People's Democracy

THERE is nothing quite like sports for awakening interest and igniting passion even among the most tepid of people. Not only is it of abiding interest in itself, but it also serves as welcome relief for those who are tired of hearing only about depressing, unpleasant news all around them. So the obsession with the football World Cup was not just about loving the game or enjoying the role of spectator. It was really a great social event. And it even seemed quite appropriate to the current phase of globalisation, which claims to be international and yet operates very much on a certain notion of the national.

With such a mass following across the world, it was only to be expected that international business would take note, and try to use the major sporting events accordingly. Now, the sporting events and the business surrounding it are so closely intertwined that it is impossible to decide which determines which.

Thus, the international entertainment industry is the fastest growing sector in the world economy, and within it, sports coverage – especially on television – is increasing at the fastest rate. Billions of dollars of advertising revenues are poured into it, and this allows for huge mega-events on scales which were undreamt of earlier, as well as all sorts of other promotions on the side. This process also encourages the building up of superstars, who can then be used to promote particular brands and even become brands in themselves.

All this is probably well known, and still does not diminish from our enjoyment in following events as exciting and unpredictable as the recent football World Cup. But some incidents show how much the notions of commercial viability and profitability now determine not just the actions of sports promoters but even the players themselves.

Consider the World Cup. The exit of the England team was more than a sports defeat in that country; it was also the possible sunset on a brand that was being built up assiduously over the past few years. The huge hype and publicity surrounding David Beckham, for example, was not just the result of admiration regarding his kicking abilities or curiosity about his celebrity lifestyle. It has been a carefully prepared and orchestrated media onslaught, which has in turn allowed Beckham to be used most profitably in all sorts of advertising.

Similarly, the early losses and departure of the French team have meant complete disaster to the many companies who have already poured in vast sums to use the French football striker Zinedine Zidane as mascot. Ironically, Zidane’s advertising star rose just after the 1998 World Cup, displacing the other possible choice of the companies, Ronaldo of Brazil who did not perform well in that year’s final game. Now, of course, the roles are reversed.

It was noted that even before the quarter-final stage, advertising companies were already pre-booking several of the new "sunrise" players before they become too expensive, in the hope of cashing in once the final results were known. The current orientation of advertising, which involves creating or picking up a few "mega-stars" rather than spreading the interest (and monetary rewards) more evenly, means that the companies have to bet on the winners in a more significant way than in normal betting.

Nothing could point more clearly to the commercial interests which are deeply involved in such events, than the angry reaction of the Italians after their team’s elimination from the World Cup. The representative of the Italian Football Association has actually accused FIFA (the Federation of International Football Associations, which is organising the event) of influencing the referees to make decisions against their team, especially in the match against South Korea. The reason ? They argued that FIFA wanted to ensure that at least one host team reach the quarter-finals, so as to keep interest in the Cup alive there. In addition there was the perceived need to promote more interest in football in East Asia, which of course would mean even more promotion, more advertising, more money.

Of course the Italian allegation was probably no more than sour grapes, the resentment of a side unable to bear losing. But the very fact that such charges could be made testifies to how much commercial considerations are now on everyone’s mind in this game.

Commercial considerations and monetary incentives have now been raised to a fine art – or sport – by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (or BCCI). In an extraordinary decision, they have announced a graded system of payment for players, whereby they will be given double the match fees if they win against a team that is classified as being better than them, and only half the fees if they lose a match ! There could be no more blatant assertion of the belief that the Indian cricket team plays the game only for money, and that such monetary incentive is all it takes to make players try to do their best.

If it were really so easy to determine how our cricket players perform, then presumably Indian cricket would have had no problems at all internationally. For the business world does already reward cricketing success, through all sorts of lucrative advertising and promotion deals that bring in much more income than simple match fees. Then again, if the players are all that susceptible to mere cash rewards, then there is no reason to assume that they should be able to resist the much more attractive offers of bookies for match-fixing.

Perhaps the BCCI is just following the general social trend in the country, that assumes that people do whatever they do mainly for money. The reason this shocks some of us is because we like to think that sports is immune or at least less prone to such purely financial inducement. The way to get out of this, then, is to establish more conclusively that monetary gain is not the exclusive driving force in each and every other walk of life either.

It may seem an obvious and even silly thing to have to prove, but it might be necessary if we are not all to end up as puppets of big business in our own different ways.