Football is the most popular sport in the world. According to the World Population Review, a repository of human-related data, there are nearly 4 billion football fans worldwide. This king of sport is intertwined with national culture, traditions, and the idea that you belong to something. Football influences politics, business, and our society. And if that applies anywhere in the world and becomes clear, it is in Spain.
NRC journalist and DBC fellow member, Koen Greven, recently wrote a book about the football phenomenon in Spain. With the title “Futbol: in Spanje meer dan een religie” (Futbol: more than a religion in Spain), Koen sketches in this book a portrait of the country and its inhabitants, and Spain and the Spaniard are dissected through the deep-rooted football culture.
At our DBC lunch on April 11, Koen will come over from the Netherlands to tell us more about the parallelism between football and Spanish society. How this passion connects the Spaniards, but at the same time divides the country.
Joris Evers will also be present during lunch. From his role as chief communication manager of LaLiga, Joris looks at the globalization of the football competitions and how the big money that comes through TV rights, advertisers, and investors, leaves its mark on Spanish football culture.
