QuoteProject
International football is the continuation of war by other means.
George Orwell
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The quote suggests that international football serves as a substitute for war, allowing nations to compete without violence.

George Orwell's quote implies that the intense rivalry and competition seen in international football can be likened to the conflicts of war, as both evoke strong nationalistic feelings and a desire for victory. Through this lens, football is viewed not merely as a sport but as a reflection of deeper social and political battles, encapsulating the essence of national pride and rivalry in a way that is safer yet still highly charged.

Themes

FootballWarCompetitionNationalismRivalry

In practice

Example use cases

Using this quote during a sports commentary to highlight the passion of teams.

More from George Orwell

If one harbours anywhere in one's mind a nationalistic loyalty or hatred, certain facts, although in a sense known to be true, are inadmissible.
George OrwellRead
The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
George OrwellRead
Political writing in our time consists almost entirely of prefabricated phrases bolted together like the pieces of a child's Meccano set. It is the unavoidable result of self-censorship. To write in plain, vigorous language one has to think fearlessly, and if one thinks fearlessly one cannot be politically orthodox.
George OrwellRead
Not to expose your true feelings to an adult seems to be instinctive from the age of seven or eight onwards.
George OrwellRead
As with the Christian religion, the worst advertisement for Socialism is its adherents.
George OrwellRead
It is fatal to look hungry. It makes people want to kick you.
George OrwellRead

Similar quotes

Presume not that I am the thing I was.
William ShakespeareRead
A man does not always choose what his guardian angel intends.
Thomas AquinasRead
Oh, my ways are strange ways and new ways and old ways, And deep ways and steep ways and high ways and low, I'm at home and at ease on a track that I know not, And restless and lost on a road that I know.
Henry LawsonRead
No nation is drunken where wine is cheap.
Thomas JeffersonRead
Pervading nationalism imposes its dominion on man today in many different forms and with an aggressiveness that spares no one. The challenge that is already with us is the temptation to accept as true freedom what in reality is only a new form of slavery.
Pope John Paul IiRead
We believe that all men are created equal because they are created in the image of God
Harry S. TrumanRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.

Quote by George Orwell | QuoteProject