SOAS Research Online

A Free Database of the Latest Research by SOAS Academics and PhD Students

[skip to content]

Rofe, J. Simon and Tomlinson, Alan (2020) 'The Untold Story of FIFA’s Diplomacy and the 1966 World Cup: North Korea, Africa and Sir Stanley Rous.' The International History Review, 42 (3). pp. 505-525.

[img]
Preview
Text - Accepted Version
Download (263kB) | Preview

Abstract

The article addresses the diplomacy practiced by Sir Stanley Rous, Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) president (1961–1974), and the international history of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea involvement in, and the boycott by African nations of, the 1966 World Cup in light of a number of newly available primary sources. The new materials reveal first, Rous’s diplomatic practice and the tension between formal and informal diplomacy he pursued; and second, the disquiet in London over North Korean participation, a problem relieved in great part by Rous’s interventions. Concerns over anthems, protocol, and flags were mediated by Rous as he negotiated with the British foreign policy-making establishment from his position as FIFA president. The analysis illuminates the negotiation, representation and communication underpinning the diplomacy of the 1966 World Cup. Rous was also influential, though to contrasting effect, in the case of the opposition of the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) to apartheid in South Africa and CAF’s support for the emerging pan-African cause. The article offers new insights into the diplomatic role of Rous and FIFA and throws light upon the tension between formal and informal diplomatic practices underlying the staging of a global tournament in the 1960s amid the dual pressures of the Cold War and an emerging pan-Africanism.

Item Type: Journal Article
Keywords: 1966 FIFA World Cup, Sir Stanley Rous, African Boycott – Pan Africanism, DPRK – North Korea, informal-formal diplomacy and diplomats
SOAS Departments & Centres: Departments and Subunits > Department of Politics & International Studies
Departments and Subunits > Interdisciplinary Studies > Centre for International Studies & Diplomacy
Subjects: D History General and Old World
H Social Sciences
ISSN: 07075332
Copyright Statement: © 2019 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in The International History Review on 8 April 2019, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/07075332.2019.1593218
DOI (Digital Object Identifier): https://doi.org/10.1080/07075332.2019.1593218
Date Deposited: 20 May 2019 08:07
URI: https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/id/eprint/30953

Altmetric Data

Statistics

Download activity - last 12 monthsShow export options
Downloads since deposit
6 month trend
323Downloads
6 month trend
1,202Hits
Accesses by country - last 12 monthsShow export options
Accesses by referrer - last 12 monthsShow export options

Repository staff only

Edit Item Edit Item