Throughout history, several dictators have used soccer/football to consolidate power and control over populations, including Mussolini in Italy, Franco in Spain, and Saddam Hussein in Iraq. The 1978 FIFA World Cup hosted by Argentina also saw the military dictatorship use the tournament to portray a positive public image, despite widespread torture and lack of freedoms occurring domestically. Some argue the championship results could have been fixed given the context of human rights abuses under the dictatorship at the time. Reflecting on Argentina's past with the World Cup is important to understand the present and future.

1. The FIFA World Cup: 1978
Shell and Core
Juliana Aguirre Bengoa – English Language II

2. Throughout the years, many dictatorships have used
football as a useful weapon to secure power and
control over their populations.
Italy
• Benito Mussolini, the
Fascist leader of Italy from
1925 to 1943, used the
second World Cup as a
platform to ensure his
domination.
Spain
• General Francisco Franco, of
Spain, saw soccer as a
political catalyst to bolster
control of his Fascist state,
gain prestige, and portray a
positive image to the world.
Before each match,
revolutionary chants of the
war, such as, “Arriba
España!” and “Viva Franco!”
were echoed throughout the
terraces.
Iraq
• Saddam Hussein took charge
of Iraq in 1980, using football
to earn the respect of those he
ruled.
Soccer and Dictatorships: A Love Story. http://worldsoccertalk.com/2012/04/04/soccer-and-dictatorships-a-love-story/

3. ARGENTINA, the host of joy and grief
The military in our country also abused of football to create an image to the
world that did not represent what was seen in the streets.
While many people were tortured and deprived from their freedom, the media
showed a cheerful citizenry celebrating the entertainment.
Un gol de la dictadura, http://www.espndeportes.com/news/story?id=1796492&s=futbol/mundiales&type=column

4. ARGENTINA, the host of joy and grief
As the title of this presentation shows, the film “Mundial de fútbol
Argentina 78, la película oficial” only represents an outside view of
the football event, objective and unattached to the calamity that
was taking place in Argentina; whereas “El mundial 78 – La historia
paralela” goes deep into the context of the World Cup, unmasking
the other side of the coin, where people lost not only their freedom
but their lives.

5. WORLD CHAMPION?
Mundial 78 – Fútbol y Dictadura https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVU3xmI5ewg
In what sense were we world champions? What was
it that we won when fear was around and people
were dying? To what extent human rights can be
violated?
How can we know the championship was not
fixed? Is an achievement in a World Cup enough to
shut our mouths and forget?
These questions should not disappear with all those people
who suffered so much. We must reflect on our past to
determine our present and future.

6. WORLD CHAMPION?
Mundial 78 – Fútbol y Dictadura https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVU3xmI5ewg
In what sense were we world champions? What was
it that we won when fear was around and people
were dying? To what extent human rights can be
violated?
How can we know the championship was not
fixed? Is an achievement in a World Cup enough to
shut our mouths and forget?
These questions should not disappear with all those people
who suffered so much. We must reflect on our past to
determine our present and future.