ed Branding at the World Cup has been a much discussed topic of late. Its global audience is so great that any affiliation with the event is an enticing and much covetprospect. Past presidential involvement with the World Cup exemplifies the power of the association, cue a host of politicians lining up to exploit the event’s public appeal.
Take French President Nicolas Sarkozy, for example – he took it upon himself to exercise damage control following the French team’s disastrous campaign as he knew that the World Cup would be the perfect platform to show what a reliable and reasonable guy he really is. The French team’s 12 days in South Africa included a player being sent home, the team refusing to train and outbursts against the coach – lapped up by the media and the public alike.
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The England team have weathered the storm and are into the last 16 of the World Cup. As usual, certain characters have emerged from the team such as goal scorer Jermaine Defoe or manager Fabio Capello to take the spotlight and portray the ‘personality’ of the England team as a whole – a personality that may well be based on fact, or the manipulation of public feeling at the time. The success of Wednesday is cause for English celebration certainly, but one look at news headlines reveals a hyper-confidence generated by the press. The Guardian’s sports headline read ‘Mission Accomplished’ while the Telegraph stated ‘Bring On The Germans’ when in actual fact, the team played Slovenia and the result was only 1-0.
The promise of the forthcoming England vs. Germany match has ensured that the victory over Slovenia and the draws in the earlier group games are nothing but a hazy memory as the English press fill the public with promises – The Daily Express’ headline was ‘Land of Hope and Glory’. Forget the team’s inability to ease to the top of their group, the media – and therefore much of the public too – have a distinct tunnel vision for the final on July 11th. Read the rest of this entry »
England’s World Cup campaign has been turbulent to say the least. Think back to John Terry being stripped of his captaincy after revelations of adultery came to light several months ago. The team have suffered not only on the pitch but in the players’ handling of the media during the tournament.
Wayne Rooney highlighted the frustration with both his and the team’s performance with an outburst against the England supporters who had proceeded to boo the team after their match against Algeria. It was understandable for him to feel betrayed by his fans – the very people he was there to represent – but a derogatory outburst was not the way to vent those frustrations.
When journalists wave chequebooks around, anything is possible. John Terry would be just another testosterone-fuelled zip-challenged booter if it weren’t for one thing – the World Cup.
Suddenly, the entire self-respect of a nation hangs on the actions of one man. No, not Terry. Max Clifford. Strange how when nobody can make sense of a confused situation Max is always there to steer the media and the actual people involved through it all.
