@politicsofsports
Associate Professor in the Department of Government & Society at United Arab Emirates University. Formerly, American University of Beirut & Georgetown University. Chairing the Political Studies Association Sport & Politics group.
I am looking forward to discussing sport in the Gulf countries next Tuesday in the German capital at the Catholic Academy. How does the war affect the Gulf countries in general, particularly in the realm of sport?
www.katholische-akademie-berlin.de/veranstaltun...
I will be teaching a class on “The Politics of Soccer” at Harvard University Summer School during this summer’s 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Registration is now open for both Harvard & visiting students:
courses.dce.harvard.edu?details&srcd...
The stage started at the Al Ain Museum and concluded at the summit of Jebel Hafeet. The cyclists first rode through the Al Ain Oasis before passing several other landmarks, including United Arab Emirates University.
The race passed through different emirates. Today’s Stage 6 took place in the city of Al Ain, where a global audience was introduced to the beauty of one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities.
This week, the United Arab Emirates staged the UAE Tour 2026, an annual professional cycling race for men & women. The UAE not only demonstrated once again that it is a highly professional organizer of major sporting events, but also highlighted how such an event can be used to promote tourism.
Congratulations to Waad Al-Maadeed on winning the Qatar Education Excellence Award, presented by the Emir on Sunday. It was my pleasure to mentor Waad’s Honors Thesis, “Sport as a Foreign Policy Tool: The FIFA World Cup 2022 and Qatar–Saudi Bilateral Relations” @guqatar.bsky.social.
Grateful to Danyel for taking the time to read and review Kingdom of Football, and for raising excellent suggestions for further research.
I tremendously enjoyed reading and reviewing @kristianulrichsen.bsky.social book "Kingdom of Football: Saudi Arabia and the Remaking of World Soccer" for the Middle East Journal.
www.academia.edu/164648054/Ki...
Both countries’ rankings reflect their increasing investments in the sports sector
In the World Sport Power Index (WSPI), which takes into account national team performances, the hosting of major sporting events, and the global popularity of domestic professional leagues, the rankings are even stronger: the UAE is ranked 22nd and Saudi Arabia 31st, respectively.
Saudi Arabia has also achieved its highest ranking to date, placing 67th.
The UAE has risen to 75th place in the new 2025 World Ranking of Countries in Elite Sport (WRCES), which considers national team performances, marking its best position since the ranking was first published in 2014.
sportsrankings.world/rankings
This cooperation includes the opening of the world’s first Bundesliga Academy, which was inaugurated during Chancellor Merz’s visit to Abu Dhabi yesterday.
As a German living in the United Arab Emirates, I am delighted to see the cooperation between the professional football leagues of both countries, the Bundesliga and the UAE Pro League.
www.uaeproleague.ae/en/news-and-...
I make this argument in an interview with Lara Hamprecht for the magazine of the Otto Suhr Institute for Political Science at Freie Universität Berlin (the interview appears on page 42 of the magazine).
It is very difficult to say where to draw the line, and most previous boycotts—apart from the one against South Africa, which contributed to the end of apartheid—have not been successful.
The Winter Olympic Games are starting on Friday, and the participation of Russian and Israeli athletes has become a controversial topic. When should a mega sporting event be boycotted, or a country excluded from it?
osi-zeitung.de/wp-content/u...
Sport can be a highly effective soft power tool, particularly when used in combination with diplomacy to mitigate conflicts and to open domestic markets to foreign actors.
All 3 countries have used sport as a tool for global visibility, diplomacy and economic development. Qatar and the UAE have pursued this strategy since 1993, while Saudi Arabia has done so more recently (since 2018), not only catching up with but in some areas even exceeding its neighbors’ efforts.
The ranking is based on a large-scale global survey (brandirectory.com/softpower).
In the 2026 Brand Finance Global Soft Power Index, three Gulf countries rank particularly highly. Out of 193 countries, the United Arab Emirates is the highest-ranked GCC country, placing 10th, followed by Saudi Arabia in 17th place and Qatar in 20th.
We can’t wait for our annual conference, which this year will be hosted by the University of Liverpool Management School.
Dates: Thursday, 4 June and Friday, 5 June 2026.
From a sporting perspective, Olympic participation also supports preparation for regional competitions such as the Asian Winter Games, where competitive success is more likely.
From a political perspective, the UAE’s participation in the Winter Olympics contributes to the country’s global visibility and soft power. It conveys the message that nothing is impossible and that even a desert country can produce Winter Olympic athletes.
The UAE will participate in the Winter Olympics for the first time when the Games begin on February 6, 2026, in Italy. One of the two UAE athletes learned to ski at the indoor skiing facility Ski Dubai, while the other athlete has been naturalized.
www.thenationalnews.com/sport/2026/0...
Not sure what Lebanon is aiming to achieve with 'symbolic' move to grant Infantino Lebanese citizenship.
As a reminder, women cannot pass Lebanese citizenship to their children if the father is foreign. Neither can women pass citizenship to a non-Lebanese husband.
Address these real issues first.
People have been betting anyway, and now the money will stay in the country. In 2027, the first casino will open in Ras Al-Khaimah, operated by Wynn Resorts. These are further significant steps in diversifying the UAE’s economy
The United Arab Emirates is once again a driver of change in the Gulf: from now on, online sports betting is legal in the UAE—residents and citizens can, for example, bet on Champions League and Premier League matches without using VPNs or foreign sites. .
www.thenationalnews.com/news/uae/202...
Years ago I wrote on the exclusion of Palestinian players in Lebanon—many are third-generation residents yet still treated as foreigners. I hope Infantino will also support their cause. academic.oup.com/book/45355/c...
I also hope Lebanese women married to foreigners will one day be able to pass on their nationality.