The Director of the Cervantes Institute in Cairo Gregorio Laso opened Mundo Futbol: Futbolistas en caricature (Football World: Footballers in Caricature, 30 June-17 July). Present were Mexican diplomats including Paulina Merino, cultural and economic attache, as well as Egyptian cartoonists including Fawzy Morsy. Describing caricature as a powerful satirical tool, Laso outlined its history in Spain since its emergence to coincide with the Napoleonic wars in the early 19th century, mocking Bonaparte.
Part of the cultural programme at Cervantes, the exhibition deals with the World Cup with ironic liveliness. Spanish artist Adriana Mosquera has a ball complaining to its therapist that it has been thinking about hearts and books. Mexican artist Cesar Moreno shows an everyday household scene in which everyone, even the dog, is wearing the national team T-shirt. Egyptian artist Ahmed Gaessa shows three elderly players of small stature standing in a row to defend a free kick from a team of younger, bigger players. One is holding a cross, another a bow, and the third is having a vision of his own death.
In a diptych, David Vela from Spain shows the same three figures as actors on stage and two players and a referee in the field, stressing the performance aspect of the game. Omar Zevallos from Peru draws one big ball flying against the green background of the football pitch, and below a footballer is being interviewed and photographed by the press – unaware of the ball. Ivan Lira from Venezuela personifies FIFA as a foot stepping on a sac of money lying where the ball should be.
“I must say that football is a reality with two deeply contradictory faces,” Lira told me. “On one hand, there is the football that belongs to the people: a sport of incomparable beauty, plasticity, and unique emotion, played by children on every corner of the planet, without distinction of borders or conditions. That football is humanity’s heritage and represents the best of the sporting spirit. But there is another football, the one my work denounces: a colossal business that moves fabulous amounts of money and that is unfortunately tainted by scandals of corruption, meddling, bribes and all kinds of irregularities. My cartoon depicts precisely this second reality. As an artist, my objective is to invite reflection on this duality: while millions of people celebrate the beautiful game, there are those playing a very different game, where the real ball is money and the rules are bent to various interests.”
Like Cesar Leal, from Uruguay – he presents two young, clueless players at a penalty shootout with a goalkeeper who has a hole in his shirt looking terrified – Egyptian cartoonist Samir Abdel-Ghani depicts the unbearable pressure of the tournament by showing footballers wearing green emergency-room uniforms instead of football gear and the ball with a question mark on it. “The World Cup for me is an event like any other,” he says. “While I was working on this caricature, I was drawing a comparison between playing and reality. There are those who can play and there are those who cannot. So many of the players I painted play with balls with question marks on top of their heads while one is playing with the question mark itself, to express those players who think outside the box just like our national team.”
Egyptian cartoonist Ghada Mustafa gives us a portrait of the Egyptian star Mohamed Salah, with the words “FIFA World Cup 2026” written on his T-shirt, the colours of the Egyptian flag painted behind him and the World Cup trophy next to him, expressing the aspiration of all Egyptians. She believes the World Cup is a transcontinental cultural and historical phenomenon that reflects national identity. “As an artist, I am drawn to the colours of the World Cup as a fundamental element of joy and a symbol of national identity. Colours play a psychological role in shaping the footballers’ morale. In the World Cup, they go beyond the pitch to the stands, where they are used in cheering. In this portrait of Salah the bright red of the T-shirt dominates the composition, evoking energy, passion and movement. National pride is also evident in the red, white and black colours of the flag in the background. The gold of the trophy adds a touch of elegance and distinction, and its contrast with the surrounding colours highlights its high value as the coveted prize.”
* A version of this article appears in print in the 16 July, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.
Short link: