Sitemap - 2014 - The Turbulent World with James M. Dorsey

Qatar gambles that labour reforms will satisfy critics

Gulf-Iranian proxy war spills onto the soccer pitch

Qatar’s World Cup year of scandal (JMD quoted in Al Arabiya)

Potential UK club acquisition could help Qatar polish its image

From Syria and Iraq to Iran: Kurdish Minorities Push For Autonomy

Gulf human rights declaration increases heat on Qatar to act on migrant workers’ rights

Government and fans battle in court and on the pitch in Egypt and Turkey

Blood Sport: The Ultras White Knights vs. Mortada Mansour (JMD quoted in LA Review of Books)

'Ultras' fuel Egypt's campus protests (JMD quoted on Al Jazeera)

Militant soccer fans reassert their key role in protest with storming of Cairo stadium

'Ultras' fuel Egypt's campus protests (JMD quoted on Al Jazeera)

The Arab spring idealist who died for Isis (JMD quoted in the FT)

Angry Saudi soccer clubs pinpoint Gulf labour market contradictions

Gulf agreement on improved migrant worker conditions unlikely to fend off activist pressure

Iran, P5+1 still hope for final deal (JMD quoted on Azernews)

Likely Qatar deportation of striking workers raises concerns

Israeli raid on Palestinian soccer association signals dangerous hardening of Israeli-Palestinian battle lines

Activists expand labour and human rights campaign beyond Qatar to include all Gulf states

Gulf soccer diplomacy highlights regional divisions

Moroccan refusal to host African Cup rooted in fear and prejudice

Qatar’s hosting of GCC summit in further jeopardy following Gulf states’ handball boycott

Qatar at a crossroads: Reform labour laws or risk revived calls for relocating the World Cup

Volleyball federation sanctions Iran in new assertiveness on women’s sporting rights

Study asserts that controversial Gulf labour regime reduces global inequality

Sponsorship of FIFA: a new front in Gulf political rivalry

School shootings and lone wolf attacks: What’s the difference?

Kurdish soccer team sparks Swedish FA ire over battle for Kobani, sparks debate on what is politics?

Egyptian campuses and soccer emerge as flashpoint in resistance to President Al Sisi

If Jordan’s Prince Ali nominates for FIFA presidency, it’s a positive move Australia should support (JMD quoted on Fox Sports)

Mounting Israeli-Palestinians tensions reverberate on the soccer pitch

Saudi War With Islamic State Echoes Kingdom’s Own Past (JMD quoted on Bloomberg)

Bahrain rattled by UK court’s opening of door to investigation of torture allegations

Soccer and militant Islam intersect in incidents across the Middle East

Reshaping the Middle East: UAE Leads the Counter-revolution

Les dessous du Qatar bashing (JMD quoted on Orient XXI)

Women’s sporting rights put Saudi Arabia and Iran on the defensive

Torture investigation of Bahraini prince puts IOC and AFC on the spot (Updated)

Soccer fan support for the Islamic State: Protest or a new generation of jihadists?

US-Led Strikes on IS Militants Could Create More Extremism: Expert (JMD quoted on RIA Novosti)

War against Islamic State: Sowing seeds of more extremist groups

Gulf proxy war: UAE seeks to further damage Qatar’s already tarnished image

Omkoperij volgens de regels (JMD quoted in Knack)

The rise of the Islamic State: Who is to blame?

Israel mobilizes to deprive Qatar of the World Cup

IOC president’s call for transparency challenges Middle Eastern/Asian political dominance of soccer

SOCCER CAN'T FIX SHIT IN ISRAEL OR ANYWHERE ELSE (JMD quoted on Vice)

Women’s right to attend sports events at centre of Iran’s culture wars

China and the Middle East : Embarking on a Strategic Approach

Palestinians pressure UEFA not to award the tournament to Israel

Fighting the Islamic State: What about the day after?

Responding to the Islamic State’s Foreign Fighters: Retribution or Rehabilitation?

