Community vs Commercialism
How Gen Z found meaning and connection beyond official World Cup channels
Around the world, political tensions and affordability issues have dampened Gen Z supporters’ enthusiasm for this summer’s tournament
But those challenges are inspiring young people to create their own community spaces, outside stadiums and officially-sanctioned fan zones
For young fans - and brands looking to connect with them - grassroots connection can reframe (if not always solve) wider ethical concerns
Is there anything greater than singing ‘Sweet Caroline’ in a pub you’ve queued for 3 hours to get into, while a watery sun-warmed pint sprays above your head? Almost certainly not. Even if you only really watch football once every four years, the World Cup is all about coming together: a time when conversations with strangers are considered normal, and TVs are lugged outside to share a game with neighbours.
And yet this summer’s tournament has felt different. Beset by political controversy and muted expectations, it felt like the opening game crept up on us without warning. “Before the last World Cup, I was in school and I couldn’t wait for the day to arrive. And when it did, it was massive. But this time the first game just popped up out of nowhere. I completely forgot what date it was going to start,” football content creator Junior (23) tells me over the phone in London.
While there have been some positive stories – Curaçao making history as the smallest nation ever to take part in a World Cup, Cape Verde’s heroics in the group stage, the Tartan Army taking over Boston, or Mexican and South Korean fans partying together – the atmosphere has inarguably been affected by the fraught political climate of Trump’s America.
It certainly feels that way for life-long Arsenal fan Varun, who is “deeply ashamed” by his government’s treatment of players and officials. “I was just reading about how a Somalian referee was denied entry to the country. And that was particularly frustrating because, of course, the European or white-presenting people who are present for this World Cup are mostly able to get in no problem. I think that definitely clouds the experience.”
Read the full piece on our website
Get To Know: Mars from @omginternetculture
From Jim Legxacy’s ‘06 ‘wayne rooney’ video to young people in China getting memes carved into stone seals, there is a new wave of creativity that feels rooted in the signs, symbols and sentiment of the digital age. A trend of referencing and drawing from the internet in a way that feels fresh and exciting, producing work that does not copy, but re-frames our perspective on these otherwise trivial phenomena.
For Mars, this is the central pillar of everything they do. Whether directing, designing, DJing or community-building, they draw inspiration from the online spaces they grew up on. The result is a shared creative language that feels both nostalgic and futuristic at once, and uniquely relevant to a generation born on the internet.
We sat down to speak with Mars about their creative origin story, the impact of the internet on creativity and their thoughts on the new social media ban.
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