The #FIFAWorldCup is a politics of everything – nationalism, racism, inclusion, geopolitics, sexism, surveillance, economics, technology, mysticism etc. This THREAD has links to 35 short pieces that explore off-the-field sub-plots making the games more than just football.
1. In “It's just a game': Iran World Cup fans frustrated politics are mixing with soccer” @CBCLorenda shows how US-Iran politics has deprived Iranian fans of access to their country’s jersey. cbc.ca/news/canada/to…
2. In “The Group of Death. And Torture. And Incarceration”, @Okwonga points out that at this WC, there is an actual Group of Death, literally – Russia, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. nytimes.com/2018/06/23/opi…
3. “In World Cup Politics, It’s Moscow 1, London 0” @StephaniBaker and @rudnit explore how US sanctions against Russia and the UK’s campaign to get officials to boycott Russia have not undermined Russia’s organizing success. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
4. “Is Russia worthy of hosting the World Cup?” @rowe_david argues that non-football matters should matter in choosing WC host countries. theconversation.com/is-russia-wort…
5. In “Why stereotypes of sexy women fans persist at the World Cup” @ktoffa argues against the dominant use of ‘sexy’ images of women fans in mainstream media. theconversation.com/why-stereotype…
6. In “Fears for tears: Why men need the freedom to cry”, @rachelagiese argues for making room for male vulnerability and uses examples of tears shown at the WC. theglobeandmail.com/opinion/articl…
7. “Foreign Fan Influx Sparks Russian Ultra-nationalists' Sexual Paranoia” @lizarozovsky touches on the fear of Russian men that the WC will leave in its wake many ‘bi-racial’ babies like the 1980 Moscow Olympics. haaretz.com/world-news/.pr…
8. In “Female Sports Reporters Are Blowing the Whistle on Sexist Behavior at the World Cup” @SiobhanMorrin discusses the sexism at the World Cup from commentary roles to fan behaviour. time.com/5329361/sexism…
9. “The Science Behind 'Psychic' Animals That Predict the World Cup” is an exciting piece by @elaina_zachos on the culture of animal clairvoyance in sports and the science against it. nationalgeographic.com/animals/2018/0…
10. “Brazil’s Soccer Stars Love Jesus. But They Can’t Thank Him for World Cup Wins” discusses the place of religion in Brazilian football and the ban on players to not engage in ‘religious’ celebrations on the pitch. christianitytoday.com/ct/2018/july-w…
11. “Controversy In Saudi Arabia, Egypt Over Whether WC Players can Break the Ramadan Fast” shows the intense debate surrounding the permission for Muslim footballers to break their fast. memri.org/reports/debate…
12. In “The World Cup’s Hot New Accessory Comes With a Few Questions”, @Timothy_Edgar discusses the implications of the Fan ID for surveillance and privacy. nytimes.com/2018/07/03/spo…
13. In “World Cup VAR: technology is transforming the beautiful game” @bosolaniyan discusses whether the use of technology in football undermines the spirit of the game
14. “The inside story of how FIFA's controversial VAR system was born” is a good primer by @drjmedeiros on the origins of the VAR and goal line technologies. wired.co.uk/article/var-fo…
15. “How the NFL and NBA are shaping the 2018 World Cup” by @SamBorden shows how despite the US’s absence at this WC, its presence can be felt in terms of tactics and technology. espn.com/soccer/fifa-wo…
16. 'Brazil's Donald Trump': World Cup failure could help far-right presidential candidate’ shows how Brazil’s failure is being exploited by its Far Right Politicians usatoday.com/story/sports/s…
17. “We Watched Germany Crash Out Of The World Cup With A Far-Right Politician” shows how Germany’s failure is being exploited by the Far Right on the front of immigration and integration. huffingtonpost.com/entry/germany-…
18. “In the World Cup, celebrating a goal can be an act of political defiance” by @evanmcgarvey details the intense political symbolisms witnessed in the game between Switzerland and Serbia and beyond. theoutline.com/post/5168/swit…
19. In “Gareth Southgate’s England team reflect the best of us. It feels good to embrace them”, @DavidOlusoga shows how this England team is a stronger and better reflection of Modern English society. theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
20. “Jimmy Durmaz, a symbol of Sweden's unity” highlights how the Swedish nation stood up for Durmaz after he had been racially abused online for costing Sweden a goal against Germany. @moneycontrol moneycontrol.com/news/trends/sp…
21. “Love Storm': Professor Challenges 'Racist' Outcry Against Swedish Midfielder” counter-argues that the so-called hate storm against Durmaz was rather a love-storm, more people showed him love and most of the hate may have been bot-generated. sputniknews.com/analysis/20180…
22. “Politics Ensnare Mohamed Salah and Switzerland at the World Cup” by @RorySmith @JamesPiotr and @tariqpanja details how Mo Salah was roped into Russia-Chechen politics. nytimes.com/2018/06/24/spo…
23. In “The World Cup is a chance to talk about African identities and unity”, @AmaraMahfoud draws attention to the berber-black divisions in the conception of Africa. Can there be a united Africa aided by the World Cup experience? theconversation.com/the-world-cup-…
24. “Ghetto defendants” by @wwJJDdo is about the touchy issue of ‘who is French’ and how it plays out at the national team level. Written for @africasacountry africasacountry.com/2018/06/ghetto…
25. “Fear of a Black France” by @wwJJDdo for @africasacountry is about the pride that French folks with immigrant ancestry should take from the exploits of the impressive immigrant ancestry-dominated Les Bleus at this WC africasacountry.com/2018/07/fear-o…
26. “What France and Belgium’s World Cup success says about European immigration” by @AfshinMolavi is on the huge and positive impact of immigration on the two semi final teams. washingtonpost.com/news/global-op…
27. In “The World Cup is a celebration of cosmopolitanism, until it isn’t” @ishaantharoor talks about the beauty of cosmopolitanism at this WC but also draws attention to how it is being exploited by extremist nationalist elements. washingtonpost.com/news/worldview…
28. In “This Is a World Cup of Complex Loyalties”, @Bershidsky discusses the rarity of national teams that are without multiple identities. bloomberg.com/view/articles/…
29. “South Korean players could be 'punished' with military service after World Cup" usatoday.com/story/sports/s…
30. “England players under orders to belt out national anthem at World Cup” usatoday.com/story/sports/s…
31. “World Cups are great – as long as you aren’t organizing them” is about the burdensome financial legacy of hosting a world cup. theglobeandmail.com/sports/article…
32. “Of World Cup, Politics Of Slavery And Europe’s Domination” briefly touches on the imperialist dimensions of the World Cup. kenya-today.com/opinion/of-wor…
33. “Africa’s group-stage failure stems from slim resources and talent drain” by @Paul_Doyle argues that Africa’s poor showing at this WC has something to do with developmental challenges. theguardian.com/football/2018/…
34. “World Cup 2018: A 'respite from hardship' for Zimbabwe” by @eno_muchinjo talks about how citizens chose to watch the WC over a friendly match involving international football legends, organized by the Zimbabwe Govt to boost FDI. aljazeera.com/news/2018/06/w…
35. “Why some Western companies are distancing themselves from the World Cup brand” by @marketingandrew is about how western companies haven’t been hugely enthused about sponsoring this WC due to how tainted Russia and FIFA have been in recent times. theconversation.com/why-some-weste…
