Does Soccer Still Explain the World?

Forget the $10,000 tickets and the travel bans and the fact that the last three World Cups have been hosted in Russia, Qatar, and Donald Trump’s United States—FIFA President Gianni Infantino is a romantic. “Football, or soccer, as it is called here, is the world’s universal language,” Infantino said in March. “It’s about hope. It’s about joy. It’s about happiness. It’s about coming together. It’s about uniting the world.”