Pretty awesome, Fiorentina.

Italian club Fiorentina has perhaps inteligently decided to move on from their previous shirt sponsor Toyota. But instead of going out to broker a deal with another mega-corporation with a faulty product, Fiorentina has admirably decided to go touchy-feely.

From The Sport Review:

Serie A club Fiorentina have replaced their shirt sponsor with a message intended to reach out to the youth of Italy.

The message ‘Il calcio è un divertimento,’ (football is entertainment), has been added to promote fair play and replaces the club’s previous shirt sponsor Toyota for the upcoming season.

Fiorentina vice-president Mario Cognin explained the reasons for undertaking the refreshing initiative.

“It is a way to encourage young people to approach the game without taking it too seriously”, said Cognin.

“It reflects how Fiorentina sees football.”

The decision made by Fiorentina is similar to Barcelona’s decision to go with UNICEF as a sponsor, after years of turning down corporate sponsorship opportunities. Is it good business to forgo revenue opporunities when you are underperforming financially or when access to funds can boost the quality of your team? I’m not so sure it is. But perhaps there is some business savvy behind this move. Let’s use me as an example.

Previously, I had no strong opinions on Fiorentina as a club. Now I like them a little bit more. This one gesture will likely lead to me paying a little more attention to the club. Given the choice of purchasing an Italian jersey, this year’s Fiorentina strip is now on my radar, not because the jersey is particularly sexy (in fact, it’s not), but rather because it’s something different. Basically, with this one gesture, Fiorentina has drawn my interest for the right reasons. Something that Italian football has failed to do in the past few years.

But perhaps in another room, in another country, some current Fiorentina fan is disgusted, vowing to never be caught dead in this jersey. And to that I say, “Fair enough. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. One man’s delectable dessert is another man’s flan.”

Surely some financial modeling went into the decision to be sponsored by an inspirational statement, but ultimately, how this plays out commercially is anyone’s guess. Regardless of how the numbers play out in Excel, we may never be able to truly capture the financial implications of this gesture. But simply as a fan of the game, Fiorentina’s gesture is a positive one. I can’t quantify the value of reputation, but I do know that reputation does have value.

Anyway, regardless of how this plays out, I am slow clapping for you, Fiorentina. In fact, for this gesture, you deserve an enthusiastic slow clap.

Click here to see the unveiling of the new Fiorentina jersey. I hope you speak Italian.

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Maradona’s visit to South Africa came amidst the growing debate about the country’s ability to successfully host the World Cup.  Although this video does nothing to put the debate to rest, aside from Diego’s vote of confidence amid a small army of security personnel, it does shift the focus back towards the game, the people who shape it. It’s a welcome sight to see that Diego has not become removed from the countless fans that still adore and idolize him, as many lesser stars so often do.

The story on Maciera United Football Club of Luanda provides a stark, but often needed reminder about the state of the world.  We truly do live in a world split into two camps, those who have and those who don’t.  It is shocking and somehow heartening to see kids playing football without shoes on a dirt road in the middle of Luanda.  These kids obviously don’t subscribe to the notion of victimization.  Far from beaten by the hand life has dealt them, these kids show a resiliency that belies their age. For them football offers hope and allows them to dream of a better tomorrow.

It’s great to see that playing football is a simple pleasure that doesn’t discriminate.  Rich or poor, the game is a focal point in the lives of many people around the world, which uniquely enables it to transform lives.  Sometimes it takes Diego Maradona and a group of kids to remind us about that.

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With ten minutes remaining in a match, amateur Italian team ASD Nuova Casteltodino recently walked off the pitch after one of its players, Narciso Egwu, was called a ‘dirty Negro’ by an opposing player.  Narciso and his brother, Emeka, who also plays for Nuova Casteltodino, are of Nigerian descent, but both born and bred in Italy.  According to Club President Maurizio Venturi, Narciso is 200% Italian, which by my calculations (and I’m no mathematician) is 100% more Italian than most Italians.  It was supposedly the fourth time this season that the two brothers faced racism on the pitch.  Venturi has stated that one of the incidents involved abuse from the match referee.

Nuova Casteltodino Club Secretary Francesco Ribeca invoked an interesting parallel when explaining the club’s decision to walk off the pitch.

“If you think of Rosa Parks in America and how that one gesture of sitting down on the bus sparked a whole civil rights movement, we felt that we had to take a stand too. Even if we manage to change just a few people’s minds that will be a huge success for us.  We threw away a football result to get a result for society.”

Ribeca’s statement suggests that he believes the the fight against racism in Italy is in its infancy.  You’ll notice a few parallels between this incident and the Mario Balotelli incidents that we discussed in an earlier piece on race in Italy.  The most obvious parallel is that in both cases skin color is the conduit through which Italian identity in the 21st century is discussed.  “Who is Italian’ is a hot topic in Italy these days, fueled by the recent influx of immigrants in increasingly challenging economic times.  For many, being born and bred in Italy and having an Italian passport is simply not enough to be Italian.

Italian writer Francesco Pacifico eloquently makes the case that these incidents reflect deeper cultural issues.  According to Pacifico, “You have to understand that in Italy there’s not really the notion of a few rotten apples … we’re all rotten apples.”

Pacifico suggests that it’s not enough to think, “so let’s get rid of a few rotten apples and things will work.  Because we are the rotten apples, and I think we basically know this.”

“So when they say let’s shut down the section of the stadium where the racists are. You know that …  people are helping out in booing the guy. There’s no moral integrity.  Moral integrity is a protestant concept … idea.  We don’t have them.  Everything is so blurred and impossible to reform.  And authorities of all kinds in a way know this in Italy.”

