“My name is Tony Blair and I am a global football addict.” So the rippling arms, laser eyes and apperances of the former British prime minister, a committed Tottenham Hotspur supporter, may well be. Why? Because Blair is taking us on a journey through football. It is a journey that could help solve some of the greatest of world issues.
The self-styled prophet of football claims he already knows how the games are changing the world. And despite appearing to be a music video instead of a film, the result is unlikely to end in tears. Blair’s intention is to show us how the “impact and behaviour of football fans gives insight into individual and social politics in a way that no other activity does.”
That social politics goes so far back, Blair claims, that it dates back to the first Olde English game. At a New Year’s Day match in 586AD, the battle between Parisians and Oxfordians, a clash of cultures, is documented. And so it is with Blair’s more recent view of football culture, which is channeled through the lens of the previous 10. “It was here that we first encountered a personality known as the Leader of the Opposition, followed by a bloody civil war,” he said, before leading us to King Charles II’s hospital, now part of St George’s Park. “At first glance, this medical facility was a realistic reflection of the commoners’ clinic of the 18th century.” Blair decided that Charles would be the perfect leader of the 18th century.
The Blair Football Project aims to harness football’s ability to inspire communities across the world by introducing football and fans to the players who could do the most to help social change. And we would love to know: what if football fans, who hold extraordinary power on the pitch, rallied against injustice? Who would kick out the rich? Change the United Nations? Or take the job of president of the United States for themselves? The Blair Football Project would present football fans and members of their communities with the responsibility to make their voices heard. Not only for themselves, but for our great and glorious world.