Culture
New FIFA Museum of navel-gazing, and multimedia spectacle
The FIFA corruption scandal is holding the judiciary, the press and the Fans in suspense – it is also the new President of Infantino can change nothing at first. In the new Museum in Zurich, the FIFA celebrates meanwhile, as if nothing had happened.
Tessinerplatz, near the posh lake Zurich: Here, a few minutes ‘ walk from the Hotel Baur au Lac, where in 2015, some of the Executive members of FIFA were arrested on suspicion of fraud, extortion and money laundering, is the new Museum of the world football Association.
“FIFA World Football Museum” you can read in large silver letters: From the outside, the building appears as a simple high-house. Offices, rental apartments and 3,000 square metres of exhibition space spread over three floors. Aesthetic posturing, the equivalent of 128 million euros converted house radiates, which has been open since the 28th of February its doors for visitors. “This is symbolically restrained,” says architect Sacha Menz. And the Museum Director Stefan Jost adds: “The house has many corners and edges, as well as the football!”
Equality by color theory
The so-called “rainbow”. In the Background, a 15-metre-high video installation.
On the ground floor, the so-called “rainbow”: a round glass case, in which the jerseys of all 209 FIFA member associations are issued. Neatly folded and sorted by color. At least here, everything has its order, declared the Director Jost: “We have asked ourselves: are we Doing it chronologically, according to the size of the Association or of the number of world titles? No, we have everything arranged by colour, because each member country has a voice. This is equality!” On the left side of the ground floor is the “Timeline” is a timeline of the history of the Association: from the beginnings of organised football in England in 1863, the founding of FIFA in 1904 until the end of the reign of Joseph Blatter in 2015. Yes, you can read it here, actually.
The architects rely on the use of noble materials, the exhibition creators on video installations and Multimedia: From 67 projectors and huge screens, flashes and flickers, it is permanent. Here was a mess with technology, but Packed. But the commercialism, the Haggling over television rights and Joseph Blatter’s comments about tight control, which he had made the FIFA from an ailing company to a global billion-dollar Corporation that will not be addressed.
Staging up to the threshold of pain
From brown to black-and-white – balls in the “gallery of the football world Cup”
There are even more historical pictures, posters and time-consuming, especially for the Museum commissioned video productions. This includes 15 interactive stations – for example, over the Ball. “We think the football would always have been a black-and – white wrong,” explains Director Jost. “The first came in 1970 with satellite technology, as the world Cup was broadcast for the first Time globally. Prior to that, the balls were brown. A lot of people had but at the time, Black-and-White TV. And since you don’t see brown balls. Therefore, it has made him black-and-white, so you can see this Ball on the TV better.”
Everywhere the visitors of an optically-sound barrage of sounds, images and sounds. The stadium atmosphere if you wanted to stage here, says Gabriele Karau, responsible for the design of the exhibition: “In a presentation form, 180-degree screen, the room, with a sophisticated sound system, there is an emotional Impact.”
The heart of the Museum: cinema with a 180-degree projection
Everything is here staging – up to the threshold of pain: and Even the injury to the player by a Foul you can hear! As with the counterpart in Dortmund, where the DFB has also recently a Museum was opened, the Berlin project company “Triad” for the exhibition design – a creative Agency for “theme parks, fairs and brand worlds”, as it says on their website in the most attractive advertising English.
From all corners, sounds, and video clips, sounds, in addition, there are a lot of artifacts, marvel at curiosities, and memorabilia – 1000 exhibits, including the certificate of incorporation of the FIFA or the “DeutTürk”Flag – a Crescent moon and star on black-and-red-Golden fabric. During the football world Cup in Germany in 2006 had a Hamburger Barber with the idea for the Flag. The message: German-Turks will be able to cheer on their new home. So football goes: from a hairdressing salon to the FIFA Museum! In addition, there are Panini collector’s books and collections of stamps of all world Championships.
Crisis hidden
Scandal Shrouded In – Ex-Fifa President Joseph Blatter
The organisations such as FIFA, DFB and others currently have a massive image problem, have you into the machinations of some officials, has not escaped the management of the Museum, of course. Nevertheless, you hold for free look out for exhibits such as the FIFA money suitcase brand “Qatar” or the conversation log between Joseph Blatter and Jack Warner, as the latter had received the million-dollar world Cup television rights for the Caribbean region almost free of charge.
Of the crisis of the world Federation, of the corruption and money-laundering allegations is not to be seen in the Museum – or, as Director Jost explains: “We want to show all the facets of football, even in the dark. But with the recent developments, we still need a better distance to see what really happened.” Looking ahead, Jost remains confident: “Corrupt officials are not able to destroy football!”
Not a traditional Museum
Nevertheless, the FIFA Museum remains above all a narcissistic homage to the supposedly Golden days of football – no thoughtful Reflection, what is the effect of Sport, media concentration and Infotainment. The allegation that the world would celebrate the football Association in FIFA-the Museum only to himself, Director Stefan Jost: “We will show the result of the work of the FIFA. This is not only the FIFA Administration, with the FIFA member associations, the volunteers out there that develop every day football. We wanted to show and not us to self-glorify.”
Everywhere self-representation, instead of Reflection – here are the “Chronicles”, a timeline of the history of the Association
The FIFA Museum is not a traditional Museum in the sense of exhibiting, learning and critical reflection. Here, rather, it is the experience world FIFA, the emotionalisation of the history of football with the multi-media, interactive possibilities of our time. On new, perhaps even controversial exhibits, one must be in the post-Blatter Era under Gianni Infantino curious.