Document Type
Article
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Sport, Ethics and Philosophy
Author ORCID Identifier
Francisco Javier López Frías https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7278-7656
Volume
20
Issue
2
Publisher
Taylor & Francis
Publication Date
3-23-2026
Journal Article Version
Accepted Manuscript
First Page
209
Last Page
215
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Abstract
2026 is set apart in soccer fans’ calendars worldwide for the celebration of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) Men’s World Cup, reportedly the most-watched sporting event in the world (Richter 2022). In Soccer in sun and shadow, one of the most captivating and influential books on the sport, Uruguayan anti-capitalist intellectual Eduardo Galeano confesses: ‘On the first day of the World Cup, I hung a sign on the door of my house that said: “Closed for soccer.”’ (2013, 269). Afterward, he would delight football fans and intellectuals with his famous ‘story windows’, as he called them, reviewing the most remarkable aspects of the event and its history (Todaro 2018). Undoubtedly, many sport philosophers will follow suit, which, as the editor of Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, I greatly celebrate, for I look forward to a great series of soccer-centered articles that some readers will most probably write after emerging back to the ‘real’ world from watching and reflecting on the widely anticipated tournament. As preparation for this cascade of manuscripts (and perhaps to incentivize philosophical examination), the present issue is devoted to both the upcoming mega sporting event and the beautiful game, identifying, in the spirit of Galeano, their lights and darknesses. The negatives, I rehearse through a vignette that (however imperfectly) emulates the Uruguayan writer’s famous story windows on World Cup editions from 1930 to 2010. The positives, I present in more formal scholarly prose. This blend of conventional and unconventional narrative modes anticipates the character of this World Cup-themed issue, which comprises traditional academic articles and a book symposium alongside more eclectic contributions, such as an interview, an expert’s reasoned opinion essay, and a point-counterpoint exchange.
Recommended Citation
Lopez Frías, F. J. (2026). Soccer’s darkness and lights: the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup amid global politics and organizational interests. Sport, Ethics and Philosophy, 20(2), 209–215. https://doi.org/10.1080/17511321.2026.2648911
Comments
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Sport, Ethics and Philosophy on 23 March 2026, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/17511321.2026.2648911.