Threat of widespread protests justifies continued closure of Egyptian stadia
Egyptian general-turned-president Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi's failed economic policies are prompting protests and…
Blasphemy case highlights devastating impact of Saudi ultra-conservatism on Pakistani society
This week’s decision by Pakistan’s supreme court to delay ruling on an…
A study in soft power strategy: Iceland 1, Qatar -1
The soccer soft power contrast between Qatar and Iceland speaks volumes. A…
Rare agreement between Saudi and Iranian Islamic scholars: soccer poses a threat
Sunni scholars in Saudi Arabia and their Shi’a counterparts in Iran may…
Fighting for the soul of Islam: a battle of the paymasters
Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, an Islamist with close ties to Russian president…
Israeli-Palestinian struggle returns to the soccer pitch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused world soccer body FIFA of allowing…
Egypt hopes soccer will help polish its tarnished image
An Egyptian businessman with close ties to general-turned-president Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has…
Turkey’s travails: purges worsen Ankara’s democracy deficit
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan holds Fethullah Gulen, the self-exiled conservative leader…
With mosques under surveillance, IS turns to soccer for recruitment
Abu Otaiba, the nom du guerre of a self-taught imam and Islamic…
Erdoğan v Gulen: power struggle comes full circle in Turkish soccer
Politics’ incestuous relationship with soccer came full circle this week with the…