Pacifico doesn’t think that general campaigns are enough to “really chang[e] society in any way.”  He suggests that “the kind of left-wing spirit that just wants to do as if we’re a northern European kind of country is just misled. Because this is not the reality.  We have a much more morally complex reality.  That basically sucks, but it’s ours.”

Pacifico raises a very interesting notion about developing solutions to cultural problems.  You can’t always take a solution to a problem in one culture and apply it to another expecting the same results.  As much as people like to talk about the success of England’s anti-racism football campaigns, England is not Italy.  England is a much more diverse country than Italy and has its own unique set of complex realities, which presented a unique set of challenges to overcome.  Similarly, Italy’s race problem is unique in many ways to Italy, and therefore, the solution must be an Italian one.

But how do people outside of Italy participate in an Italian process?  Other historical examples show that increased external pressure can play a role in accelerating internal change.  In South Africa, for instance, the external pressure exerted on the apartheid government was instrumental in bringing about the downfall of the apartheid regime.  Left to its own devices, the apartheid government would surely have continued ignoring the plight of black South Africans.  Those suffering from racial abuse in Italy need others to take notice.  More reporting on these issues is necessary.  Nations often deal with their own internal cultural issues at their own pace, often prolonging the harm inflicted on recipients of abuse.   So when Italian clubs like ASD Nuova Casteltodino stand up, it is necessary for others to stand up with them in the same way that people began to stand up with Rosa Parks or anti-apartheid activists.  We can write about these stories, pass them on to our friends, and simply pay attention.  Italy should be free to deal with this problem in it’s own Italian way, but just not on a leisurely timetable.

I am slow clapping for Nuova Casteltodino.  But until society as a whole decides that there will no longer be tolerance for intolerance, these stories will continue to surface.

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Kenyan international McDonald Mariga has secured a switch from Parma to Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan side.  Not surprisingly, Kenyans have been paying attention given that this is highest profile transfer for a Kenyan footballer in the modern era.

Hours before the close of the transfer window, Mariga was seemingly on his way to Manchester City.  Kenya was excited, even though for most Kenyans he was going to the wrong team in Manchester.  As in most African nations, the English Premier League is the big draw in Kenya, dwarfing the once storied Kenyan Premier League.  The move not only resonated with average Kenyans, but it apparently also resonated at the highest levels of government.  In order to engineer Mariga’s move to the Premier League, Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga put on his cape and hit the phones.  Raila became an all-action player — the type of player Arsenal desperately needs.

But it makes you wonder … is Raila inspired to move this quickly and aggressively on non-football related matters?

Raila has stated, “I would like to assure soccer fans and all Kenyans that, together with the British High Commissioner to Kenya, Rob Macaire, I have done what I could to get Mariga into Manchester City FC and [that] all is not lost.”

He explains, “I spent a minimum of three hours on the phone talking to Gordon Brown’s office, the Africa Office, the Office of Culture and Sports, the Home Office, and to Mariga himself.”

Hmm.  That’s great and everything, but shouldn’t Kenyans expect Raila and other government officials to detail what they’re doing on the big social issues?  Wouldn’t it be nice if Raila or President Kibaki detailed what they did yesterday to ensure that essential medicines are available to Kenyans who desperately need them, but can’t afford them?  Can I expect Raila or Kibaki to be on the front pages tomorrow commenting on what they’re doing on unemployment issues?

Sure, football is important.  And Kenyans should be proud that one of their own is moving to one of the world’s top clubs.  But at a minimum, I don’t think that it’s too much to expect politicians to pay as much attention to the social needs of their citizens as they do to football.

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Kaka is a name well known to the football masses.  And we all know how much he loves Jesus.  In addition to wearing a shirt that says, “I belong to Jesus” that he frequently displays after scoring goals, the phrase “God is faithful” is stitched into the tongues of his boots.  Regardless of what one’s take is on religion, the fact that such a prominent player displays his deeply held convictions quite literally on his chest (and feet) is a powerful testament to the role that top players can play in promoting messages beyond your average product endorsement deals.

Top players have earned the right to generate income by whatever legal means available to them.  Professional athletes often have small windows to generate income from their physical skill sets before their ability starts to deteriorate.  Given that so many footballers spend their entire lives training and playing as a profession, one might argue that focusing on anything but the skill sets that put food on their tables is beyond the realm of their responsibilities.  But the Kaka example shows that often these limitations are self-imposed.

Sure Kaka is just one of many athletes who voluntarily dedicate significant time to outside non-product endorsements.  And for every Kaka, there are countless athletes who promote causes behind closed doors.  But part of the allure of superstars publicly associating themselves with a cause is their ability to reach audiences that many of us would be unable to reach.  It’s simply a matter of efficiency.  In ninety minutes, Kaka’s shirt and shoes reach audiences that press releases and grassroots campaigns could only hope to reach after years of dedicated work.

Now imagine if Leo Messi belonged to poverty in the same way that Kaka belonged to Jesus.  Imagine if Andrey Arshavin belonged to democracy.  Imagine if Park Ji-Sung belonged to reconciliation.  Imagine if Landon Donovan belonged to health care.  Imagine.

Sure belonging to these massive issues is complicated.   But so are these issues.  Many fans may be slightly turned off by their favorite athletes associating themselves with controversial topics that, in their minds, pollute the sporting environment.  But the corporate takeover of sport has certainly had a polluting effect to many.  And in spite of segments of fans rebelling against corporate interests, fans have largely become accustomed to this reality.  I mean how else can clubs afford their next transfer target in the current football environment?  When one compares the slight intrusion that associating with these issues brings into the lives of fans to the enormous impacts that could be derived from these associations, standing up for one’s convictions becomes a more acceptable prospect.

I’d belong to water rights and pancakes.  How about you?

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