It happens only once every four years. Summer is on its way, and so is the world’s most popular sports event. For the month of June the world’s sports fans will turn to East Asia, for the World Cup shared for the first time between two countries, Japan and Korea.

Thirty-two of the world’s best national teams will vie for the cup. They’ve been contending in qualifying competitions of two years to make it. The beauty is the internationalism and pluralism of the event. This year’s teams range from England to South Africa to Korea to Uruguay to Tunisia.

In much of the world, soccer holds a religion-like status in society, especially during the World Cup. On the day the national team is to play, often that country all but closes down during the game.

Offices close, shop owners lock up and people are glued to the television and radio.

The BBC reports that having televisions set up for the World Cup for prisoners in the UK will “is one measure to make them relax and decrease stress,” a prison official said.

Perhaps one of the most notable issues raised this year is the level of participation by the teams and fans in international politics.

France’s World Cup team has not been spared. The 1998 World Cup champion, France has spoken out on behalf of French immigrants against the far-right candidate for president, Jean-Marie Le Pen. Le Pen is well known for his anti-immigrant views, something that is troubling to the beloved superstars of the French national team, a multi-racial squad made up of many descendants of immigrants.

Two players have been most outspoken. Zinedine Zidane, the son of North African immigrants to France, and arguably is the world’s best and most famous player, spoke out and urged a vote against Le Pen last week.

Also, the Ghanaian-born defender and captain, Marcel Desailly, said, “The players in the French team, from diverse origins . are unanimous in condemning resurgent ideas of racism and exclusion,” in the sports newspaper L’Equipe.

“They view attitudes that endanger democracy and freedom as intolerable and indefensible, particularly in a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural France,” he said.

When they beat Brazil, the favorite, for the cup in 1998, the French team was praised as a symbolic “rainbow nation” of ethnic tolerance, the BBC said.

There is also room for soccer to bring people together outside of politics. One 20-year-old Japanese student, Ryota Fujino, hopes to raise 3.5 million yen to send televisions and dishes to Kabul. He said he was inspired to do so after seeing a newspaper photograph of children playing soccer in Kabul in front of a cemetery.

Fujino said, “Through soccer, I would like to extend aid and do what I can to bring some enjoyment to these children.”

Perhaps the world’s most popular sports event this summer can provide the medium of ethnic and cultural understanding that is so desperately needed. So, be sure to tune in and join billions of people around the Earth next month as the world comes together to celebrate the “beautiful game.”

Omar Tesdell is a sophomore in journalism and mass communication from Slater. He is online editor of the Daily.