# World Cup Fever

> We're not letting them take our Joga Bonito in issue #299 of your weekly poetry shot

**Published by:** [trpplffct](https://paragraph.com/@trpplffct/)
**Published on:** 2026-06-12
**Categories:** football, poetry, worldcup, oranje, jogabonito, beautifulgame
**URL:** https://paragraph.com/@trpplffct/world-cup-fever

## Content

World Cup fever has got me in its claws; despite the horrible politics it's still The Beautiful Game. With more red cards than goals, Mexico and South-Africa kicked off the 2026 FIFA World Cup. And I watched that match. With a bit of chagrin. In the run-up to this World Cup, the politics, especially the horrible politics of one of the host-nations, and corruption of FIFA seemed to have taken complete control of it all. From extremely high ticket prices, to the refusal to let supporters of some countries actually watch the matches in the stadiums, and then the referee who was refused entry into the United States. Players of Uzbekistan searched with dogs before a friendly match against my favourite team, The Netherlands, whilst the Oranje players were not. It all is sickening. And it should not have a place in football, that, as the FIFA keeps reminding us: football isn't politics. And then there is the beautiful game. The goals, the skill moves, the supporters creating colourful seas on the stands, and wearing the most beautiful and ridiculous outfits. The excitment of the upset, the star players delivering, the hand of god. That is why I love The Beautiful Game. That is why I'm watching. They will not take our Joga Bonito, our Beautiful Game from us. May the winner take the glory, and I just hope that Curaçao will go very far this tournament. The smallest nation to ever take part. Wouldn't that be something? PS: the header image is not taken during a world cup match. Support this publication through a monthly donation or a cup of coffee. Subscribe to Trpplr on Hypersub Trpplrs are sending ripples of poetry through the world, to make it more fun. As a Trpplr, you will get: & special poetry drops from me and up-and-comin... https://hypersub.xyz Arjan Tupan is writing poetry, podcasting and incubating empathy Entrepreneur, dad, European, story teller, poet. Curious, too. I tell stories on different platform and using a variety of tools. Sometimes I explain how I do stuff.Most of my content is free of charg https://buymeacoffee.com Poésie de la vie Here's a reel with some lovely World Cup goals for you to enjoy.

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