The Football World Cup cannot be reduced to a mere sporting competition. It is also a cultural resource and a site of social meaning-making.
In recent years, particularly during World Cup seasons, social media platforms and public discussions in Bangladesh have frequently featured comments describing the FIFA World Cup as a “waste of money,” “22 people chasing a ball,” or simply an “unnecessary frenzy.” Whether one agrees or disagrees with such remarks is not the main concern here. Rather, the question is how far these assessments can capture the event’s social and cultural significance. Is the Football World Cup merely an expensive sporting spectacle, or does it carry deeper symbolic, cultural, and social meanings? With these questions in mind, it may be useful to examine the issue through the ideas of the philosopher Gilbert Ryle and the anthropologist Clifford Geertz, particularly the concept of Thick Description.
How Do We Understand Human Behaviour?
One of the fundamental challenges in understanding human behaviour is determining the relationship between observable behaviour and the meanings embedded within it. Some people laugh, some cry, some take to the streets carrying flags, some stay awake all night watching football matches, some paint their houses in the colours of their favourite teams, while others even sell land to produce a 500-foot-long flag. From the outside, we can easily observe these actions and offer various comments. However, understanding why people engage in such practices, what meanings they find in them, and the social and cultural contexts in which these actions take place is often far more complex. Before turning to our central question, it is worth briefly discussing why this complexity exists.
One of anthropology’s most significant contributions is the idea that understanding people requires more than simply observing their visible actions. It also requires an understanding of the world of meanings that lies behind those actions. Closely related to this perspective is the concept of “Thick Description.” Anthropologist Clifford Geertz placed this idea at the centre of anthropological inquiry in his influential book The Interpretation of Cultures. However, its philosophical foundations can be traced, to a considerable extent, to the work of the British philosopher Gilbert Ryle.
Those who explain football merely as “22 people chasing a ball” or dismiss it as nothing more than irrational enthusiasm while completely ignoring its cultural and symbolic dimensions may be engaging in a form of conceptual reductionism. In some cases, their interpretation may even resemble a category mistake. They appear to evaluate football exclusively within the logical category of a physical activity, whereas football simultaneously belongs to a broader cultural and symbolic framework.
Ryle, Geertz, and the Moroccan Case
A classic example offered by Ryle is the distinction between a blink and a wink. Physically, the two actions may appear identical, yet their social meanings are entirely different. The former is an involuntary physiological response, while the latter is an intentional social signal. This example demonstrates that the interpretation of human behaviour cannot rely solely on physical description. Rather, it depends on contextual meaning-making. Geertz extended this insight into the field of anthropological analysis. According to him, culture consists of “webs of significance” that human beings themselves have spun and within which they live. From this perspective, the central task of anthropology is to interpret these webs of meaning rather than merely catalogue observable behaviours. To illustrate this point, Geertz refers to an incident from Morocco that has become a classic example of Thick Description. I will recount the episode in some detail.
At the centre of the story was a Jewish merchant named Cohen. He conducted business in a region of Morocco during a period when French colonial rule had already been established, yet local tribal relations remained deeply influential. Although French law formally governed the territory, everyday life remained largely shaped by local customs, tribal affiliations, and systems of mutual obligation.
One night, two Jewish traders arrived at Cohen’s shop to conduct business. That same night, several men from a neighbouring tribe attempted to enter the shop. Cohen fired his gun as a warning, causing them to flee. However, they returned the following night. This time, one of them approached the door disguised as a woman. Although Cohen was suspicious, his guests did not consider the matter serious. As soon as the door was opened, a group of armed raiders rushed inside. They killed the two visiting merchants and also planned to kill Cohen. He managed to escape with his life and later reported the incident to a local French official, demanding compensation for his losses. Yet the story did not end there.
Within local social customs, there existed a form of compensation known as ‘ar. There was also a protective relationship called mezrag, through which an individual could place himself under the protection of a tribal chief. Although the French administration had formally outlawed such arrangements, they continued to function as meaningful and effective institutions in the eyes of local people. Consequently, Cohen gathered his tribal protector and a number of armed Berber warriors and travelled to the territory of the tribe whose members had been involved in the raid. There, they seized a flock of sheep belonging to the opposing tribe. After lengthy negotiations, the two sides reached an agreement. As compensation, Cohen was awarded five hundred sheep.
The scene was almost theatrical. Standing in the vast open landscape among thousands of sheep, Cohen personally selected the finest animals as compensation for his losses. From the perspective of local social customs, this was a legitimate process through which justice was being served. Yet the story does not end there. When Cohen returned with the sheep, the French authorities arrested him. They could not believe that he had legitimately obtained compensation through local customary practices. Instead, they suspected him of being an accomplice or spy of a rebellious tribe. The sheep were confiscated, and Cohen himself became the target of official suspicion.
