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Cheering for anyone other than Liverpool or England leaves me feeling like I’m having an affair. Football’s always played a huge part in my life and growing up on Merseyside in the 70’s and 80’s I saw more highs than lows .The power of football to inspire, incite or devastate is clear. The fans watching Brazil v Cote d’Ivoire will ride an emotional roller coaster as their teams slog it out today.

Many neutrals will be cheering for Brazil who’ve got it all – flair, charisma, beaches, weather, rhythm and a booming economy. Scratch the surface though and the inequalities are clear. A few years ago I was in Rio and ended up joining a community marching on the town hall because their favela’s water supply had been poisoned by an American chemical company. It was an amazing day. If only our protests in the UK were more like that. Oh, and they taught me to samba.

I’ve never been to Cote d’Ivoire but it looks like a pretty miserable place to live as reflected in their 4th place WSICF ranking. A win against Brazil won’t fix any of the country’s problems but it will give their people cause for celebration. So, in spite of Didier Drogba I’m cheering for The Elephants. Beating Brazil is a big challenge but miracles do happen as one did that night in Istanbul in 2005.

FIFA works hard to commoditise football and exploit ordinary people along the way. Nowhere is this more apparent than in South Africa with forced clearances and the introduction of draconian laws which make it look like the bad old days of apartheid never left.

Football can bring out the best and worst in fans and players. This quote from Bill Shankly, the footballing legend, is about football and about lives well lived. Let’s hope we see some of that spirit in South Africa over the next few weeks.

“The socialism I believe in is not really politics. It is a way of living. It is humanity. I believe the only way to live and to be truly successful is by collective effort, with everyone working for each other, everyone helping each other, and everyone having a share of the rewards at the end of the day.”

If you love football and hate poverty visit www.wdm.org.uk to join or donate to the World Development Movement and help us in our fight for justice for the world’s poor.

Posted in: Brazil, Brazil-Cote d'Ivoire, Cote d'Ivoire

Views expressed here are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of the World Development Movement.