The Convergences of Football [aka Soccer]

and Project Management

PM Learning from the World Cup

COMMENTARY

By William A. Moylan, PhD, PMP, FESD, DTM

Professor Emeritus

Eastern Michigan University, USA

My colleague Antonio Nieto-Rodriquez (July 17, 2026) noted in a recent LinkedIn article that the 2026 World Cup is “one of the most complex projects [that] humanity knows how to run.” This global mega-sporting event transcended national borders, languages, cultures and religious creeds. The sport known internationally as football [aka soccer for the bloody Yanks] converges with project management in multiple ways. For instance, both are a global language.

This article stiches together a series of nuances from 2026 World Cup spectacles and shenanigans that parallel many project management situations and offer the reader a rich treasure trove of learning nuggets for the savvy student of Project Management.

The Easy 10%

On major construction projects, the two critical events that garner the most outside attention are the “groundbreaking” and the “ribbon cutting” events. These public spectacles signify the ceremonial start, and mark the beneficial occupancy finish, respectively. In between, many construction miracles happen. Boat owners and construction contractors share the same two favorite days – the day they buy the boat / business and the day they sell it.

For the World Cup, the 104 football matches (i.e., soccer games) played by 48 teams from around the world in Canada, Mexico, and the USA over a month + of global competition was the Easy 10% (Nieto-Rodriquez). The 90% that the spectators did not see comprised the real project. These daunting challenges included the weather, the distances and logistics encountered traveling between the game venues spanning North America, the FIFA requirements for natural grass pitches (play fields), and the border complications and customs regulations inherent with international travel. Antonio notes that this is the first lesson every project should take from this – “none of this is football, [yet] all of it could have sunk the football” (Nieto-Rodriquez). That is, the visible deliverable, be it “the game” or the completed facility, is not where the project triumphs. The project success is rooted in the invisible 90%, including the context, the conditions and the details no one thought to consider (Nieto-Rodriquez).

Norway’s Sports Successes Counters “Winning Is Everything”

The ‘winning is everything’ philosophy persists in American sporting culture. The great legendary coach Vince Lombardi’s famous quote of “winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing” makes this important point about sports competition. Diligent and persistent preparation by all individuals working together as a team towards their combined objectives, which results in winning, is the overall goal of sports and other endeavors of team competition. The youth sports system in the United States has radically commercialized the odyssey for budding elite athletes to the professional ranks with hypercompetition, singular focus and peppered with mental and emotional anguish.

More…

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How to cite this article: Moylan, W. W. (2026).  The Convergences of Football [aka Soccer] and Project Management: PM Learning from the World Cup, PM World Journal, Vol. XV, Issue IX, September. Available online at https://pmworldjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/pmwj168-Sep2026-Moylan-PM-Learning-from-World-Cup.pdf

About the Author

William A. Moylan, PhD

Ypsilanti, Michigan

William A. Moylan, PhD, PMP, FESD, DTM, is a Professor Emeritus with Eastern Michigan University – College of Engineering & Technology. He has extensive professional experience in all aspects of program and project management, including over eleven years internationally with the Saudi Arabian American Oil Co, and since 1983, has been involved in implementing information technology. He has degrees from Lawrence Technological University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Capella University. He is s active in a variety of professional societies and civic activities including American Society of Civil Engineers, Engineering Society of Detroit, Project Management Institute, Habitat for Humanity, Rotary International and Toastmasters International.  He can be contacted at William.moylan@emich.edu