By James M. Dorsey FIFA vice president Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein’s announcement that he will challenge the world soccer body’s four-time president Sepp Blatter in elections later this year has definitively turned the poll into a battle for the group’s future. A vote for the prince is at least a vote against the FIFA … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey A decision by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that groups wealthy Gulf states to abandon plans to adopt a unified contract for domestic workers increases pressure on Qatar to significantly revamp its controversial labour regime in a bid to fend off efforts to deprive it of its right to host the … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey Palestine has set a new benchmark for nations like the Kurds and the Kosovars who see soccer as a key part of their toolbox to achieve statehood with its qualification for this month’s Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Asian Cup even if the Palestinian road to statehood is increasingly pockmarked by seemingly … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey 2022 World Cup host Qatar has announced a series of reforms to improve working and living conditions of its majority migrant labour population that address material concerns but fall short of recommendations made in a government-sponsored study and demands of trade union and human rights activists. The litmus test for Qatar’s … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey A Saudi-led proxy war against Iran playing out in Syria and Iraq has expanded onto the soccer pitch with a last minute decision by the Palestinian national team to cancel a friendly against Iran. The cancellation officially on technical grounds came barely two weeks before Iran meets two of its Gulf … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey Qatar has booked two recent successes in what has become an uphill struggle to improve its tarnished image: a papering over of its rift with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates sparked by Qatari support for the Muslim Brotherhood and reports that it may be interested in acquiring London Premier … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey The adoption of a human rights declaration by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that was designed to shield wealthy Gulf monarchies including 2022 World Cup host Qatar from criticism by human rights and trade union activists is likely to increase pressure on the sports-focused Gulf state to significantly alter its controversial … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey Egyptian and Turkish soccer pitches are set to re-emerge as battlegrounds between militant, street battle-hardened fans and authoritarian leaders in a life and death struggle that involves legal proceedings to brand the supporters as terrorists and efforts to undermine their widespread popular base. Egyptian fans, barely a week after storming a … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey Wealthy Gulf nations have agreed on measures to improve the working and living conditions of migrant workers who constitute a substantial segment, if not the majority, in a number of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states. The measures constitute a bid to fend off more far-reaching demands by human rights and … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey Qatar is signalling rejection of demands by human rights and trade union activists to grant trade union and collective bargaining rights to its majority migrant worker population with the detention and likely deportation of more than 100 predominantly South Asian labourers who went on strike to protest low pay as well … [Read more…]