譯/陳韋廷
On the pitch, soccer is a cipher for war, with uniforms, formations, victory and defeat. Beyond the pitch, soccer is power, with owners seemingly using their teams as much for the corollary benefits as for any love of the game.
在球場上，足球代表著戰爭，有制服、隊形、勝利與失敗，而到了球場之外，足球卻是一種力量，若論球隊擁有者操作球隊的動機，用以獲得必然的實際效益，似乎不下於對足球比賽的熱愛。
Sports in general, but especially soccer — given its global appeal — are an ideal way for tycoons to purchase prestige and for countries to burnish their reputations, particularly when governments have unsavory associations with issues such as human rights abuse, gender inequality or anti-democratic politics.
一般的運動，尤其是風行全球的足球，是大亨們獲得聲譽及各個國家美化形象的理想方式，特別是當一國政府跟侵犯人權、性別不平等或反民主政治等不名譽議題扯上關係之時。
"Soccer and the Arab World: The Revolution of the Round Ball," an exhibition at the Arab World Institute in Paris that runs through July 21, surveys the modern history of the sport in Africa and the Middle East, charting changes in gender and racial politics, government and finance, through the lens of the game.
刻在巴黎阿拉伯世界文化中心舉辦的「足球與阿拉伯世界：圓球革命」展覽，展至7月21日，勘測非洲與中東的現代足球史，透過足球運動的視角描繪性別和種族政治、以及政府與財政的變化。
Viewing the Arab world from the French perspective, the show ranges from midcentury events like the rise of the first Algerian national team, whose players broke away from France even though Algeria was still a colony, to more recent ones, like the purchase in 2011 of the French soccer team, Paris St.-Germain, by a Qatari state-run company.
以法國角度來看阿拉伯世界的話，這項展覽包括世紀中葉發生的事件，例如阿爾及利亞即便仍為殖民地，選手仍脫離法國組成首支國家隊，另外還有比較晚近的事，像是2011年一家卡達國營企業收購法國巴黎聖日耳曼足球隊。
Binding the show together is an exploration of political clout: using soccer to explore the increasing reach of some Arab nations, while France's global influence is decreasing — seen in the cultural legitimacy that the sport provides.
將這些展出內容結合在一起，旨在對政治影響力進行探究，藉由足球來探索一些阿拉伯國家日益擴大的影響力，同一時間法國的全球影響力則正在減弱，而這從該項運動提供的文化合法性中可以看出。
"New Arab countries are in the game," said the show's curator, Aurélie Clemente-Ruiz, on a recent tour of the exhibition. "It's not only North Africa or the Middle East but all of these countries from the Arabian Peninsula — Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Emirates — that are very involved in soccer, and it's a way for them to exist in an international point of view. It's a real soft power and, to them, very useful."
策展人歐黑里·克雷蒙·芮斯日前參觀展覽時說：「新的阿拉伯國家成了玩家。不僅僅是北非或中東，還有來自阿拉伯半島的卡達、沙烏地阿拉伯和阿拉伯聯合大公國這些國家，也都深度介入足球，這也是他們在國際舞台上存在的一種方式。這是種真正的軟實力，對他們來說非常有用。」
At the root is the ability of sports to shape perceptions. For the likes of Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, being associated with global soccer can help divert attention from the international indignation at the killing of a dissident.
一切的根本在於，體育能塑造觀感。對沙烏地阿拉伯王儲穆罕默德這樣的人來說，跟全球足球運動扯上關係，有助於轉移國際社會對殺害一名異議分子的怒氣。
For Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi, one of the United Arab Emirates, his ownership and lavish spending on the English team Manchester City automatically buys a certain fame and influence. Similar reasons inform Qatar's control of Paris St.-Germain and the country's efforts to win the right to host the men's World Cup in 2022.
對阿拉伯聯合大公國成員阿布達比的曼蘇爾親王來說，他在英國曼城足球隊的所有權跟大手筆支出，自然會為他贏得一定的聲譽及影響力，而類似的原因也說明了卡達為何要掌控巴黎聖日耳曼隊，以及努力贏得2022年男子世界盃足球賽主辦權。
《說文解字看新聞》
足球是全球第一大運動，世界盃足球賽更是除奧運外最受歡迎賽事，球場內外均具有無比影響力，這讓中東國家及其王室貴族想藉足球提升知名度，甚或改善形象，而首段單字pitch指的是足球場，其他常見運動場地英文則還有baseball field（棒球場）、course（高球場）、court（籃/網/排/羽毛球場），賽車場則是racing track，velodrome則是專指室內自行車比賽場館。
clout則是新聞英文中的常見單字，意指影響力或權勢，同義詞有influence、sway及authority等等。另外必須注意的是，survey在文中指的是勘測，並非「調查」此一常見意思，而文中片語the likes of的意思是「像...這樣的」，介系詞of後須接人或事物。
至於軟實力（soft power）一詞是由美國學者奈伊所提出，是相對於經濟與軍事的一種力量，指的是政治、文化、體育與價值觀等方面的影響力。
