There should be free expression by athletes at the World Cup.

International games have always been a safe place for athletes to express their love of country and to protest any form of oppression. Free expression during the World Cup by the athletes are vital to their passion for the game and they way they love their homeland.

June 10, 2018
By Jane Dalton

Researchers say teams that sing with real fervour and put their arms around one another, such as Wales at Euro 2016, are more likely to do well 

Teams who collectively sang (click here) with more gusto went on to concede fewer goals, although they did not necessarily score more goals the academics found.

The new study suggests that looking closely at how fervent players’ singing is can give strong clues to the outcome of a match.

Researchers at the University of Staffordshire examined 51 games at the Uefa Euro 2016 and the players involved, looking at both verbal and non-verbal clues of passion before kick-off....

...“We found that the level of passion displayed by players predicted their team’s success or failure in the subsequent match,” said lead researcher Matthew Slater....

To the right is the 1968 Olympics. The World Cup encompasses a great number of countries that focus on these games in their national identity. For some countries, this is their exclusive international platform of competition. The athletes need to be respected.

I find this iconic moment in 1968 for the USA athletes as relevant today as then.