Geopolitics of football and other things

Would the bird build its nest if it had no confidence in the world?

Gaston Bachelard 

There is no doubt that states are always in competition in the international arena, sometimes in an orderly manner according to the rules of international regulation, and sometimes in a context of fierce and ruthless rivalry, in order to achieve their national interests.

There are two possible ways to achieve this:

1-Through what is called Hard power, i.e. a state's ability to influence the regional and/or international scene thanks to its military or economic power.

2-Through soft power, a concept formulated by Joseph S. Nye Jr. in the 1970s, which considers that states are not the only actors in international regulation and balances of power, but that there is also an increasingly central role for civil society, the media, well-known personalities, sport and culture in changing perceptions and opinions about a given country, idea or phenomenon.

Thanks to this soft power, a country that is limited or totally lacking in the dissuasive instruments of hard power because of its small geographic area, small population or small economic-military size can mitigate it through this "soft power", also known as "diplomacy of projection" or "diplomatie de rayonnement" (projection diplomacy). 

It is this second way that Qatar, the host country of the World Cup, the most popular event in the world, is now on everyone's lips. And thanks to Al Jazeera, Bein Sports, PSG, the World Cup and other levers of such power, this small country of barely three million inhabitants and 300,000 nationals is now enjoying an image envied by major powers that have not been able to develop the mechanisms of soft power. 

If we apply this perspective to Morocco, a country with few hard power tools, it is undeniable that the qualification of its national football team to the quarter-finals and its victory over countries at the top of the FIFA rankings such as Belgium and Spain has and will have very beneficial geopolitical and geostrategic consequences for its image on the international stage.

Having the team's picture and the country's name on the front page of the world's most prestigious newspapers and magazines is a priceless achievement. 

The impact of this image doping will encompass tourism, foreign investment and the country's international projection. Indeed, it is cheered by the entire Arab-Muslim world, the entire African continent, millions of citizens around the world, and hallelujah, by Palestinians and Israelis alike!

Thanks to their unpredictable feats, the Moroccan national team has shown that not only is "nothing is impossible" as we knew and used to say, but, as if to prove the point of the advertising of a brand of trainers that our eyes cross at every match of this World Cup, "impossible is nothing" as well, that is to say that the impossible can be ignored and treated on a level playing field. 

In his speech at this year's Ballon d'Or award ceremony, Karim Benzema said that it was the people's prize, that is to say, the prize of ordinary people, of "meritocracy" no more and no less.

The Moroccan national team, with an astute and affable national coach who took the reins of the national team just two months ago, and a squad of youngsters who look like something out of an Aladdin's fairy tale, coming from humble families, most of them the fruit of emigration, has proved and continues to prove twice as much as Karim said.

While it is true that Morocco has been investing for a decade and a half in infrastructure and training at football level, the fact of continuing to rely on foreign coaches only confirmed Sartre's quotation that confidence is gained in drops and lost in litres.

The titanic performance of the Moroccan national team in this World Cup is the exclusive fruit of the confidence placed in the national human resources, in a coach who knew how to treat with humility and humour, with love and mobilising respect, these children of the diaspora who are restoring hope to the Moroccan people and are making the country enjoy this incredible wave of international sympathy.

Let the good times roll, soft that I love you soft!

Mohamed Nouri, president of the Alcantara Spain-Morocco association