Fergus Cassidy

Common goals

IF anyone was ever confused about what exactly is meant by the phrase 'game on', then last Wednesday's six o'clock news on RTE television serves as a most definitive illustration.

The announcement of the new leader of Fine Gael - potentially the next but one Taoiseach - was relegated to second place and would only have been bumped up to the top of the order if Enda Kenny had appeared wearing a kimono and declared his vision for Fine Gael in haiku. Even falling on his sword on live television wouldn't have worked, as his predecessor can heartily testify.

Short of India and Pakistan finishing the last lap of the nuclear arms race, nothing but nothing was going to compete with something that came off the top of Niall Quinn's head. Robbie Keane's deft steering of the ball past a man-mountain, blew away the moral victory comfort-blanket that previous generations of supporters had almost chewed away to nothing. This World Cup, at long last, has ushered in the era of the morale victory.

It takes special events like the World Cup and the Olympics to generate such depth of emotions. Global events where nations get to compete as equals with the best there is. The television audiences throughout the world get bigger and bigger, as the drip-drip of technology brings hazy images to people who must remain in the 19th century. Teams in the World Cup finals are still required to wear contrasting dark and light shirts to facilitate millions who can only view in black-and-white, if at all.

As the world struggles to come to terms with globalisation and its consequences for all of humanity, sport hasn't been immune. From qualifiers to final, a World Cup tournament is a fragile balance of politics and economics, that can and has in the past exploded into hostility and war.

Onside
The remarkable success of soccer - above all other games - to bring together peoples of very different backgrounds and cultures lies at the heart of the World Cup. Whether it's two stones for a goal and a tin can for a ball or Old Trafford and prawn sandwiches, doesn't seem to matter in the grand scheme of things. What lies at the heart of soccer, wherever and however it is played, is its simplicity.

There are only 17 laws governing play in soccer. Yet it is well on its way to becoming the universal game. There are no variations or tendencies within the global game. A handball offense in one country is no different in another country - with Argentina the exception that proves the rule.

While many an argument has raged over the interpretation of soccer laws, there is universal agreement that the 17 laws as they exist are fair and transparent. By its longevity and reach, soccer has demonstrated that its fundamental rules of play are clearly understood and accepted by those who play and/or watch.

Nation states whose identities were once primarily defined by geography, are grappling with an expansion to that identity that is starting to shift. In a world propelled by economic forces into globalisation, borders will be not just geographic.

For physical borders to mean what they traditionally meant, a nation must be able to exercise complete jurisdiction over all its affairs. Cross border relationships were maintained mainly with neighbouring countries out of mutual dependency. Out of this traditional meaning comes the importance of nationality and out of that comes identity.

Identity is at the crux of globalisation. The old, narrow and rigid focus of identity placed much emphasis on difference. Language. Religion. Nationality. Culture. All had a clear and recognisable set of characteristics that defined separateness and difference. As the decade progresses those old certainties and aspirations are giving way.

Jurisdiction now means that nations are realising that their inter-dependence can matter more than their difference. As communication technologies wrap around the globe, they bring with them the ability to move beyond physical borders. Economically through the wallet, culturally through the mind.

Friction
Dealing with these new realities is inescapable. Leaving aside some sand and a large hole, the growth and spread of the open market is bringing a singular economic system to global fruition. Ireland today, China tomorrow.

Technology has significantly shaped what the world has become. It has for centuries. Whether it was an abacus or a microchip. A sword or a pen. A fishing net or an internet.

Such has been the role of the internet in connecting jurisdictions together, that it is understandable that friction is beginning to appear. Friction between those who fear the consequences of a global network and those who fear that they won't be part of it.

Between those who own the nuts and those who own the bolts. Between the culture of intellectual property and the intellectual property of culture.

There is no organising committee for the internet. The twin global standards bodies of Isoc and Icann have both restructured and have moved decisively away from any form of governance model with its public policy implications.

The 12th annual conference of the Internet Society, taking place in Washington in ten days time, is titled 'Internet Crossroads: Where Technology and Policy Intersect'. The opening seminar documentation reads: "The internet is at a crossroads. In the next year or two, critical choices will be made about internet standards and internet policy that will shape the internet for years to come.

"INET 2002 will explore these choices, who is making them, and how the internet community can work together to ensure that cyberspace continues to be, a productive, exciting, diverse, and innovative place to be".

If sport, and soccer in particular, can demonstrate that it is possible - on some level - to agree on a set of international rules or laws which stand the tests of acceptance and time then, in the words of the Ireland manager Mick McCarthy last Wednesday, "it gives us a fighting chance".

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LINKS

The Laws of Soccer
The 17 laws, Including the infamous offside rule. link

Internet Society Conference 2002
The Internet Society is the umbrella group for the main internet standards bodies, notably the Internet Engineering Task Force. This site gives a detailed agenda for Inet 2002 which starts on 18 June in Washington DC. link