Abdullatif Al-Duwaihi

The World Cup: A Competition of Teams or Global Narratives?

July 14, 2026 - 00:01 | Last updated July 14, 2026 - 00:01

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The starting whistle in the World Cup no longer just signifies the beginning of a football match; it now represents the start of ninety minutes of competition for global attention.

On the field, two teams compete, while off the field, countries, cultures, identities, mental images, and complete national narratives compete for a precious limited time in the world's consciousness.

So, is the World Cup still just a football tournament? Or has it transformed into the largest and most important global platform for redistributing symbolic power among nations and peoples?

There is an emerging power that is difficult to list in military budgets or financial statements, yet it is highly influential: the power of impression management. For a country to capture global attention, pique curiosity, lead millions to search for its name, location, culture, and history, and become associated in the global imagination with a specific story, value, or achievement—all while presenting or reintroducing itself to populations that knew little about it—is not just a sporting result; it is a strategic gain in the global attention market.

So, who wins space in the world's imagination?

The symbolic power of any state begins the moment it becomes present in the minds of others. Some countries do not require long explanations to evoke an image, value, or narrative in our minds; merely mentioning their name triggers an entire network of impressions, images, and meanings. This network was not formed by coincidence.

Global sports platforms have truly become the shortest path to building part of one's 'symbolic capital' in the era of what is known as the 'attention economy.' A single goal in a match makes millions speak a country's name for the first time, and a player's celebration rooted in their culture can turn into a global visual phenomenon.

A jersey, a color, a folk dance, a fan movement, or a player's story can become a gateway through which the world enters the identity of an entire people. Hence, teams are not playing alone in the World Cup; nations are playing too. The team competes for the score, but the state competes for content and narrative. The player looks for the goal, while national institutions look for a window into global consciousness. The coach draws up a plan for ninety minutes, but is anyone creating the state's plan to capitalize on those ninety minutes narratively?

The World Cup is the world's largest 'attention room,' serving as an exceptional strategic state of intensifying and focusing global awareness. In a short, unrepeatable timeframe, we must know: what do we want the world to know about us? What is the story we want told about our country? What is the value we want associated with our country and people? What image do we want to remain in the minds of the masses after the team exits, and what words do we want international media to use in describing our nation?

These questions do not concern the coach or the football federation; they are directed to the institution responsible for establishing, maintaining, and refining narratives about the state and its people. Therefore, one can say with confidence: 'You may lose the match and win the world!' Conversely, a team might deliver an amazing performance, but its state institutions fail to convert that success into a sustainable national asset. Herein lies the difference between an event and capitalizing on an event.

When a team achieves a global surprise, a very short window of inquiry from the world opens. Therefore, national narratives are not written after the match; they must be ready before the starting whistle. Were our narratives for our Arab teams ready in the last World Cup, and why? Did we succeed in presenting ourselves? Which of our nations managed to turn the sporting participation into a national story? Who prepared the human, cultural, and tourism stories in advance? Who prepared the 'narrative players,' not just sports stars? Players may create a historical moment, but official institutions often settle for mere congratulations, rebroadcasting goals, and repeating phrases of pride.

Here, specifically, is where the narrative must begin. Is this the responsibility of the ministries of information?

Perhaps it is time to admit that managing national image and international narratives has become too complex to be just an 'information task' in the traditional sense. The Ministry of Information may manage media policies, the Ministry of Tourism promotes destinations, the Ministry of Culture provides cultural components and products, the sports federation manages the team, and diplomatic missions move within their scope.

But who integrates all of this into a single national narrative, diagnoses the state's mental image in the world, monitors the shifts in this image, and identifies the gap between reality and how others perceive us?

Who builds the national narrative bank, determines the appropriate narrative for each country, people, platform, and situation, prepares the state for fleeting moments of attention, and intervenes when a sporting, cultural, or political event grants the state a unique global window?

The need is becoming clearer every day for a professional national agency for narratives, mental imagery, and symbolic power. It should not be a propaganda machine, a slogan factory, or a PR department, but a multidisciplinary strategic center staffed by experts in media, politics, sociology, behavioral psychology, data science, culture, history, linguistics, and artificial intelligence. It would study the country's position in global consciousness, diagnose its narratives, build and maintain them, test their cross-cultural effectiveness, monitor counter-narratives, and measure the impact of all this with scientific indicators.

I believe we need a narrative operations room that works before the World Cup and before every significant global, regional, or local event. It should study countries, media markets, search trends, audience interests, and existing stereotypes about the state. It should take on the task of building dozens of sharable stories in different languages, training players, delegations, fans, and influencers to present elements of identity in a natural, non-contrived way, and linking every match to a cultural, tourism, or economic opportunity.

Those who do not possess a narrative speed that matches the speed of the event lose attention, even if they possess the truth, the story, and the achievement. The World Cup is one of the biggest markets for reputation and symbolic power in the world. There are countries that reap goals on the pitch, countries that reap attention, countries that reap admiration, countries that reintroduce their identity, and countries that enter the world's imagination for the first time. As for the states that do not possess a ready narrative, they may participate, win, and celebrate, then leave the global stage without leaving behind symbolic power in the world's consciousness or an impact commensurate with the moment they were granted.