here 11 years ago from Mexico. Yousef*, from Kuwait, has
been playing with this association for about 15 years.
Many of the guys have been playing together for more
than 10 years, but there are several relative newcomers. Kofi
(from Ghana) says he has been playing with the group for
three or four years now. Haf (from Iceland) has been playing
for two years, but very irregularly due to work and injuries.
Bernie (German-U.S.) has been playing for a few years, and
began bringing his teenage son Matthias about a year ago.
Some guys — like Mo, aka Mohammad Afshar, an
energetic restaurateur from Iran — are twice my age, while
others, like Matthias Donner, make me feel old. It’s an
interesting mix of humanity.
Regardless of the diverse ages, professions and nation-
alities, organic soccer lets everyone play like carefree chil-
dren. Haf says playing allows him to savor the final drops of
his youth, like a fine wine. That’s the beauty of organic
soccer; it allows us to recover or renew our energetic and
expressive youthfulness, whereas “the technocracy of pro-
fessional sport,” as Galeano lamented, “has managed to
impose a soccer of lightning speed and brute strength, a
soccer that negates joy, kills fantasy and outlaws daring.”
Galeano’s affectionate reference to soccer games as
“fiestas of communication” seems relevant — today, most
guys communicate in English, though some speak Farsi or
Spanish, and they all speak some version of soccer.
Despite soccer’s distinct dialects and infinite idiolects,
the universal simplicity of its underlying grammar makes
the game a uniquely inclusive and adhesive language in an
unsettlingly divisive society.
And while the grammar may be simple, soccer has
MOHAMMAD AFSHAR
infinite potential for creative expression — or at least
untainted organic soccer does. But even formal competi-
tive soccer usually escapes the coach-imposed authoritari-
anism of many other sports.
Once a game begins, even if a team has a clearly defined
plan, unforeseen circumstances and useful observations
constantly require spontaneous strategizing amongst team-
mates. Soccer fields are some of the most fertile grounds for
the cultivation of important interpersonal skills. Philosopher
Albert Camus is oft-quoted as having said that what he
knows “most surely about morality and the duty of man” he
owes to playing soccer in Algeria in the 1920s.
Reza moved to Eugene from Los Angeles about 12 years
ago, but he’s originally from Iran. “Soccer wasn’t really my
thing,” he explains, “but the fact these guys are playing and
it’s a really good environment, now this is probably the only
fun thing I do. Otherwise it’s all work and family.”
Having witnessed Reza play the game with confidence,
grace and imagination, it’s hard to believe soccer wasn’t
always his thing, but I can tell he speaks sincerely about his
affection for this association.
“For many of us, this is the only exercise we get, but
there’s the social aspect too,” Reza says. “Sometimes we
go for tea or drinks after we play. There’s a real caring for
the group. We are people from all walks of life. We have a
dentist, a doctor, professors, business owners, students, all
sorts. It’s good fun.”
Indeed, it is good healthy organic soccer fun. ■
* Due to the organic nature of the sport, participants often don’t know
each other’s last names, let alone use them, thus some participants
are referred to by first name only in this story.
BEN TORKORNOH
MATTHIAS DONNER
FIFA GETS
RED-CARDED
The world of organized soccer has seen
some interesting, perhaps encouraging, but
sadly not surprising events lately.
Quite unlike Eugene’s informal, organic
association of soccer-playing members, there
is an infamous association of soccer-
promoting national organizations and
continental federations — FIFA (Fédération
Internationale de Football Association), which
control the world’s most popular sporting
event — the FIFA World Cup — as well as
several less popular (and less profitable)
soccer tournaments. Rather than promoting
soccer and its positive qualities, however, FIFA
for far too long has been prostituting the
people’s passion in pursuit of profit and power.
Even before these recent charges were
announced, nobody doubted that the
corruption of FIFA is systemic.
Following a wave of corruption scandals in
2010, FIFA invited Transparency International
(TI) to advise it on reform initiatives. In its
2011 report with reform recommendations, TI
explained that “FIFA is answerable to the 208
national football associations who
themselves are partly dependent on the
funds that FIFA allocates to them. This lack of
mandatory accountability to the outside world
make it unlikely that change will come either
from within the organization or from the
grassroots of the football organisations …”
So far, the U.S. Department of Justice has
brought charges against nine FIFA officials
and five businessmen, though more
investigations and charges are expected
from the U.S. government as well as from
Swiss, Brazilian and Argentine authorities.
These recent and expected law
enforcement actions are very encouraging.
What is not encouraging is the fact that, just
days after the announcement of the
indictments, Blatter was re-elected for his
fifth term as FIFA president. Despite having
the votes, in an unexpected twist, Blatter
resigned amid scandal allegations June 2.
— Killian Doherty
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