World Cup
Simply Sportswashing?—A Perspective on the 2022 World Cup in Qatar
The concept of “sportswashing,” in exposing how states or corporations use sporting events to cleanse their images on international stages, draws our attention to human rights abuses, labor conditions, political repression and the regulation of social behavior. Yet, examining the language around Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup, the collective Habibi FC notes how this critique is unevenly deployed—sportswashing is most frequently applied to (non-white) countries from the Global South and partakes in a larger discourse of the “West vs. the rest.” Habibi FC call for a more nuanced use of the term, one that does not depend on Orientalist binaries and enables us to better see Qatar’s hosting of the World Cup as a strategic calculation: risking its moral image to project competence and gain global influence.
Constructing Qatari Citizenship in the Shadow of the World Cup
As fans from around the world travel to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, this mega sporting event reveals how processes of division and unification are central to Qatari state power. While the World Cup constructs and fortifies a distinctly Qatari nationalism, the tournament has not erased the underlying tensions and inequities in Qatar’s migration system and citizenship policies. Beginning with the “Hayya Card,” a new visa tied to the purchase of a FIFA ticket, Jaafar Alloul and Laavanya Kathiravelu consider how ambiguous legislation is being used to differentiate and divide resident groups for purposes of retaining control. At the same time, they highlight emerging spaces for everyday solidarity between Qatari citizens and migrant communities made possible through generational change.
The Beautiful Game between Algeria and France
Legacies of colonialism and decolonization have long shaped what football means to the large shared population of binational citizens between France and Algeria. One in every ten people in France has a direct familial connection to Algeria, complicating any distinction of national belonging and clouding footballing loyalties. Fans decide which national side to back, or opt to support both, in international tournaments. In the case of professional footballers, they must choose which nation to play for. This tense footballing relationship, rooted in colonial France’s civilizing mission, reverberates in social life in France today. Meanwhile, the sport itself grows increasingly enmeshed in systems of global capital.
The Re-Politicization of Palestinian Soccer
The past decade has seen the growing presence of political protest and expressions of Palestinian national identity in football stadiums in Israel, with Ultras Sakhnin setting a powerful example. Revisiting arguments made in his 2007 book, Tamir Sorek traces how interrelated local, regional and global factors are contributing to the increasing audibility and visibility of politics in Palestinian football. From songs on social media to signs in the stands, the actions of fans and athletes reject the designation of sports as an apolitical field and challenge the regime of racialized supremacy football has largely legitimized—until now.
Morocco’s Marginalized Youth and the Rise of Football Ultras
With Morocco’s youth reeling from bleak educational and job prospects following two years of strict COVID lockdowns, football clubs offer unique outlets for expressing frustration, anger and opposition to the authoritarian status quo. The stadium has become one of the few public spaces relatively free of state control where citizens feel they can express their grievances. Although traditionally known for their rivalries with other clubs, “ultras”—associations of a team’s most ardent fans—have, over the past ten years, emerged as quasi-social movements, facing off against authorities to demand greater economic opportunities and political inclusion.
Football in Algeria from the “Black Decade” to the Hirak
When Algeria defied the odds to win the Africa Cup of Nations in 2019, many Algerians heralded the moment as a victory for more than just football. The team’s previous and only win on the international stage had been in 1990 and was followed by a decade of civil unrest that ended with Bouteflika’s election in 1999. The 2019 victory, meanwhile, came on the heels of the months-long Hirak protests ousting Bouteflika after nearly 20 years in power. Mahfoud Amara explores Algerian football’s swinging fortunes as they mirror political tensions and transformations leading up to and following the Hirak.
The Gulf and the British Regional Divide
In a troubling symbiotic relationship, Britain’s so-called “levelling up agenda,” begun by Boris Johnson, aims to address the regional divide between the country’s North and South, in part, by courting investments from the Gulf. Within this agenda, football clubs—important local assets with emotional power and cultural significance—are perfect platforms for Gulf investors to shape local policy environments and gain political influence. Proudfoot and Reda analyze these developments within a longer history of economic ties between the Gulf and England’s North.
National Football Masculinities and the Game in Egypt
As football fans around the world tune in to the World Cup in Qatar, President Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi’s regime is rather turning its back on the game, which used to constitute a centerpiece of Egyptian nation building. Based on research conducted for his book, Egypt’s Football Revolution: Emotion, masculinity, and uneasy politics, Carl Rommel discusses the history of football in Egypt between 1990-2019. How has the sport shaped and been shaped by notions of masculinity? What is its role in and relationship to the country’s dramatically changing political landscape?
The Politics of “Unskilled” Labor in Qatar—An Interview with Natasha Iskander
With the approach of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Natasha Iskander speaks to Arang Keshavarzian about the politics of labor that underpin the tournament – and their devastating effects. From the deliberate framing of migrant workers as “unskilled” to the regulation of workers protests, minimal reforms to the kafala system and strategic recruitment from climate damaged areas, Iskander highlights how calculated policies and practices shore up power at the cost of human life.
Constructing Qatari Citizenship in the Shadow of the World Cup
While the World Cup constructs and fortifies a distinctly Qatari nationalism, the tournament has not erased the underlying tensions and inequities in Qatar’s migration system and citizenship policies. Beginning with the “Hayya Card,” a new visa tied to the purchase of a FIFA ticket, Jaafar Alloul and Laavanya Kathiravelu consider how ambiguous legislation is being used to differentiate and divide resident groups for purposes of retaining control. At the same time, they highlight emerging spaces for everyday solidarity between Qatari citizens and migrant communities made possible through generational change.
The Politics of “Unskilled” Labor in Qatar—An Interview with Natasha Iskander
With the approach of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Natasha Iskander speaks to Arang Keshavarzian about the politics of labor that underpin the tournament – and their devastating effects. From the deliberate framing of migrant workers as “unskilled” to the regulation of workers protests, minimal reforms to the kafala system and strategic recruitment from climate damaged areas, Iskander highlights how calculated policies and practices shore up power at the cost of human life. The conversation provides a reflection on the often violent mechanisms that sustain “the beautiful game.”
The Beautiful Game between Algeria and France
Legacies of colonialism and decolonization have long shaped what football means to the large shared population of binational citizens between France and Algeria. One in every ten people in France has a direct familial connection to Algeria, complicating any distinction of national belonging and clouding footballing loyalties. Fans decide which national side to back, or opt to support both, in international tournaments. In the case of professional footballers, they must choose which nation to play for. This tense footballing relationship, rooted in colonial France’s civilizing mission, reverberates in social life in France today. Meanwhile, the sport itself grows increasingly enmeshed in systems of global capital.
