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FIFA World Cup 2026 - What It Reveals About Character And Goodwill

For the next few weeks, billions of people across the globe—speaking different languages, holding different beliefs, and living under vastly different political systems—will tune in to the same pitches, cheer for their players, and experience the same moments of triumph and heartbreak. The FIFA World Cup is far more than dazzling spectacle or fierce competition. It is a rare cultural phenomenon that transcends borders, languages, and ideologies. Football is more than just a game; it’s a mirror to humanity, revealing the character of players, teams, and fans—for better or worse.

Why does this matter to you? Because sport, at its best, inspires goodwill—the social glue that enables communities, institutions, and nations to function. Goodwill fosters trust before certainty exists, assumes positive intent despite differences, and recognizes shared humanity even amid profound conflict.

But this isn’t just theoretical. Stories like Leicester City’s fairytale victory in 2016 and the documentary series Welcome to Wrexham show how football can unite communities, inspire hope, and foster goodwill. And unfortunately, the opposite holds true. While football is meant to inspire goodwill, hooliganism reveals what happens when the virtues that sustain healthy competition collapse under the weight of unchecked emotion, tribalism, and ego, revealing that it is not just the character of athletes and teams, but the character of fans that sustain or erode goodwill.

Why Goodwill Is Essential for Society

Goodwill is often dismissed as a soft concept—mistaken for politeness or simple charitable intent. In reality, goodwill is foundational to the functioning of society. Without goodwill, communities fracture under distrust, institutions falter, and nations struggle to cooperate. Research consistently shows that societies marked by higher levels of trust and goodwill are more resilient, collaborative, and equipped to solve collective challenges. Football offers a unique opportunity to reflect on how character shapes our choices, our communities, and even our world.

The FIFA World Cup, like all global sporting events, offers a rare moment of collective attention. It’s a space where players, fans, and nations reveal their character through their actions and choices. For example, the goodwill fostered by sport was beautifully captured in the movie Invictus, which highlighted how rugby helped unite South Africa during one of its most divided periods. It underscores that sport can be a catalyst for goodwill—but only if we choose to embrace it.

Teams come together to compete fiercely, striving for victory on the pitch, yet they preserve something larger: the integrity, spirit, and communal essence of the sport itself. Football is not just about winning; it’s about honoring the game, respecting opponents, and contributing to a shared tradition that transcends individual rivalries. This is what ensures football remains a unifying force, capable of bringing people together despite differences.

The equivalent for organizations, communities and nations lies in elevating character alongside competence to ensure that competition does not erode the goodwill on which the systems is based. For example, it means negotiations to assert interests must still uphold the principles of international cooperation, shared humanity, and mutual respect. Just as teams protect the integrity of the sport while competing, nations must navigate differences while preserving the larger framework of global stability and collective progress that goodwill demands.

Goodwill is not sentimentality, nor is it a denial of differences. Rather, it reflects the strength in character that allows us to look beyond our own self-interest to see how we are deeply interconnected with the well-being of those around us. I was deeply moved by Artemis II astronaut Christina Koch’s description of the difference between team and crew, which I captured in my Forbes article “From Teamwork To Crew: What Artemis II Reveals About Character.” She described what it means to be a crew and concluded that “Planet Earth, you are a crew.” As I described in that article, embracing what it means to become a crew requires developing strength of character and the same can be said for sport.

The Role of Character in Football and Society

Character is at the heart of football’s ability to inspire goodwill. In my Forbes series on character, I have explored the virtues that enable individuals and organizations to flourish—qualities such as Courage, Humility, Integrity, Humanity and Transcendence. “The Anatomy of Greatness: Character Is the X Factor” article, reveals that “while competence is essential, it alone does not guarantee sustained excellence and can even hinder it when strong competence is paired with unbalanced character, clouding judgment.”

Although character is one of the most ancient areas of study dating back to Confucius, Aristotle and Plato, there is significant misunderstanding of what character is and how it can manifest as deficient or excess vices as I describe in my Forbes article “Addressing the Crisis of Character Leadership.” To help people close the gap between their good intentions about character and the reality of how to develop it and embed it in organizations, I offered “From Good to Great: 10 Ways to Elevate Your Character Quotient.”

Key insights from this body of work reveal that character is composed of 11 interconnected dimensions, with Judgment—what Aristotle called practical wisdom—acting as the integrating force that ties them together. However, Aristotle also noted that a strength unsupported by other dimensions can manifest as an excess vice, a challenge often seen in sport.

For athletes, the virtues tied to Drive, such as striving for excellence and results-oriented focus, can lead to tunnel vision and perfectionism. These tendencies, if not balanced by Humility and Collaboration, can undermine both their own well-being and the collective efforts of their team. For fans, the passion associated with Drive can devolve into fanaticism when it lacks the support of Temperance, Humanity, and Justice. This imbalance is precisely what fuels destructive behaviors like hooliganism, highlighting the importance of character as a stabilizing force in sport and society.

