Karim Zidan

Enrollment Is Now Open: Global Soccer and World Politics 101 Resistance Studies Series is bringing its World Cup and Global Politics 101 course to the public this spring!

Soccer nerds!
Sports journalists!
World Cup geeks!
FIFA Haters!

We are officially enrolling for our @resistanceschool.bsky.social Spring course on the World Cup and Global Politics 101 !

We have already sold out of the Mentorship Enrollment tier (THANK YOU!!)

substack.com/home/post/p-...

Out with the ICE Barbie, In with the Cagefighter After firing Kristi Noem from her role as Secretary of Homeland Security, Trump nominated a former MMA fighter to replace her. Is anyone actually surprised?

In the months since I announced I was writing a book about MMA and strongman politics, Trump has really gone out of his way to prove my premise

www.sportspolitika.news/p/kristi-noe...

Trump and His Soulless Cronies Have Managed to Suck the Joy Out of the World Cup Not even soccer is immune from Trump’s reverse Midas touch.

I wrote something @thenation.com about the 2026 Joyless World Cup. www.thenation.com/article/worl...

How Sports Sold Trump’s Peace Fantasy From the pitch to the cage, major sports institutions have helped recast Donald Trump as a “peace president”—even as the bombs keep falling.

History shows us that foreign intervention breeds instability not freedom.

Bombs don’t bring democracy; they scorch the ground it needs to grow.

Yet Trump and allies at FIFA & UFC believe might makes right & peace is forged through strength.

www.sportspolitika.news/p/trump-fifa...

How Sports Sold Trump’s Peace Fantasy From the pitch to the cage, major sports institutions have helped recast Donald Trump as a “peace president”—even as the bombs keep falling.

From the pitch to the cage, major sports institutions have helped recast Donald Trump as a “peace president”—even as the bombs keep falling

www.sportspolitika.news/p/trump-fifa...

How Sports Sold Trump’s Peace Fantasy From the pitch to the cage, major sports institutions have helped recast Donald Trump as a “peace president”—even as the bombs keep falling.

Illusions and delusions:
@karimzidan.com on how sports institutions have helped launder Trump’s image
www.sportspolitika.news/p/trump-fifa...

How Sports Sold Trump’s Peace Fantasy From the pitch to the cage, major sports institutions have helped recast Donald Trump as a “peace president”—even as the bombs keep falling.

From the pitch to the cage, major sports institutions have helped recast Donald Trump as a “peace president”—even as the bombs keep falling

www.sportspolitika.news/p/trump-fifa...

In Dana White's UFC, the job of media is fan and promotional service. The press conference is the perfect example. Fans are invited and the entire event is designed to get them excited. Media are expected to ask questions that ONLY service this role. Anything else gets booed. Sadly, they comply.

In The Shadow of the Cage shortlisted for prize My debut book has been shortlisted for the 2026 J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Prize.

In The Shadow of the Cage, my upcoming debut book for Simon & Schuster about mixed martial arts, masculinity, and authoritarianism, has been shortlisted for a prestigious prize.

www.sportspolitika.news/p/mma-poltii...

In The Shadow of the Cage shortlisted for prize My debut book has been shortlisted for the 2026 J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Prize.

In The Shadow of the Cage, my upcoming debut book for Simon & Schuster about mixed martial arts, masculinity, and authoritarianism, has been shortlisted for a prestigious prize.

www.sportspolitika.news/p/mma-poltii...

With New Momentum, Republican States Push Broader Limits for Trans Americans

"In states that once focused mainly on health care and sports for transgender minors, debates now revolve around the validity of transgender identity."

Because it was never about sports.

www.nytimes.com/2026/02/18/u...

Bypass here:

archive.ph/jUvSO

Inside Dana White and TKO’s Lobbying Effort to Reshape Boxing Ari Emanuel, Dana White, and their allies are cashing in their lobbying chips as they seek to gain support for the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act, which would fundamentally reshape boxing.

Ari Emanuel, Dana White, and their allies are cashing in their lobbying chips as they seek to gain support for the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act, which would fundamentally reshape boxing.

www.sportspolitika.news/p/ufc-mma-sp...

Inside Dana White and TKO’s Lobbying Effort to Reshape Boxing Ari Emanuel, Dana White, and their allies are cashing in their lobbying chips as they seek to gain support for the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act, which would fundamentally reshape boxing.

Ari Emanuel, Dana White, and their allies are cashing in their lobbying chips as they seek to gain support for the Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act, which would fundamentally reshape boxing.

www.sportspolitika.news/p/ufc-mma-sp...

The Empty Threat of a World Cup Boycott Boycotts demand backbone, moral clarity, and a willingness to absorb real costs. European leaders have shown, time and again, that they possess none of the three.

'The Empty Threat of a World Cup Boycott', by @karimzidan.com.

I wrote this same thing for @karimzidan.com a few months ago. The Dodgers must decline any invitation to the White House. Anything less is a betrayal of their fans and Los Angeles.

www.sportspolitika.news/p/dodgers-oh...

The Empty Threat of a World Cup Boycott Boycotts demand backbone, moral clarity, and a willingness to absorb real costs. European leaders have shown, time and again, that they possess none of the three.

