Havelange as Self-Mythologizer

Today we are joined by Luiz Guilherme Burlamaqui, author of The Making of Global FIFA: Cold War Politics and the Rise of João Havelange to the FIFA Presidency, 1950-1974 (De Gruyter, 2023). This book was previously published in Portuguese as A Dança das Cadeiras a eleição de João Havelange à presidenência da FIFA (1950-1974). In our conversation, we discussed João Havelange’s rise to FIFA’s presidency, how the FIFA leader crafted his own legacy, and the difficulties of publishing work in translation.

In The Making of Global FIFA, Burlamaqui argues that while Havelange was the FIFA president that signed the first deal with Coca Cola, his election was not a radical departure from “pure” football into commercialization. Far from a tale of British stiffness and Brazilian flexibility, Burlamaqui shows a longer and interconnected history of FIFA’s global expansion. Former FIFA president Stanley Rous was less conservative than critics alleged. Havelange was more conservative than many assumed, happy to work with entrenched forces across the political and sporting worlds.

Burlamaqui conducted extensive archival research in Brazil, the UK, and at FIFA and the IOC in Switzerland. His compelling argument demonstrates the contingency of Havelange’s rise. His success was tied intimately to the domestic politics of the military regime and diplomatic efforts of Brazil in the 1970s. He was also the beneficiary of global forces: the Cold War, decolonization, and the growing resistance to racial oppression. Unlike many other sports scholars, Burlamaqui also argues that what happened on the field mattered: Havelange relied on the field prowess of the seleção.

The book proceeds chronologically. The first chapter shines a new light on FIFA President Stanley Rous. Rous steered FIFA from the middle – between the conservatism of Swiss Ernst Thommen and the radicalism of the Yugoslavian Mihailo Andrejevic. Burlamaqui thus characterizes Rous’ tenure as setting the stage for Havelange’s globalization.

Chapters 2 and 3 offer biographical examinations of Havelange and situate his personal history into the broader story of Brazil and the globe. His rise in Brazil’s sportocracy was not simple: he served on both the Brazilian Olympic Committee and the Brazilian Sports Confederation. In the latter, he was heavily criticized for Brazil’s failure at the 1966 World Cup. Yet Havelange benefitted from the interplay between the Brazilian business and military communities during the military regime (1964-1985). In preparation for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, Havelange developed a “Mexico Plan” and gambled his success on a seleção victory. When the national team delivered and raised the Jules Rimet for the third time, Havelange cemented his position.

Chapter 4 is the crux of the book, where Burlamaqui shows how decolonization, ideas about development, and the myth of Brazilian racial equality intersected to make the Brazilain sportocrat a strong candidate for FIFA’s 1974 Presidential election. Havelange campaigned with the support of his allies at home and abroad. He sold a particular vision of Brazil: a model of developed decolonization that was charting a third path between the United States and the Soviet Union. He appealed especially to FIFA officials from the “Third World”, sending emissaries to Africa and Asia, and even allegedly helping to pay off some of their FIFA dues to win their votes.

In chapter 5, Burlamaqui explains who voted for Havelange. Havelange mobilized support from new FIFA countries, benefiting from the rise of China, the support of the communist bloc, and the disunity of Europe.

Burlamaqui’s deeply researched and convincing account opens new avenues for research into sports bureaucrats. The Making of Global FIFA: Cold War Politics and the Rise of João Havelange to the FIFA Presidency, 1950-1974 will be of interest to scholars interested in global football, FIFA, and sports diplomacy.

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