Now that the World Cup is Over, let’s talk about the Team that brought victory to France

The World Cup has now ended, with France emerging as the victor. Amid all of the celebrations and ceremonies, one thing really rang true for many who observed the games. Beyond the sport, the national pride each team brought, maybe none is as interesting as this French win.

I found it very interesting that this team, now the global champion of soccer, is comprised up of almost 80% immigrant and 50% Muslim team members. Of the four goals the France team scored in their final match against Croatia, two were scored by the sons of African immigrants; Kylian Mbappe whose mother is Algerian and father is Cameroonian, and Paul Pogba, whose parents immigrated from Guinea. Ironically, the French, who are often in the political spotlight for their xenophobic and Islamophobic social policies, didn’t seem to mind that their winning football team is comprised mostly of the very people those policies and practices effect most.

I am not alone in my sentiment. In fact, shortly following the French win against Croatia, social media erupted, as was expected. However, there weren’t simply congratulatory videos and posts, there were also numerous calls to end the racist, nationalist, xenophobic practices that exist in France.