Sports are one of the many ways that a country uses as a source of national prestige and promoting its culture. Over the years, the men’s soccer world cup and the Olympic Games have grown to become two of the biggest and prestigious sporting events in the world. Arguably, these two events act as the most meaningful tests of a nation’s prestige and success. In many countries, the opportunity of a player to play for the national team and represent his or her country in global events such as these qualifies as the highest level one can reach in one career.
Although in some countries playing in domestic competitions may present greater competition, better reward, as well as higher standards, the opportunity to be a part of the national team is still held in high regard. The competitiveness and success of a national team are determined by the number of wins in a competition, especially if the sport is not very popular in a country (Martin 102).
The FIFA world cup is one of the greatest sports competitions in the world. Currently, 211 eligible teams take part in the competition that starts with continental qualifiers. From there, 32 teams qualify for the finals that are held every four years in a country chosen at least four years earlier (Goldblatt 48). The competition attracts people from different parts of the world and cultural settings, all united to cheer their national teams and enjoy the competitiveness of different teams.
Apart from those that make it to the match venues, hundreds of millions of people follow the event on television around the world. Over the years, the men’s soccer world cup has grown from just ordinary football matches between national teams to battles of honor (Martin 157). Brazil is the most successful national team with five world cup titles, thus earning it the title of a football powerhouse. Arguably, the highlight of every professional footballer’s career is participating in the world cup and most importantly winning it.
The FIFA world cup was first held in 1930, and since then the tournament has been growing in terms of popularity, viewership, level of competition, number of participating teams, and commercial success (Martin 188). This observable fact has been necessitated by the different awards that the tournament organizer presents to the participating teams and players. Some of the existing awards include the golden ball awarded to the best player of the tournament, the golden boot awarded to the top goal scorer, and the golden glove that is presented to the best goalkeeper.
The FIFA fair play trophy is an award presented to the national team with the best fair play record (Goldblatt 115). The most recent award that was introduced by FIFA in 2006 is the best young player, which is presented to the best participating player aged 21 or younger at the start of the calendar year when the tournament is held.
A country takes a lot of pride when it is selected to host the men’s soccer world cup. To date, the global spectacle has been hosted by 17 different countries. This tournament presents the host country with an opportunity to display the football talent they have on top of welcoming millions of tourists from various parts of the world. It is even more prestigious if a country can host the world cup and win it on home soil. Any country that has won the FIFA world cup is held in high regard by football lovers around the world because it is one of the most elusive successes in the sport (Martin 217).
The Olympic Games is arguably the biggest and earliest sporting event ever created in the world. The competition that has participants from more than two hundred countries, involves athletes representing their countries in a variety of competitions (Guttmann 11). The competition has two categories, summer and winter Olympics that are staged two years apart every four years. The first edition was held in 1896, and the competition has grown a lot over the years with almost every country being represented. In the last edition hosted by Brazil in 2016, a refugee team participated. Success at the Olympics is a major source of pride for both the athletes and the countries they represent.
Over the years, some countries have dominated some categories in the games due to their consistent performances. For example, the United States of America and Jamaica has earned a reputation for producing the best short sprinters in the world. African countries such as Kenya and Ethiopia have also earned the admiration of the world for their prolonged dominance in long-distance and track races.
This is a clear indication that every country that sends athletes to participate and represent them at the Olympics expects good performances to earn the respect of the world. Although medals are awarded to individuals, the table standings are done using the countries represented by the winning athletes (Guttmann 34). At the end of each competition, a winning country is always announced according to the total number of medals won by its athletes.
Olympic Games are also a source of pride for the host country because it provides an opportunity to display its culture and tourist attractions to the world. The social and economic impact of the Olympics games is felt by the host country for a prolonged time. Although economists argue that hosting a global sporting event such as the Olympics is more costly than beneficial to the host country, studies have shown that getting the hosting rights acts as an opportunity for host cities to persuade corporations into incorporating the event into their social responsibility initiatives (Guttmann 122). The host country starts feeling the effect at least two years leading up to the tournament as many people planning on attending the games start making travel and accommodation preparations as early as possible.
Many countries across the world have benefited a lot due to their success at the Olympics. This positive effect has been felt the most by African countries such as Kenya, which has experienced a growing number of tourists from different parts of the world as they seek to experience the good weather conditions in the country that has earned the reputation of consistent performances in athletics at the Olympic Games. The more a country is consistent at the Olympics, the more curiosity it creates among researchers and journalists about the factors influencing such performances.
Works Cited
Goldblatt, David. The Ball is Round: A Global History of Football. Penguin Books Limited, 2007.
Guttmann, Allen. The Olympics: A History of the Modern Games. University of Illinois Press, 2002.
Martin, Simon. Football and Fascism: The National Game under Mussolini. Berg Publishers, 2004.