In this seminar, Pete Watson will present findings from his forthcoming book, “The Only Thing that Unites Us: Football and Nation-building During the Presidency of Juan Manuel Santos” (forthcoming book, Liverpool University Press).

The book examines how and why Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos deployed football for nation-building during his two terms in office (2010-2018), particularly in the peace process with the FARC. It argues that football was used in a strategic, systematic and innovative manner, unrivalled in Colombia’s history, to support national unity and peacebuilding efforts. President Santos recognised the power of football, its capacity to transcend existing local, regional and national divisions, and its potential as an instrument to support social development objectives.

In the book, Pete analyses three elements of Santos’ use of football: 1) sport-specific presidential discourse and Twitter broadcasts; 2) football-specific legislation and public policies; 3) government-organized Sport for Development and Peace campaigns. He argues that Santos’ rhetoric around football emphasised a message of a single country unified behind the national men’s team, making a metonym for a new, peaceful Colombia. Football is positioned as an inclusive space, in contrast to previous representations of national team symbolism, which excluded those contained within the ‘Narcolombia’ imaginary.