Khrushchev — Franco — 1:1 (on the Football Fields of the Cold War)

Abstract

The article concerns one of the most important forms of modern sports diplomacy — football diplomacy in one of the most difficult periods of post-war history — the era of the Cold War. It is shown that this diplomacy can contribute both to the processes of overcoming interstate contradictions, mitigating and smoothing conflict situations, and lead to the opposite results. It is claimed that since its formation, the USSR has tried to use this increasingly popular game to achieve its foreign policy goals. The research methodology included data collection, the method of analyzing documentary sources, a comparative approach, comparative and situational analysis. The study focuses on the fierce confrontation within the framework of the European Football Championships between the Soviet Union and Spain, which have not only had no diplomatic relations since the late 1930s, but outright hostility took place. The refusal of the Spanish leadership to send the national team to Moscow in 1960 and the failure of the Soviet national team in Madrid four years later, one of the reasons for which was the “psychological impact” of local authorities, caused not only a wave of negative emotions among Franco and Khrushchev, but also deep disappointment among fans of both countries. As a result, it is concluded that the football factor convinced the leaders of the two states to reduce the degree of political confrontation, and when the draw brought both teams together again at the qualifying stage of Euro-72, the players and fans no longer felt the former hostility. Nevertheless, the events of that time proved once again that the slogan “Sport is out of politics” is often just a slogan.