When football matters (and when it doesn't)
Kylian Mbappé and the French national team reminds us that some things, like defeating far-right populism, are more important than football.
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On the eve of France’s opening match at the 2024 European Championship, Kylian Mbappé—captain of Les Bleus and one of the world’s top footballers—took his seat at the pre-match press conference and committed what many see as a cardinal sin: he expressed his political views.
“People say don’t mix football and politics but here we are talking about a situation that’s really important, more important than the game,” the 25-year-old star told the press-filled room.
Instead of fielding the expected questions about the challenges Austria pose to the French side, Mbappé instead spoke openly about the “dire” situation back home following president Emmanuel Macron’s shock announcement to call a snap parliamentary election after he was defeated in the European Union vote by Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) party.
The move thrust France into political upheaval, providing the far-right with a potential route to power. The looming threat moved Mbappé to speak out.
“Kylian Mbappé is against extreme views and against ideas that divide people,” Mbappé said. “I want to be proud to represent France, I don’t want to represent a country that doesn’t correspond to my values, or our values”.
On June 30, National Rally emerged as the winner of the first round of snap parliamentary polls, a result which Mbappé labeled “catastrophic.” He urged French youth to vote against the far right in the July 7 runoff, warning that the country could not be left "in the hands of these people".
Mbappé’s words earned the ire of France’s far-right leader, who claimed that the French were tired of being “lectured” by “billionaires who live abroad.”
"This tendency for actors, footballers and singers to come forward and tell French people how they should vote, and particularly people who earn 1,300 or 1,400 euros ($1,400-1,500) a month, while they are millionaires or even billionaires who live abroad, it's starting to be not well received in our country," Le Pen said ahead of the runoff election.
"French people are fed up with being lectured and advised on how to vote. This election is an election of emancipation in which the French people want to take back control of their destiny and vote as they see fit," she added.
Despite Le Pen’s confidence and National Rally’s projected lead, France’s left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) coalition won the most seats in the second round of parliamentary elections, finishing in first place ahead of Macron’s centrist party.
As the results filtered in, several of the French national team’s stars took to social media to celebrate with their fellow countrymen. Jules Kounde congratulated those who mobilized so that this beautiful country that is France does not find itself governed by the extreme right,” while Aurelien Tchouameni called the results a “victory of the people”.
Though National Rally (RN) didn’t secure the majority it was projected for in Sunday’s election, the party will still have sway in French parliament. After winning only eight seats in 2017, the party is projected to win between 132 and 152 seats.
Le Pen said that she saw “the seeds of tomorrow’s victory in today’s result” and that the National Rally’s victory had “merely been delayed”.
It is not an ideal situation. France now faces a period of political uncertainty as it navigates governing with a majority coalition while trying to keep persistent right-wing extremists at bay. However, Sunday’s runoff provided a glimmer of hope, reminding us that the resurgence of the far-right is not inevitable and that their brand of populism, rooted in fear mongering and xenophobia, is not unstoppable.
Nevertheless, France, along with its national team, have responded better to the spectre of the far right than some of its European neighbours, including Germany, which is currently hosting Euro 2024.
Last month, Germany’s far-right AfD party—infamous for its xenophobia and anti-migrant sentiments—defeated German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s centre-left SPD to second place in the European Parliament elections, underscoring the party’s growing popularity. Unlike Mbappé, none of Germany’s star players are sounding the alarm against far-right populism, which is somewhat surprising given that German defender Antonio Rüdiger—one of the national team’s radicalized players—has been the target of the far right supporters over the past few months.
Instead, the current discussion surrounding the German team involves newly retired Toni Kroos, who said that Germany’s influx of migrants was “too uncontrolled” during an appearance on a Spanish podcast. He also stated he planned to stay in Spain after retiring from Real Madrid because he did not think Germany was a safe place for his daughter.
“I think Germany is a great country and I’m happy to be here, but it’s not really the same country that it was 10 years ago when we left,” Kroos said on the Lanz & Precht podcast.
Kroos’ sentiments are a reflection of the changing socio-political dynamics in Germany and the growing resentment towards mass migration on the European continent.
And there are plenty of other examples of this in football. As I reported for Sports Politika last month, Europe’s most extreme football fans have also been spotted throughout the Euro 2024 tournament, united under anti-migrant and ultranationalist slogans.
Football can be a uniting force—a sport to celebrate diversity and foster empathy. It can also be a terribly divisive space where the most extreme elements of society find strength in numbers and unity through hate. Thus, it worth learning from Mbappé and the French national team, who remind us that some things—like defeating far-right populism—are more important than football.
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Kimmich & Naglesmann & i think Gundogan did make a clear response to that foolish survey by broadcaster ARD, asking if there should be more white players in the national team. noteworthy that — as far as i'm aware, casually following events in English — none of them brave enough to speak to the wider social and political climate the question and reaction springs from.
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/40255598/joshua-kimmich-slams-survey-calling-more-white-germany-players