By James M. Dorsey Synopsis Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu is likely to face significant political problems at home and a far less empathetic diplomatic environment abroad once the guns fall silent in Gaza. Calls in Israel for an inquiry into the government’s handling of the Gaza crisis and what is being described as an intelligence … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey (follow the blog: http://mideastsoccer.blogspot.it/) Women’s passion for soccer is not simply love of the beautiful game. It fulfils a need to release pent-up energy and imitate others and endangers their role in a conservative Muslim society that severely restricts women’s freedom, including the right to play football. That is Saudi psychiatrist … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey A purported letter by the Islamic State, the jihadist group that controls chunks of Syria and Iraq, has warned world soccer body FIFA not to hold the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, reviving concerns first raised in a FIFA security assessment warning two weeks before it was awarded the tournament that … [Read more…]
RSIS presents the following commentary Israel and Saudi Arabia: Forging Ties on Quicksand by James M. Dorsey. It is also available online at this link. (To print it, click on this link.). Kindly forward anycomments or feedback to the Editor RSIS Commentaries, at RSISPublications@ntu.edu.sg. Republication is allowed subject to prior permission from the Editor. … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey A long-awaited Qatar Foundation report recommends a radical overhaul of the labour recruitment system in Asian labour exporting countries as well as the Gulf state that expects to host the 2022 World Cup. The report however stops short of calling for the abolition of Qatar’s widely criticized kafala or sponsorship system. … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey Qatar is emerging for the second time in a decade as the only Arab state without a peace treaty and diplomatic relations to have invested in Israel. Qatar’s latest investment in Israeli Palestinian soccer comes against a backdrop of a war of words between the two countries over the Gulf … [Read more…]
von Boris Haigis Ein Vorstoß aus Bremen – Über den Versuch, die Bundesligavereine für Polizeieinsätze zur Kasse zu bitten- Der Bremer Innensenator Ulrich Mäurer (63) ist derzeit in aller Munde. Mäurer will künftig Geld von der DFL für Polizeieinsätze bei Risikospielen kassieren. Hierbei soll laut Mäurer eine Regelung über das Gebührenrecht getroffen werden. Der … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey Iraqi soccer pitches have emerged as an alternative battleground in the struggle for control of Iraq between the Islamic State, the jihadist group that controls chunks of northern Iraq, and embattled Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. Iraqi officials said the broadcasting last Sunday in Baghdad’s Al-Shaab International Stadium of the World Cup … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey In death, Staff Sergeant Nissim Sean Carmeli, a 21-year old soccer fan, embodies the deep fears, distrust and dehumanization of the other that has exploded into massive bloodshed in Gaza, threatens to spark another uprising on the West Bank and makes achievement of even a temporary Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire an almost impossible … [Read more…]
The below article, The 2022 World Cup: A Potential Monkey Wrench for Change, is the accepted manuscript that was published behind a pay wall by Taylor Francis Group in The International Journal of History of Sport, DOI 10. 1080/09523367.2014.929115. This article cannot be republished. The 2022 World Cup: A potential Monkey Wrench for Change By … [Read more…]