Turkish prosecutor demands life sentences for protesting soccer fans

الأزمات للتغطية على مصير بريطانيين مختفيَيْن بالدوحة (JMD quoted in Al Arab)

Egypt’s banning of ultras constitutes effort to outlaw legitimate opposition

Brits’ disappearance casts shadow over Qatari World Cup efforts and shines light on UAE

Islamic State: Ideological Challenge to Saudi Arabia

North African soccer pitches return as venues for anti-government protests

Final whistle for football diplomacy? (JMD quoted in The Gulf)

Saudi-Qatari rivalry spills onto the soccer pitch

So… who has won the Gaza war? (JMD quoted on Al Arabiya)

Is Hamas winning the Gaza war?

Behind the Gaza ceasefire: Israel and Hamas talk potential peace

Gulf states and their US critics seek to shape US perceptions on the soccer pitch

Gaza war puts sporting boycott of Israel back on the front burner

Syria’s Fallout: Rise of Islamic State jihadists

Year after Cairo carnage, Sisi turns page on Arab Spring (JMD quoted on AFP)

Saudi efforts to professionalize soccer marred by politics

The Cairo Talks: Mediation or End Game in the Gaza War?

Lessons from Gaza for Israel’s military: Unprepared for unconventional warfare

Gaza War: New Palestinian Resolve Changes Paradigm

Gaza casts shadow over Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 World Cup

As concerns continue to build, will a Qatar World Cup really happen? (JMD quoted in Sports Illustrated)

Netanyahu’s Dilemma: From the War in Gaza to the War at Home

Qatar invests in Israeli soccer despite Gaza and war of words with Jerusalem

Battle of the Ceasefires: Israel, Hamas Struggle for Moral High Ground

The 2022 World Cup: A potential Monkey Wrench for Change (JMD in The International Journal of the History of Sport)

In death, soccer fan-turned soldier embodies Israeli-Palestinian gap

Middle East Conflict: Need for Credible Mediator

Why Is the 2022 World Cup Being Held in a Country That Practices Modern-Day Slavery? (JMD quoted in The Nation)

Attack on Gaza by Saudi Royal Appointment (JMD quoted on Huffington Post)

Iran-Russia oil barter deal not in Iran’s interest (JMD quoted on Azernews)

P5+1,Iran unlikely to reach deal before July 20 deadline (JMD quoted on Azernews)

"Rassistich und Ant-Arabisch" (JMD on Deutschlandfunk in German)

The truth cannot be concealed (JMD quoted on Play the Game)

Soccer pitches: An emerging battleground for control of Iraq

Why Qatar’s World Cup may spur big changes (JMD on CNBC)

Qatari labour report offers solutions but is unlikely to reduce pressure on World Cup host

Israel and Saudi Arabia: Forging Ties on Quicksand

How Israeli soccer hooligans fanned flames of hate (JMD quoted in The Washington Post)

The politics of football in the Middle East (JMD quoted in The National)

Thursday July 10, 2014

Islamic State urges FIFA to deprive Qatar of the World Cup

Israeli investigation into murder of Palestinian focuses on Jerusalem soccer fan group

The Secret History behind the Algerian – German World Cup Duel

Squaring soccer with Islam

World Cup broadcasts: The Middle East’s opportunity to miss an opportunity

Middle East Briefing for IDFC Securitues

Middle East fights propaganda wars on World Cup side lines

Only a game? Not in Egypt (JMD quoted in The National)

World Cup boosts Iran’s image and highlights political sports battles

Targeting fans: Jihadists get World Cup fever

U.S. pays price for misguided Iraq policies (JMD on Dow Jones MarketPlace)

Politics, political interference, and mismanagement hamper Middle Eastern soccer

The World Cup: Nationalism vs Disillusion (JMD quoted in World Policy)

World Cup sparks Islamist debate on rectitude of soccer

Israel evades FIFA sanctions – for now

AFC power struggle reflects sorry state of soccer governance

The stakes are high in Qatar’s World Cup drama (JMD on Al Jazeera America)

Coming clean: Pressure mounts for Qatari transparency and proper FIFA investigation

