By James M. Dorsey International sporting associations have hardened their stance towards wannabe hosts of mega-events, who violate basic rights, including those of women and migrant workers. The hardening stance stands out against the recent backdrop of democratic leaders trekking to Saudi Arabia to pay their respects to newly enthroned King Salman with no mention … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey When Sarah Samir stepped this week on to an Egyptian soccer pitch to referee a men’s match, she joined a small band of Arab women referees staking out their right to be involved in the sport on par with men. The significance of Ms. Samir’s appearance highlighted the battle for the … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s illiberal policies have targeted the media, the judiciary, the police, militant soccer fans, and anti-government protesters. Now they threaten to claim yet another victim: the game of football itself. In a major blow to troubled Turkish soccer, Yildiz Holding, a conservative conglomerate known for its confectionary … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey A pre-teen female player has attracted widespread attention with her fight to overturn a clerical ban on her right to play football alongside boys in a co-ed league. Backed by her parents, the player initially succeeded with an online and media campaign to force the clergy to lift the ban temporarily. … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey Qatar, caught in a Catch-22 between a requirement to quickly reform its labour system in a bid to convince human rights and trade union activists that it is serious and the need domestically to proceed slowly, risks losing goodwill it has built in recent years that could further fuel demands to … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey A recent school shooting in the US state of Washington and a lone wolf’s assault on the Canadian parliament in Ottawa are but two of the latest headline-grabbing incidents of home-grown violence. One had nothing to do with politics, the other is classified as a terrorist attack perpetrated by a jihadist … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey When Ramazan Kizil established Dalkurd FF, one of Europe’s most successful immigrant soccer teams, in a remote town in northern Sweden, he dreamt of one day raising the Swedish and the Kurdish flag alongside one another in a European championship. These days, Mr. Kizil’s goals are more immediate: aiding embattled Kurdish … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey Soccer fans exploiting stadia as contested public space emerged more than three years ago as a key force in anti-government protests that toppled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and opposition to subsequent military rule. With stadia closed to spectators for much of the period since then, protesting students backed by militant football … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey Mounting tension between Israel and Palestinians on the occupied West Bank and in East Jerusalem have spilt on to Israeli Palestinian soccer pitches in Israel proper as Israel swings towards ultra-nationalists that make Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu look like the best card in a bad hand. Israeli human rights and legal … [Read more…]
By James M. Dorsey A successful soccer player near the peak of his career, 22-year Nidhal Selmi died last week a foreign fighter for the Islamic State, the jihadist group that controls a swath of Syria and Iraq. His death followed that of Tunisian handball goalkeeper Ahmed Yassin and Ahmed El-Darawi, a former policeman and … [Read more…]