Football and sport may not solve debates around immigration, but they can become a powerful tool to soften them, bring positions closer and create a setting in which coherence and example serve as arguments in the discussion. The case of footballer Folarin Balogun with the United States works almost perfectly as a story: he was born in Brooklyn, grew up in England, has Nigerian roots and chose to represent the US. His biography might seem exceptional, but in reality it explains quite well the world in which this World Cup is being played, including the United States, where immigration policy is such a central issue. Donald Trump, who has made closing the door to immigrants one of his political banners, thanked FIFA for allowing this player to play the next match.
National teams are not photographs of a single identity, but portraits much closer to the streets of big cities. In England, France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Canada, the US… national identity is built every day through different accents, origins and family journeys. Each national football team, in the most played and followed sport in the world, offers an example. Teams made up of players from diverse backgrounds, migrant families, mixed neighbourhoods and realities that explain today’s society better than many official speeches. They are not an anomaly. They represent the daily life of their countries. What we see on the pitch is what already exists beyond it.
Donald Trump: “Thank you to FIFA”
“Thank you to FIFA for doing what was right, and reversing a great injustice!” Trump maintains a political position opposed to birthright citizenship, the principle that grants citizenship to those born on US soil, and the paradox is that the US president publicly celebrated FIFA’s decision to suspend Balogun’s ban, allowing the forward to play the United States’ round-of-16 match against Belgium despite having been sent off in the previous game. That is why Trump’s gesture with Balogun carries a meaning that goes beyond a football match.
It may not change any political position, but it does expose an obvious reality: the United States, like every other nation, cannot be understood without the migrant communities that have built it, enriched it and represented it. In sport too.
Immigration is not just a political issue. It is a complex reality, with challenges, tensions and legitimate debates. Balogun’s case has recalled something that is sometimes forgotten: when a society integrates, it gains talent, culture, energy and future. And a World Cup, with all its interests and contradictions, remains one of the best showcases to understand what countries are really made of.
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