The sense of unity comes at a cost.

From an impromptu kick about in No Mans Land during World War 1, to friends coming together in pubs to watch their team battle for victory. There is a real sense of community when you go to a football match and sing your heart out as your favourite player scores.  

These days, a financial one.

Would you pay over 11,000 pounds for two hours entertainment? The answer is probably no, but that’s the average money the 80,000 people who watched this year’s World Cup final had to part with.  

Combine this with the cost of transport, hotels, food, pints – you’re looking at thousands of dollars per person. The result over time will be that only people with high disposable income can afford to attend football games. Soon, stadiums will not be filled with loyal life long fans who know every word to every chant, but influencers and celebrities. 

So has football become commercialised over competitive? And has passion become the sales of products?  

Dystopia can be defined as ‘an imagined state or society in which there is great suffering or injustice’. International football often exposes such ‘imagined’ issues deeply rooted in our society, from political to social to economic.

In my opinion, sport has increasingly become more dystopian in recent years, as it allows the rich to watch the rich and leaves others yearning for such opportunities, living in an ‘injustice’.  

The biggest irony of it all is that football has been a sport for everyone for centuries because of its affordability. A ball and an open space are enough for a child to dream of kicking the winning penalty at a World Cup.

For most, taking that kick is as likely as seeing it happen in real life because the drastic pricing makes this dream a luxury.  

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