By James M. Dorsey To watch a video version of this story please click here. This is Qatar's year to put its best foot forward. A major...

By James M. Dorsey What did Russian President Vladimir Putin think when he ordered his troops into Ukraine? Ray Charles' 'Georgia on...

James M. Dorsey Iran recently scored not one but two soccer successes. Fans celebrated after the country’s national team qualified for...

James M. Dorsey Like Qatar, after winning the right to host this year's World Cup, Saudi Arabia is discovering the pitfalls of seeking...

By James M. Dorsey Footballers with diametrically opposed views on homosexuality and alcohol consumption have sparked heated controversy...

When seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton wore a helmet this weekend featuring the colours of the LGBTI Pride Progress...

By James M. Dorsey Saudi Arabia’s combustible mix of religion, nationalism, and tradition as well as contradictions in the kingdom’s...

By James M. Dorsey A podcast version of this story is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spreaker, Pocket Casts,...

By James M. Dorsey A podcast version of this story is available on Soundcloud, Itunes, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, Spreaker, Pocket Casts,...

By James M. Dorsey A podcast version of this story is available on Soundcloud, Stitcher, TuneIn and Tumblr. With the 2018 World Cup in...

By James M. Dorsey Iran has raised the spectre of a US-Saudi effort to destabilize the country by exploiting economic grievances against...

By James M. Dorsey The crisis in the Gulf pitting a United Arab Emirates -Saudi -led alliance against Qatar is the least of the country’s...

By James M. Dorsey Saudi Arabia has much at stake when its national soccer team enters the pitch for the opening match of the 2018 World...

By James M. Dorsey Argentina’s cancellation of a friendly against Israel because of Israeli attempts to exploit the match politically is...

By James M. Dorsey A possible Saudi-Iranian clash on the soccer pitch promises to be a highlight of this month’s World Cup in Russia. It...

By James M. Dorsey When strongman Ramzan Kadyrov last month opened The Local, a United Arab Emirates-funded luxury hotel in the Chechen...

By James M. Dorsey Saudi Arabia’s bitter rivalry with Iran has spilled onto Asian soccer pitches with the newly created South West Asian...

Saudi sports czar Turki Al-Sheikh By James M. Dorsey A Saudi Moroccan soccer spat speaks volumes about the depth of change in the Arab...

By James M. Dorsey Edited remarks at The Beautiful Game? Identity, Resentment, and Discrimination in Football and Fan Cultures...

Photo by Karim Abdel Aziz/Egypt Today By James M. Dorsey Egyptian general-turned-president Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi won a second term...