If we present this incident simply as a chain of cause and effect, it appears to be little more than a straightforward story of crime and compensation. In Geertz’s terms, however, such an account would constitute a “Thin Description.” It captures the external structure of behaviour but leaves out its deeper layers of meaning. Suppose I were to summarise the entire episode in a single sentence. I could say that a merchant was robbed, later secured compensation for his losses, and then found himself in trouble with the authorities. Geertz, however, would likely object to such a description because it is overly linear and reductive. The real question, he would argue, is what this event meant to the people involved.
For Cohen, it was a matter of restoring a legitimate right. For the local Berber tribe, it concerned social obligation and the preservation of honour. For the French administration, it represented an unlawful and suspicious act. The same event thus carried three different meanings. It is precisely here that we can locate the analytical power and relevance of Thick Description.
Football, Identity, and Meaning
I believe this idea remains highly relevant for understanding contemporary Bangladesh as well. Consider the Football World Cup. During the tournament, millions of Bangladeshis stay awake through the night to watch matches. Some raise Argentine flags on their rooftops. Others wear Brazilian jerseys and ride through the streets in groups on motorcycles. Many engage in passionate debates with friends about the game, while others celebrate victories with processions and public gatherings. Some observers may view these activities as irrational enthusiasm. They may ask why people waste so much time on football or argue that the money spent on organising the World Cup would be better used to feed those in need.
Such comments reflect a perspective that largely confines the event to its visible and external features. In doing so, they overlook many of the cultural and symbolic dimensions that Geertz’s concept of Thick Description seeks to illuminate. The focus remains on observable actions such as watching football, celebrating victories, or spending money, from which a simple explanation is constructed. It is worth noting that the term “Thin Description” is used here in line with Geertz’s conceptual framework. It refers to a mode of explanation that remains confined to observable behaviour. It is not an independent analytical method in itself. Rather, it serves as a reference point for a descriptive tendency that remains largely detached from questions of meaning.
As I was saying, such simplified explanations leave unanswered the very questions that reveal the significance behind human actions. Why do people watch football? Why does a single goal have the power to move millions of people emotionally at the same time? Why does support for a particular team become, for many individuals, a part of their identity, memories, friendships, or childhood experiences? Without engaging with these questions, it becomes difficult to grasp the full cultural significance of the phenomenon.
Viewed through the lens of Thick Description, football is not merely a physical event in which 22 people run after a ball. It is a language of emotion, a site of symbolic construction, and a medium through which collective experiences are created. It is also a social arena where identity, friendship, rivalry, hope, disappointment, and joy are shared and expressed. In many societies, football is far more than a game. It serves as an important space for the construction of collective identity, national imagination, and symbolic solidarity.
In tournaments such as the World Cup, the success of a national team often elevates players to symbolic representatives of the nation. Figures such as Pelé, Diego Maradona, and Lionel Messi are therefore not regarded merely as athletes. For many people, they become symbols of national pride, aspiration, and possibility.
The emotional attachment that many Bangladeshis feel towards Argentina or Brazil may likewise be understood as a form of imagined cultural affiliation. Through symbols, historical narratives, celebrated players, and the influence of mass media, people develop a sense of connection to an imagined emotional community despite having no direct national membership within it. At the same time, this attachment is shaped by the forces of global capitalism and the dominance of multinational media networks. There is also a more unfortunate side to this phenomenon. Rather than investing sustained effort in improving our own football culture or giving greater attention to domestic football, our footballing aspirations have increasingly come to depend on a distant world beyond our own.
Similarly, during periods of economic uncertainty, political instability, or social crisis, football can acquire even greater significance. For many people, an important victory is not simply a matter of entertainment or momentary pleasure. It can serve as a source of collective hope, confidence, and psychological strength. Consider Argentina in the aftermath of the 1982 Falklands War and the severe economic difficulties that followed. For many ordinary Argentines, the country’s World Cup triumph in 1986 under the leadership of Diego Maradona was more than a sporting achievement. It became a symbolic means of restoring national confidence and reaffirming a sense of collective capability.
In this sense, football may be understood not only as a sporting competition but also as a cultural resource and a site of social meaning-making. Thick Description directs our attention precisely toward these multiple layers of significance. Yet acknowledging football’s cultural importance does not exhaust the subject. Football may function as a cultural resource, but it can also operate as a commodity, a tool of political mobilisation, or a field shaped by corporate interests. In other words, the social meanings of football are multiple and, at times, even contradictory.
When Thinking Goes Wrong: The Category Mistake in Football
At this point, Gilbert Ryle’s concept of “Category Mistake” is also highly relevant. A category mistake refers to a form of conceptual confusion in which an object, idea, or phenomenon is mistakenly placed in a logical category to which it does not belong. The British philosopher Gilbert Ryle introduced and elaborated on this concept in the opening chapters of his book The Concept of Mind (1949). He later used it as one of his principal arguments in criticising Cartesian dualism. Ryle provided several examples to illustrate the idea. In his discussion, he used an example centred on Oxford University. For convenience, I will adapt that example to the University of Dhaka context.
