Why Does the World Love Soccer?

As Qatar welcomes more than a million fans to its newly-constructed soccer stadia, billions more are watching avidly from every corner of the planet. Still, the 2022 Cup has long been overshadowed by accusations of corruption, exploited migrant labor, and the clash between Qatar’s domestic laws and Western democratic values. Qatar was willing to lay out more than $200 billion in order to burnish its image on the world stage, but it remains unclear whether they will get the desired return on their investment. In this episode, we ask what the World Cup’s soft power means when wielded by a tiny, authoritarian petrostate, and what lessons can be learned from the world’s irrepressible love of soccer. This episode was originally released by Why It Matters on November 23, 2022. Find us A Troubled Cup for the Beautiful Game - https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/troubled-cup-beautiful-game Why It Matters - https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/why-it-matters Apple Podcasts - https://apple.co/39tmKmi Spotify - https://spoti.fi/3ACtkTq Google Podcasts - https://bit.ly/2W5Ef94 Host Gabrielle Sierra Podcast Host and Senior Producer Episode Guests Laurent Dubois Academic Director, Karsh Institute of Democracy and John L. Nau III Bicentennial Professor of the History & Principles of Democracy, University of Virginia Related Episodes The Saudi Exception- https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/saudi-exception Hey, Remember the Olympics?- https://www.cfr.org/podcasts/hey-remember-olympics Subscribe to our channel: https://goo.gl/WCYsH7 The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher. Visit the CFR website: http://www.cfr.org Follow CFR on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cfr_org Follow CFR on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/councilonforeignrelations/