FIFA symposium from 24 to 27/04/2013 on the impact of the World Cup

The social and political consequences of the organisation of the World Cup is the central theme of the FIFA-organised symposium, involving 19 experts from 10 counties, from the 24 to 27/04/2013 at FIFA's headquarters in Zurich (Switzerland)

Each of the 19 World Cups from 1930 to 2010 will be analysed in terms of their role as a vector of national identity, their media coverage and their importance for the development of football.

Round table discussions will focus on the three World Cups held before WW2, on the role of dictatorships and democracies in the history of the World Cup and the multiculturalism and commercialisation that have defined the past two decades.

Two academics, Professor Stefan Rinke (Berlin University) and Kay Schiller (Dresden and Durham) are the co-conveners of the symposium.

The event will be opened by FIFA President Sepp Blatter, followed by a keynote speech from David Goldblatt, author of ‘The Ball is Round: A Global History of Football’.