The Making of a Global FIFA

Cold War Politics and the Rise of João Havelange to the FIFA Presidency, 1950–1974

Luiz Burlamaqui, John Ellis-Guardiola

• Publisher: De Gruyter Oldenbourg
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9783110759686
• eBook ISBN: 9783110760040
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: 20th Century History
• Index: Social Sciences

In 1974, the Brazilian sports official João Havelange was elected FIFA's president in a two-round election, defeating the incumbent Stanley Rous. The story told by Havelange himself describes a private odyssey in which the protagonist crisscrosses two thirds of the world canvassing for votes and challenging the institutional status quo. For many scholars, Havelange's triumph changed FIFA's (International Federation of Football Association) identity, gradually turning it into a global and immensely wealthy institution. Conversely, the election can be analyzed as a historical event. It can be thought of as a political window by means of which the international dynamic of a specific moment in the Cold War can be perceived. In this regard, this book seeks to understand which actors were involved in the election, how the networks were shaped, and which political agents were directly engaged in the campaign.

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• List of abbreviations
• Foreword by Barbara J. Keys
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 English stiffness: a political history of FIFA during the long sixties, 1959 – 1971
• Chapter 2 The administrator: politics and ideology in the making of a social legacy (1916 – 1970)
• Chapter 3 “A Blonde Pelé”: business organization, political propaganda, and the 1970 World Cup
• Chapter 4 At the heart of the Brazilian miracle: casing and political propaganda in Havelange’s election as the president of FIFA (1971 – 1974)
• Chapter 5 The world that we had lost. FIFA political crisis and the making of a new international football order, 1971 – 1974
• Conclusion: a new international football order?
• Index