Europe’s politics and football at fever pitch

It’s a summer of politics and football in Europe. The UEFA European Football Championship 2024 (Euros 2024) is concluding after a month of thrills, with some unexpected results like the modestly ranked Georgia beating heavyweights Portugal in the tournament’s group stage. Meanwhile, Europe has been gripped by election fever, with June’s European parliament elections followed by the general elections in the UK and France also bringing along political twists and turns.

While some may see politics and football as separate spheres, there have been some notable intersections between the two on the old continent: On one hand, football has been instrumentalised by politicians, and on the other hand, football has been an arena for political messaging.

Those following the Portugal v Slovenia Euros match on 1 July were stunned when Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty against Slovenia and burst into floods of tears. But when the match progressed into a penalty shootout, it was Ronaldo who took the first penalty shot.

Football commentators were quick to praise the Portugal team captain’s courage in the face of adversity, while social media saw a flurry of posts about Ronaldo’s show of character, resilience, and responsibility. Public debate about Ronaldo’s penalty rollercoaster became a metaphor for discussion on leadership. The matter of political leadership has loomed large in Europe over the past few weeks.

Politics-football parallels

Politics-football parallels were not lost on the UK’s political rivals Sir Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party, and former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, leader of the Conservative Party, in the run-up to the 4 July UK general election. Both made references to football while on the campaign trail. To affirm his relatability to the average citizen, Starmer said that he enjoys playing football and supports Arsenal football club, and held rallies in a number of smaller football club grounds across the country.

As numerous opinion polls began to predict a big loss for the Conservative Party in the election, Sunak used England’s 30 June win against Slovakia in the Euros to make a statement about his party’s steadfastness. Following the match, in which England were initially down but transformed their luck late in the game, Sunak posted on X (formerly Twitter) a photo of himself surrounded by staff as they all cheered, with England’s St George’s flag in the background, captioning the photo, “It’s not over until it’s over”.

His post quickly attracted replies reminding him of his failed attempt at presenting himself as a man of the people during a trip to Wales back in May, when he visited a pub and asked the crowd there if they were “looking forward to all the football” in the Euros, only for them to remind him that Wales did not qualify for the tournament. This incident exemplified a broader and more concerning issue: the disconnect between the leader and the wider population. This disconnect played a significant role in the spectacular defeat of the Conservatives in the general election.

Britain invented football. Among all sports, football can be regarded as the country’s national sport. Incidents like the one in Wales inadvertently and cumulatively painted an image of a leader out of touch with the people he is supposed to represent and symbolised a broader failure to connect with the electorate on a personal and cultural level.

This helped erode public trust and confidence in his leadership, contributing to the broader narrative of disconnection that plagued the Conservative Party. The disconnect was exacerbated by the perception of elitism within the Conservative leadership. Sunak, with his background in finance and privileged upbringing, struggled to shake off the image of being an out-of-touch elite. Analysis of voting patterns revealed that many former Conservative strongholds swung towards opposition parties, driven by a desire for leaders who seemed more attuned to their needs and aspirations.