barcelona (capital vs province), Chivas vs America, are expected games in each country with millions of fans that fullfill stadiums and pay millions in team jerseys, scarfs, and tickets in order to support a modern and "pacific" war.

But football can also achieve unity and identity in the countries, the best prove of that is the World Cup and the Confedaration's Cups, where nations forget their internal differences to get a common objective: the championship.