Rocky road ahead for Egypt president-elect Sisi (JMD quoted by AFP)

Qatar’s World Cup: Looking for the Smoking Gun

Leaked emails: Qatar’s $5m World Cup bribe (JMD quoted on Al Arabiya)

Qatar in the hot seat again over new 2022 bribery allegations (JMD quoted in Doha News)

Qatar corruption allegations: A potential massive governance, geo-political and social fall-out

FIFA braces for Israeli-Palestinian showdown

Protest and human rights shape debate on awarding of mega events

Qatar misses the plank on labour reform

Lax FIFA policing of political interference in soccer focuses on Egypt

2022 World Cup emerges as engine of change

Jail sentences re-position Egyptian soccer as potential protest venue

Egypt's Sisi uncompromising in first TV appeal to voters (JMD quoted)

The battle for Taksim, a battle for Turkey’s soul

New online journal focuses on sports, politics and society

UN fires shot across Qatar’s bow

World Cup sparks change as soccer puts chink in Qatari segregation

Qatar to cut ‘one third’ of World Cup stadiums (JMD quoted on Al Arabiya

Workers’ Cup 2014 speeds to the finals (JMD quoted in Doha News)

Syrian jihadists employ soccer as propaganda and recruitment tool

Experts say Russia-Iran barter deal harmful (JMD quoted)

Scandal-ridden Asian football body stymies reform efforts

EURO 2020 set to polish Turkey’s tarnished image

Erdogan chooses soccer for first-post election strike against Islamist opponents

Human rights violations raise spectre of Gulf soccer acquisitions as reputation laundering

Controversial soccer club chief declares candidacy in Egypt’s presidential election

Egypt's Sisi ditches uniform, quits as defence minister (JMD quoted on AFP)

Qatar likely to reform controversial labour system

Military-backed house cleaning extends to Egyptian soccer

Qatar firm ‘paid $2m’ to FIFA official, family (JMD quoted on Al Arabiya)

Bin Hammam payments question Qatar World Cup bid and FIFA/AFC anti-corruption efforts

Qatar labour controversy becomes part of Gulf dispute over Muslim Brotherhood

The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer (Review Middle East Monitor)

Turkish soccer politics: a mesh of murky politics and alleged corruption

Rival fans unite to claim ownership of Egyptian stadia

Al Saadi Al Qaddafi trial likely to shed light on dark history of Libyan soccer

جيمس دورسي: ملعب كرة القدم هو حلبة كسر التابوهات (JMD on Radio Netherlands)

Trade union call for a freeze on kafala puts Qatar to the test

The Iranian Nuclear Deal: Rewriting the Middle East Map (JMD in Insight Turkey)

Egyptian autocrats struggle with soccer’s political pros and cons

Mounting workers’ deaths increase pressure on Qatar, FIFA and Asian countries

Murky Turkish soccer politics mesh with massive corruption scandal

Qatar unwittingly forces potential improvement of soccer governance

Workers’ welfare in Qatar: Navigating a minefield

Saudi soccer debates broadens over women’s rights and nationalism

Saudis debate societal merits of soccer

Qatar’s sports-focused public diplomacy backfires

Conflicts wracking Egyptian soccer reflect country’s political malaise

Turkish match fixing: A precursor to corruption scandal rocking the government

Singapore court overturns order to disclose sources (Play the Game)

Egypt charter opens road for Sisi but youths alienated (JMD quote)

Israeli pitches: A tale of racism, bigotry and double standards

IFJ Welcomes “Ground-breaking” Decision by Singapore Court to Quash Order on Journalist’s Sources

Court of Appeal overturns order for journalist to reveal sources ; Judges rule that any pre-action interrogatory procedure should be allowed only after court has taken multi-factorial view

SINGAPORE JUDGES OVERTURN SOURCE DISCLOSURE ORDER (Media Lawyer)

The Middle East and North Africa: Cauldron of Conflict

Egypt Brotherhood charities may impact referendum (JMD quoted on AFP)

Soccer fans threaten to revive stadia as battle fields

Bahrain detains soccer teams and scores of players and athletes