Ronaldo’s move to Saudi Arabia: A game of one-upmanship
One-upmanship in Middle Eastern sports just wretched up a notch as superstar Cristiano Ronaldo joins state-owned Saudi football club Al Nassr FC for reportedly...
Getting it Right: A Post-Qatar Roadmap for Activists
Qatar 2022 put the myth of a separation of sports and politics to bed.
Like in Qatar, human, worker, and LGBT rights are likely to...
Qatar was just the beginning as Middle East eyes Asian sports
This decade and beyond could be the era of Middle Eastern sports.
It may not have sunk in yet, but the Qatar World Cup was...
Throwing darts
At first glance, Islamic scholars discussing the religious legitimacy of the United Nations and the nation-state sounds esoteric. It's not. On the contrary, it’s...
Off the pitch, Morocco emerges a winner in the World Cup
France defeated Morocco 2:0 on the pitch, but off the pitch Morocco is up 4:0.
Ultimately, the effects of Morocco’s off-the-pitch success may ripple much...
A curious courtship: Rival Muslims woo Hindu nationalists
Muslim religious soft power rivalry, a battle for the soul of Islam, just got hotter.
The rivalry’s latest battlefield is not Mecca, Medina, Cairo, Tehran,...
Scoring an own goal: US Middle East policy misses the plank
The Biden administration excels in scoring its own goals, nowhere more so than in the Middle East.
Missed in the hype of Chinese President Xi...
When Mr. Xi comes to town
Pomp and circumstance are important.
So are multiple agreements to be signed during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Saudi Arabia this week, his first...
Qatar punctures FIFA’s political fantasy
If the Qatar World Cup proved anything, it’s that sports and politics are inseparable Siamese twins joined at the hip.
Politics popped up at every...
Hungary’s Victor Orban uses soccer to project Greater Hungary and racial exclusivism
Hungary didn't qualify for the Qatar World Cup, but that hasn't stopped Prime Minister Victor Orban from exploiting the world's current focus on soccer...