I don't think that competition is 'basically stupid', although it is dangerously mistaken to imagine that it is the overriding 'natural' factor in all human relations - but I think dolphin has pointed out a few things that are important and that do indeed get ignored, and that the media and escapism involved in big sports of all kinds do a hell of a lot of damage to the ability of fans to see what's really going on in the world, to take it seriously, and to do something about it. But it's not sport, competitive or otherwise, that is the bad guy - in fact sport is a lot cleaner than most of the rest of social behaviour, and the competitors behave more decently within the sports arena - it's the brainwash that is encouraged, for profit, by the forces that dominate it, and us, on the outside.
Football is indeed a great game - game - GAME!

Competition and cooperation are not, and never have been, a binary choice for anyone. Obsessing about the merits of one or the other is merely another obsession. Nothing wrong with an occasional bout of obsession either. The problem is people obsessed with telling others that they, and they alone, know best.

If you think that life is not about competition, then you should read up on biology and evolution.

Life being more than competition is a luxury that we humans have, much at the expense of all other life on this planet.

In most cases our cooperativeness is just another measure to become more competitive against all that do not cooperate.

Team sports like soccer are prime example of that. You cooperate within the team, but against all other teams.

Obviously, when you play a game, you cooperatively agree with those on other teams to limit competition. Everyone demands a fair game, and most of the time they pretty much get it and accept it.

Murder is rare in football.

Yes, humans have this luxury of getting to redefine the laws that govern their interactions in specific circumstances.

In some cases that works better than in others.

The games took place in Russia - even if we stick to sports, the related rule abiding there has been questionable at best even in fairly recent history.

Gosh, you mean it's not perfect?

It's given that it's not perfect.

I'm just stating that even if humans cooperatively agree on game rules, they seek ways to outplay their opponents - on the field, in transfer markets, and in laboratories.

Competition in (professional) sports extends far beyond the competition that you see on the field during a game.

The part that's off the field isn't sport, it's competitive business, where the rules, such as they are, are manipulated by the 'winners' who draw power from their winnings. Whereas the football field remains pretty much a level one, regardless of the manipulative nature of 'business'. Sports competition, within the game, thereby remains a rather passionately defended ideal for hundreds of millions, within a social world that doesn't even pretend to come close to such an ideal. Something we might learn decency from.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for competitive sports.

It's just that I'm not doing to deny that they are inherently competitive or argue that they should be something else.

To me they are a more peaceful way of exercising the competitive nature that remains in human cultures, than many other ways.

Also I think that it is a bit too much to say that the competitive business side and the game on field are not interlinked in any way or that one wouldn't affect the other.

There are reasons why Barcelona or Real Madrid dominate competitions in Spain - both the financial and the soccer competitions. Same applies for many countries and their respective top leagues, even in China.

And for those that follow these leagues, the off-field elements are big part of the overall entertainment.