Apart from Shakira’s blockbuster “Waka Waka” or the mesmerising display of footballing skills on the fields, the South Africa FIFA World Cup has plenty more to offer – even perhaps for social scientists studying the mystifying notion of nationalism. Watching the different levels as well as sources of motivation of the teams from the different continents should already indicate a pattern. In a nutshell, as all followers of the World Cup would have noticed, there are teams which take immense pride in donning the colours of their national teams and play like the fortunes of their nations rested on their shoulders, and there are (or more appropriately “were” at this stage) also star-studded teams which at best could put up half-hearted and lack lustre performances. Most of the latter have been dispatched home even before the tournament entered the final knockout rounds, and deservedly so too. It is also interesting that in this latter class are the European core of advanced nations. Former world champions France and reigning world champions Italy could not even make it past the league rounds, and returned home disgraced. Football powerhouse England put up a pitiable performance, although they had the most number of who are now popularly referred to as football millionaires. Their stars and those of others from this class of teams simply refused to shine. As many expert football commentators on TV were of the opinion they seemed more interested in playing for their clubs which pay them astronomical salaries, then for their nation on the sole incentive of “national pride”. This “national pride” simply has ceased to be intoxicating. Large egos and fat salaries have made sure of this.

Equally interesting is the fact that this is not so with those teams from the developing world of South America and Africa, as well as nations from Asia. While South America, another traditional repository of footballing talents, is still strongly represented especially by Brazil and Argentina, but also by Paraguay and Uruguay at the quarterfinals stage, Asia is out with Japan’s exit yesterday and there is only Ghana remaining to take the African continent’s hope forward. Even within Europe, the Latin countries of Portugal and Spain play with much greater levels of motivations and pride in their nationality. Spain remains a strong contender for the cup. Core Europe too has still not been totally sold out, with young Germany and Netherlands still in the race. If they are able to revive the tactical, methodical impenetrable games that they are known for, they could still turn popular predictions on their heads. They could even prove to be the nemesis for the flair of the South Americans and their Latin neighbours.

The intriguing question is, why has this come to be this way? One is reminded of the 1992 classic by Francis Fukuyama “End of History and the Last Man”. Although Fukuyama wrote of the victory of the Capitalist market economy over authoritarian Communism and considered this event to be the pinnacle of history leaving no room for further quantum leaps of historical progress, there are many observations which are relevant in the emerging pattern of motivation even the FIFA World Cup. If events of the late 20th Century marked by the collapse of Communism has meant the end of history, the man at the pinnacle of history would also have no further need for nationalism to fire him, but would be content worshipping the new God in the radically new paradigm of history represented by the Capitalist market phenomenon. Is this then what we are witnessing in the South Africa FIFA World Cup? Is Fukuyama’s controversial theory being authenticated in a different arena? True the USA is emerging as a new force in the football world although the country would belong to the category where history has ended and the last man had arrived. But perhaps it is the incentive structuring which made the difference. For making it to the last 16, each of the players would be receiving close to a million dollars each as rewards. Moreover, it is said post 9/11, there is a revival and upsurge of neo-nationalistic sentiments in America. From all this then, it would seem that nationalism and thin air remain enough incentives to fire the thirst for glory only amongst football teams from developing nations. Not anymore in nations where the market has replaced all remnants of nationalistic aspirations. Perhaps the greater loser in the end will be the beautiful game of football.