From former FIFA presidents to European lawmakers, there is a growing call to boycott the 2026 World Cup. But boycotts demand backbone, moral clarity, and a willingness to absorb real costs.

European leaders possess none of the three.

www.sportspolitika.news/p/world-cup-...

The Empty Threat of a World Cup Boycott Boycotts demand backbone, moral clarity, and a willingness to absorb real costs. European leaders have shown, time and again, that they possess none of the three.

From former FIFA presidents to European lawmakers, there is a growing call to boycott the 2026 World Cup. But boycotts demand backbone, moral clarity, and a willingness to absorb real costs.

European leaders possess none of the three.

www.sportspolitika.news/p/world-cup-...

"In my country, I suffer injustice" In Morocco, football has emerged as a battleground between political aspirations and popular dreams.

Como siempre, estupendo artículo de @karimzidan.com sobre Marruecos, el fútbol, la CAN, el impacto social, las protestas en el país y una canción protesta que se hizo famosa en las gradas del Raja Casablanca.

African Football and the Long Shadow of Empire Once a force for decolonization and African pride, the continent's crowning jewel of football—the AFCON—is increasingly beholden to local autocrats and European interests.

Once a force for decolonization and African pride, the continent's crowning jewel of football—the AFCON—is increasingly beholden to local autocrats and European interests.

www.sportspolitika.news/p/afrcon-foo...

African Football and the Long Shadow of Empire Once a force for decolonization and African pride, the continent's crowning jewel of football—the AFCON—is increasingly beholden to local autocrats and European interests.

Endnu et glimrende indlæg af @karimzidan.com. open.substack.com/pub/karimzid...

This is what propagandists do, not news outlets.

Statement in response to historic tweets I am shaken that, just as I am being reunited with my family for the first time in 12 years, several historic tweets of mine have been republished and used to question and attack my integrity and valu...

I will never regret being part of the movement to free Alaa Abd el-Fattah, or writing the foreword to his extraordinary book, You Have Not Yet Been Defeated.

Read his honest and heartfelt response to those playing politics with his hard-won freedom.

#FreeAlaa Always.

freealaa.net/alaa-response

Europe’s second-class citizens [FREE TO READ] Countries that looked down on the Gulf’s ‘kafala’ system are edging closer to creating their own

European states need immigrants but don't want them. How to square that circle? Posture against immigrants while taking in more than ever before but treating them as a permanent second-class serving caste with few rights. Me @financialtimes.com on European kafala as.ft.com/r/7e2026f8-5...

hey if you're wondering "has a baseball website covered whatever the fuck Miller is talking about, for some reason and done it more accurately than he is?" the answer is absolutely, yes:

www.baseballprospectus.com/news/article...

Qatar was watching us all along Welcome to Sports Politika, a media venture founded by investigative journalist and researcher Karim Zidan that strives to help you understand how sports and politics shape the world around us.

As I watched the FIFA Arab Cup unfold over the past couple of weeks in Qatar, I couldn’t help but think of Abdullah Ibhais, the whistleblower jailed for not spinning migrant abuses, and his recent revelations about Qatari surveillance of journalists

www.sportspolitika.news/p/qatar-foot...

FIFA Kisses Up to Trump With a “Peace Prize” With the world’s soccer fans watching, Gianni Infantino, the great toady to the globe’s oligarchs, handed a made-up award to the increasingly violent US president.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup & the violent ICE detention machine are on a wholly telegraphed collision course: “The intersection of immigration enforcement & major sporting events creates a perfect storm of risk & chaos," said @minkyworden.bsky.social of @hrw.org
www.thenation.com/article/soci...

Kat Abughazaleh streaming on Twitch from her apartment while two members of her campaign staff, Asha Buerk and Andre Martin, watch

Instead of relying on wealthy donors, congressional candidate @katmabu.bsky.social is using a Twitch stream to raise money – and fight a federal indictment

aftermath.site/kat-abughaza...

FIFA Kisses Up to Trump With Absurd “Peace Prize” With the world’s soccer fans watching, Gianni Infantino, the great toady to the globe’s oligarchs, handed a made-up peace prize to the increasingly violent US president.

My latest, co-written w/ @edgeofsports.bsky.social: "FIFA Kisses Up to Trump With Absurd 'Peace Prize'."
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, toady to the globe’s oligarchs, handed the confected "FIFA Peace Prize" to the increasingly violent US president @thenation.com www.thenation.com/article/soci...

Gianni Infantino, Peacemaker Infantino’s diplomacy is not the diplomacy of treaties and compromises. It is the diplomacy of branding and spectacle. Where others see conflict, he sees opportunity.

I wrote this bit of satire back in October. Seems especially fitting today after Infantino awarded Trump the farcical "FIFA Peace Prize"

www.sportspolitika.news/p/nfantino-p...

Preparing for a chaotic World Cup Karim Zidan is back to talk about where sports meets politics

Thursday Pod!

The 2026 World Cup Draw is Friday. Today, we talked to
@karimzidan.com about the politics surrounding tomorrow's event & the relationship between Donald Trump and Gianni Infantino.

From Kevin Hart to The Village People...

Today's
@section1904.com:

section1904.com/2025/12/prep...