UC San Diego

This thesis examines the organization of the 1970 and 1986 World Cup in Mexico. By implementing an ecology model, it demonstrates the connections between these events and the 1968 Olympic Games. This thesis argues that the hosting of the World Cup exemplified the PRI’s diminishing interest in the potential of professional sports to promote a nationalist project, and the rising influence of sporting entrepreneurs over these activities. Emilio Azcarrága Milmo and Guillermo Cañedo became the driving figures behind the hosting of the 1970 and the 1986 World Cups from their position as leaders of the Mexican soccer federation and Mexico’s telecommunications company. Together, they worked to pursue and organize the World Cup with the objective of making significant profits.