By James M. Dorsey Khaldoon Al-Mubarak, chairman of Manchester City, one of Britain’s most popular soccer clubs and a close business associate of UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, has warned the UK that his country would block multi-billion dollar arms deals, halt investment in Britain and suspend intelligence cooperation if … [Read more…]
Despite civil war, Syria’s tightly-controlled national team remains on course to qualify for its first ever World Cup October 9, 2015 10:16AM ET by James M. Dorsey @mideastsoccer Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s political fortunes are looking up on more than one battlefield. Even as Russian military intervention appears to have given Assad’s government a new lease on life, … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey The 2022 Qatar World Cup may be sparking social change in the Gulf, just not (yet) in Qatar. Qatar’s winning of the hosting rights for the World Cup gave human rights and trade union activists the leverage they needed to more effectively pressure the Gulf state for reform, if not abolition, … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey Palestine is a headache Saudi King Salman doesn’t need as he confronts rare demands from members of his ruling family that he and his son be removed from power, growing unease about a seven-month old devastating military campaign in Yemen that has caused devastation and mounting civilian casualties, widespread criticism of … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey A condemned Turkish stadium harbours a dark warning of the long-term consequences of ethnic cleansing or what Turks euphemistically call the population exchange almost a century ago when Turkey and Greece expelled their respective Greek and Turkish minorities. It is a message that has not lost its urgency as Turkey fights … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey Israel and Palestine are playing political soccer with Palestinian football as the ball. It is a match which Israel is unlikely to win and that could prove to produce a bruising loss. The stakes for Israel are far higher than for Palestine. Israel is effectively on probation as it seeks to … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey 2022 is promising to be the year of mega sporting events that potentially fly in the face of values professed by international sporting events and defy logic. Consensus is near unanimous that temperatures in Qatar are too high for a summer World Cup. Similarly, Beijing lacks the snow needed for a … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey A violent display of racism by extreme nationalist supporters of storied Israeli football club Beitar Jerusalem coupled with recent Ethiopian Israeli protests against discrimination and the government’s handling of the capture of two Israelis by Hamas has moved racist attitudes towards dark-skinned Jews and Israeli Palestinian up the government’s agenda. Driving … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey World Cup host Qatar is discovering the reputational risk involved in hosting high-profile mega sporting events. Qatar Airways’ sponsorship of FC Barcelona is producing exactly the kind of publicity that is a corporate sponsor’s worst nightmare while a Swiss investigation of the Qatari World Cup bid threatens to expose questionable financial … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey Turkish soccer player Alpaslan Ozturk’s decision to risk fame and wealth by expressing support for the embattled Turkic Uighur minority in Xinjiang reflects pressures in China’s ties to Turkey, its most complex relationship in the Muslim world and a key node on the Silk Road that Beijing hopes to revive with … [Read more…]