The 11 Interconnected Character Dimensions

Let’s delve deeper into the 11 interconnected dimensions of character and how they reveal themselves in football:

Drive: The relentless pursuit of excellence defines the greatest players and teams. Drive fuels ambition, but in excess, it can lead to tunnel vision or perfectionism. Supported by other dimensions, Drive inspires collective goals, such as Leicester City’s fairytale Premier League victory in 2016, achieved through hard work and collaboration.
Collaboration: Football thrives on teamwork, from synchronized player movements to strategic planning by coaches. Deficient collaboration leads to disjointed performances, as seen in the French national team’s struggles during the 2010 World Cup. Goodwill is rooted in collaboration when players and staff work collectively toward shared success.
Humanity: Humanity is the foundation of football’s ability to connect people. The Welcome to Wrexham series highlights how football can unite communities and provide hope. Humanity reminds us of the shared experiences—the iconic “thrill of victory and the agony of defeat”—that make sport meaningful and relatable as a parallel to life.
Humility: Humility ensures that ego doesn’t overshadow collective success. Moments like Lionel Messi crediting his teammates after winning the Ballon d’Or exemplify Humility. Deficient Humility manifests as arrogance, which can fracture teams and alienate fans. It erodes goodwill.
Integrity: Integrity sustains football’s ability to inspire trust and respect. When players, managers, and organizations act with transparency and authenticity, they elevate the sport beyond competition. Deficient Integrity leads to scandals like match-fixing, while excessive rigidity can stifle adaptability.
Courage: Courage enables players to confront challenges head-on. It’s evident in moments like a player stepping up to take a decisive penalty kick under immense pressure. Courage fosters goodwill when it inspires action for positive change, such as standing against racism.
Accountability: Accountability moves beyond self-interest to ever larger entities. This was part of Koch’s message about Planet Earth as a crew. The Wrexham documentary reveals an accountability beyond the players and team to the community. Clubs like FC Bayern Munich, which publicly admitted financial errors and took corrective action, demonstrate accountability. A lack of accountability erodes trust, undermining the sport’s unifying potential.
Temperance: Temperance is the virtue of moderation, visible when players maintain composure under pressure. Zinedine Zidane’s infamous headbutt in the 2006 World Cup exemplifies a lack of Temperance, while excessive restraint can stifle passion. In fans, the hooliganism that undermines goodwill is revealed in the incredible lack of Temperance.
Justice: Justice inspires fairness and equity. Campaigns like Kick It Out combat racism and discrimination, while inequality in investment between men’s and women’s football highlights the need for Justice. Goodwill emerges when Justice ensures accessibility for all.
Transcendence: Transcendence elevates football beyond entertainment, turning it into a force for social change as revealed so clearly in the Invictus movie. Initiatives like Street Football World use football to unite communities and educate children, demonstrating transcendence in action.
Judgment: Judgment is the practical wisdom that underpins decisions and actions. Nelson Mandela’s intervention with the sports commission, as revealed in the movie Invictus, inviting them to reverse their decision to get rid of the name and the colors (green and gold) of the Springbok Rugby team, which were seen as a symbol of apartheid, is an example of character-based Judgment. It not only reveals strength of Judgment, but Judgment based on the other 10 dimensions including the Transcendence he invoked to “build a nation with every brick available, whether it comes wrapped in green and gold."

Goodwill in football is an outward expression of the character embodied by players, teams, fans, and organizations. It is the tangible connection between character and the broader social impact of the sport. In the context of football, goodwill manifests in acts of sportsmanship, community-building efforts, and moments where the game transcends the pitch to inspire unity and hope. When players demonstrate humility by acknowledging their teammates, courage by taking a stand against racism, or humanity by advocating for social change, they create ripples of positive influence that extend far beyond the stadium.

The Choice Before Us

Football reminds us of the connection between individual character and collective impact. As fans, players, and communities, we have a choice in how we show up. Will we fuel division, or will we foster goodwill? Just as athletes train for competence, we can cultivate character in our everyday lives. By strengthening character we do our part in building goodwill.

At a time of growing polarization, goodwill may seem outdated or naïve. It is neither. Goodwill is the foundation for solving problems that no individual or nation can tackle alone. It strengthens relationships, communities, and institutions. As the World Cup unfolds, it’s a powerful reminder that our greatest achievements depend not just on talent or competition, but on the character that defines us—and the choices we make to foster goodwill.

So, as you watch the matches, reflect on the moments of triumph and heartbreak. Consider how character—yours and others’—shapes outcomes both on and off the pitch. And above all, ask yourself: How will you show up?

This article was originally published on Forbes.com

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