Imagine that a foreign visitor is taken on a tour of the university. They are shown the Faculty of Arts Building, the Faculty of Science, the Central Library, TSC, and the residential halls. After seeing all these places, the visitor asks, “I have seen all these buildings, but where is the University of Dhaka itself?” In doing so, the visitor commits a category mistake. The University of Dhaka is not another separate object existing alongside those buildings. Rather, the university is the organised whole constituted by these institutions, buildings, people, relationships, and activities. According to Ryle, many philosophical confusions originate from precisely this kind of category mistake.
Those who explain football merely as “22 people chasing a ball” or dismiss it as nothing more than irrational enthusiasm while completely ignoring its cultural and symbolic dimensions may be engaging in a form of conceptual reductionism. In some cases, their interpretation may even resemble a category mistake. They appear to evaluate football exclusively within the logical category of a physical activity, whereas football simultaneously belongs to a broader cultural and symbolic framework.
The situation is somewhat similar to that of the foreign visitor who, after being shown every building of the university, continues to search for a separate and visible object called “the university.” Just as a university is not reducible to its physical structures but consists of a complex social institution formed through rules, relationships, practices, and shared meanings, football cannot be reduced to the physical actions of 22 players on a field. It is a world composed of symbols, emotions, memories, identities, spectators, media representations, and social relationships.
Viewed from this perspective, reducing football to merely a game or a financial expense may itself constitute a category mistake. By focusing exclusively on one dimension of the phenomenon, such an interpretation overlooks the broader cultural and symbolic framework within which football acquires its social meaning.
The Economic and Critical Dimensions of the World Cup
From an economic perspective as well, the issue can be understood similarly. If the cost of hosting the World Cup is viewed only as “waste,” an important part of its economic circulation, employment generation, and infrastructural impact becomes invisible. Stadium construction, road and transport infrastructure development, tourism, the hotel industry, security systems, broadcast technology, advertising, marketing, and small-scale businesses are all linked to the employment, income, and investment of millions of people.
Seen in this light, the World Cup cannot be reduced simply to a game or a single category of expenditure. Doing so conceals its multi-layered social and economic reality. Money does not simply disappear here. Rather, it circulates across different sectors of society, creates new job opportunities, and becomes intertwined with the livelihoods of many people. This does not mean, however, that every World Cup is equally successful or equally just in economic terms. How these benefits are distributed and who ultimately gains from their long-term effects also remain important areas of inquiry.
Of course, any large-scale sporting event, including the World Cup, can and should be subject to critical evaluation. We can develop analyses grounded in the philosophy, economics, and politics of sport. This is itself an important intellectual task. However, to reduce such events simply to “a waste of money” is to capture only a very limited aspect of reality.
At the same time, we must remain aware that the emotions surrounding sport can sometimes take the form of violence, abusive behaviour, or extreme reactions. In recent times, football-related tensions have led to conflicts within educational institutions and public spaces. In this sense, Thick Description is not only an invitation to understanding; it also demands critical awareness.
To understand a cultural phenomenon does not mean placing it beyond criticism. Rather, it requires ensuring that no form of emotional attachment turns into aggressive nationalism or hatred, and that the global celebration of sport does not obscure important social, political, or economic questions. Not everyone is expected to speak equally on every issue, and that is natural. But I believe that, as a whole, we need a perspective capable of understanding celebration while at the same time not turning away from the questions raised by different layers of social reality.
Perhaps it is here that the real lesson of Thick Description becomes most evident. It teaches us that in order to understand any social phenomenon, we must move beyond its visible form. What people are doing is important, but even more significant is the meanings they construct through those actions.
Taken together, we may say that dismissing a large-scale event such as the World Cup simply as “waste” is misleading, just as it would be equally problematic to place it beyond criticism. At the same time, in economic analysis, the question of opportunity cost remains important. One must also consider what alternative outcomes might have been possible if the same resources had been invested elsewhere. Therefore, one of the most important questions may be the following: what are the social, economic, and political costs of such events, who bears these costs, who benefits from them, and how can they be managed in a more just and accountable manner?
Ultimately, the question is perhaps no longer simply “Is the Football World Cup a waste?” Rather, the question becomes: what meanings do people find in such events, what kinds of social relations are produced through them, what economic and political structures operate within them, and how can we understand all these dimensions together in order to develop a more balanced perspective?
In this sense, drawing on the theoretical insights of Ryle and Geertz, I propose that we move beyond the binary opposition of “waste versus utility” when analysing global events such as the Football World Cup. Instead, we should situate them within their broader cultural, economic, and political contexts. This, I believe, may be considered a more adequate and methodologically sound position.
Reference
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Clifford, J., & Marcus, G. E. (1986). Writing culture: The poetics and politics of ethnography. University of California Press.
Geertz, C. (1973). The interpretation of cultures: Selected essays. Basic Books.
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Maradona, D. A. (2004). El Diego: The autobiography of the world’s greatest footballer (M. M. Y. Araujo, Trans.). Yellow Jersey Press. (Original work published 2000)
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