Four nations through Soccer

For the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Qatar 2022 World Cup is very important for two reasons: 1. The special consular attention and protection for the thousands of Mexicans who will come to Qatar, actions that the Foreign Ministry always carries out in mega sporting events in those that Mexicans attend, but that in this World Cup are particularly relevant due to specific circumstances, and 2. It is the first World Cup in which the Foreign Ministry has a specific section of Sports Diplomacy, which makes it possible to carry out actions with this approach to potentiate the presence and image of Mexico abroad.

In this sense, the SRE is launching the “Four nations through soccer” campaign, in which it will broadcast programs on the ties between Mexico and its groupmates in Qatar 2022 on social networks: Poland, Argentina and Saudi Arabia. In these episodes, emphasis is placed on the encounter between cultures that this sporting confrontation supposes, getting to know the other better to make them closer. They are carried out under the approach that Fernando Segura rightly points out, “Football becomes, in the best of cases and given meanings, a common language that allows to feed ties of proximity and sociability even with total strangers, with whom moments and emotions are exchanged. …”

These historical attributes of soccer as a promoter of conciliation, rapprochement and fraternity, have been appreciated, for example, in the truce that occurred in the First World War in a match between Germans and allied soldiers; or the New York Cosmos game against the representative of Cuba, in Havana, as a step to improve US-Cuba bilateral relations, Pelé being one of the witnesses of honor of said event. How can we forget the intervention of Didier Drogba, after the historic qualification of the Ivory Coast to Germany 2006, calling for peace on the sides that were in conflict in the civil war in his country, a fact that produced a ceasefire.

If soccer has achieved events like the above in contexts of tension, there is a lot that it could achieve in moments of celebration like the one that is experienced in a World Cup or of good relations like that of Mexico with the countries with which it will meet in Qatar. . For this reason, in the three chapters of this campaign, some of the links between Mexico and each of the mentioned countries are reviewed, emphasizing the communicating and closeness vessels through soccer. In the three chapters of this project, soccer players, coaches, historians and diplomats, who are fundamental actors or narrators of the ties between the two countries, will talk about our surroundings, making us feel part of the same community. They analyze the participation, not only sports, but that of their societies in the World Cup just ahead, among many other considerations.

The ambassador of Argentina in Mexico, Carlos Tomada, as well as that of Saudi Arabia, Haytham Al Malki, participate. Former soccer players Claudio Suárez, Polish Grzegorz Lato Alejandro Castro, Adrián Chávez, and Mexican soccer player Santiago Naveda. Coaches like the son of the legendary Argentine goalkeeper Miguel Marín, Max; and Mario García, Diego Armando Maradona’s technical assistant when he was in Sinaloa. The chronicler of Monterrey, Leopoldo Espinosa, also has an important participation. Likewise, the participation and collaboration of the Mexican ambassadors in Argentina, Poland and Saudi Arabia, Lilia Rossbach Súarez, Juan Sandoval Mendiolea and Aníbal Gómez Toledo, respectively, is significant in enriching these materials.

The venues that can be seen in the capsules are in keeping with the relevance of these guests: the Azteca Stadium, the Rayados and Tigres stadiums, the Soccer Hall of Fame and the Interactive Soccer Museum, among many others. To achieve the materialization of these products, the collaboration of various public and private entities was essential.

We invite you to watch “Four nations through soccer” on the Foreign Ministry’s social networks, starting on November 20. The chapter corresponding to each country will premiere one day before the matches they hold with Mexico. Let’s celebrate the world football festival, emphasizing the meeting of cultures, beyond sports disputes on the playing field.