As I went to bed last night, I celebrated the end of Ed Woodward’s Manchester United career. You might be wondering, “Woodward? Which position does he play?” Well, a pretty important position, just not on the pitch – never on the pitch. He was the executive vice chairman of the club for eight years and was also the investment banker who helped broker the sale of Manchester United to the current owners – the Glazer family – in an aggressive takeover amid wide-ranging opposition.
Why could they get away with it? They had money. That is all. However, with all six English clubs now backing out of the proposed European Super League (read more about it here), it seems to be a victory of the commoner over the elite. (I reacted it to this news with “Victory to the people! Vive la revolution!)
Just to recap: a bunch of rich white man and one Arab prince decided that they will band together to form a closed shop from where only they and they alone will take the profits. They decided, rather assumed, that all their employees and the supporters of the clubs they owned would just quietly go along with it. They did not expect what actually hit them.
Players, managers, pundits, broadcasters and fans in large numbers almost unanimously denounced this behaviour. They did not want what was created by the community, for the community, and was of the community to be usurped by the rich and powerful. They stood their ground and within 48 hours of sneakily announcing their multi-billion pound venture, the rich and powerful went back on it with their tail between their legs.
Just as with every other social issue, football has taken the lead. The rich and the powerful are few. The people, the ones who suffer, the ones who are oppressed, the ones who are exploited are many. We must take inspiration from this whole shameful saga in the world of football and follow suit in all areas of society. We must learn that fighting back is possible. We must learn that life isn’t just about making money and staying out of trouble. We must learn to react before we are the victims. We must empathise.
Racial discrimination, gender discrimination, economic exploitation, social disparities, the caste system... everything can be settled if a large enough number of people come together and say “No, we won’t let this happen.” The complete crumbling of the Super League in less time than a cricket test match shows that it is possible for the people to rise up and stop the power and cash-hungry from making assumptions and decisions for the rest of us.
Football is, and always will be, the people’s game. It does not belong to anyone and definitely not the Armani-clad ‘gentleman’ who sips tea in his faux-British dream world. It is for everyone who loves it. Just like football, there are many other things that we love: express our opinions in a safe space, fall in love with whoever we want, learn whatever we like and, of course, most importantly, not die on the streets.
All of these things can be sorted (as sometimes your weekends are). Perhaps not as quickly; perhaps the evils of the caste system will not crumble in 48 hours. But they can. Trust me.
Empathy is a rare virtue in this cynical world. However, as scientifically minded people, we must at least understand the calculations. We must understand that once a force has been set in motion it will only gain momentum and require an increasingly large force to stop it. So, while you might feel no need to do anything because things are not affecting you but a minority of people, know that when that same thing comes for you, it will be exponentially stronger. Also know that that ‘thing’ is none other than greed – for power, for money, for influence. You may counter with, “Oh, but everyone is greedy.” No, everyone is self-preserving. Every individual in the larger society knows they are being deprived. They could and should get more. They don’t because the few keep it for themselves.
The greed of the few cannot outweigh the needs of the many.
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