Globalisation and tradition go head-to-head as sport’s turf wars intensify A controversial Villareal vs. Barcelona football match in Miami saw money and growth pitted against community and identity substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Geosport

The global dohyō: Sport entertainment and the performance of power As sports battle for market share, sumo wrestling recently headed to London substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Geosport

Chinese sport reaches its 2025 growth target, now government wants economic sustainability and efficiency Mass participation and infrastructural developments are top of the country's 2030 agenda substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Geosport

Comments in... Saudi sporting land grab is going into overdrive observer.co.uk/news/sport/a...

Comments in... Dubai Basketball club is ‘test case’ for global push www.agbi.com/analysis/bus...

Open access... Latest article in our @FrontiersIn special edition - Geopolitics & Sports: From Sports Propaganda to Sportswashing - has just been published www.frontiersin.org/research-top... Submissions can be made until the end of November

Comments in... NBA bounces back into China six years after Hong Kong spat Preseason games in Macao & rising star Yang Hansen set stage for recapturing lost revenue asia.nikkei.com/spotlight/sp... This is classic geopolitical economy: sport in the crosshairs of business & politics

Saudi Arabia doubles down on its efforts to become a global esports super power A summer of spending and events has added fresh impetus to the country's strategic ambitions substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Geosport

Coming soon... Qatar’s World Cup Legacy – Future Sport Strategy and the Creation of a Sustainable Sport Ecosystem International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics With co-authors Marko Begovic and Ross Griffin

The Geopolitical Economy of Esports Coming early 2026 Provisional chapter running order now available 40 chapters, 5 sections: - Geopolitical economy of esports - China - Saudi Arabia - Asia - Europe & RoW BIG thanks to everyone who has contributed to the book @paulwiddop.bsky.social

Comments in... Business winners and losers of Singapore’s F1 race www.straitstimes.com/business/com...

Comments in... EA: What do Saudi Arabia and US get from video game deal? www.dw.com/en/ea-what-d...

A new Chinese football boom is quietly unfolding, ten years after an era of chaos and excess The increasingly popular Jiangsu Super League is setting a benchmark that other Chinese regions are now following substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Geosport

#EmptyOldTrafford We've been tracking & analysing this hashtag using social media data Paper coming soon: "Global Fan Activism in Sports: Digital Collective Action & the Case of hashtag#EmptyOldTrafford" Will appear in the International Journal of Organisational Analysis

Morocco's World Cup preparations are mired in issues of generational politics & regional division Unrest amongst GenZ & victims of an earthquake in 2023 pose challenges for the country's government & its ambitious football plans substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Geosport

Will UEFA suspend Israel? Pressure is mounting on the governing body to take action against one of its members, though movement towards this outcome is a complex matter substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Geosport

American diplomacy in London signals battles ahead for basketball in Europe Donald Trump's visit to London was about the US projecting power and influence, sport included substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Geosport

Spanish sport finds itself caught in the eye of a geopolitical storm The cancellation of stages during cycling's La Vuelta could have implications for where the 2030 FIFA men's World Cup final takes place substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Geosport

'Canelo Trap' is the outcome of boxing's pursuit of attention economy dollars The Terence Crawford / Saul “Canelo” Álvarez bout in Las Vegas served to highlight the stark realities of contemporary sport substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Geosport

'Canelo Trap' is the outcome of boxing's pursuit of attention economy dollars The Terence Crawford / Saul “Canelo” Álvarez bout in Las Vegas served to highlight the stark realities of contemporary sport substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Geosport

Sport loves nostalgia During these times of economic and political uncertainty, memories of the past are especially alluring substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Geosport

Sport loves nostalgia During these times of economic and political uncertainty, memories of the past are especially alluring substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Geosport

That’s entertainment: The transfer window as global drama Isak to Liverpool has been more a case of soap opera than football, but that's nowadays the nature of elite professional sport substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Geosport

That’s entertainment: The transfer window as global drama Isak to Liverpool has been more a case of soap opera than football, but that's nowadays the nature of elite professional sport substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Geosport

Semi-conductors, healthcare, financials and Nick Woltemade Saudi Arabia's strategic orientation is changing, football's not the focus of it substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Geosport

Third Grand Tour of the year, third time protesters have targeted Israel Premier Tech team. This is getting to be a thing @professorchadwick.bsky.social. Protesters won't cause the team to withdraw from the sport. But they may make more riders think harder before signing for the team.

What an LED board sponsorship tells us about the geopolitical economy of sport Saudi Arabian football club Al-Hilal has just partnered with China's Unilumin; big news, even if it doesn't seem like it substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Geosport

Indonesia - the awakening of global sport's next giant A 2036 Olympic Games bid is coming, hosting the FIFA men's World Cup during the 2040s could follow substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Geosport

Indonesia - the awakening of global sport's next giant A 2036 Olympic Games bid is coming, hosting the FIFA men's World Cup during the 2040s could follow substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Geosport

Saudi Arabia is embracing a hybrid model for its football industry, where state-affiliated entities like PIF and Aramco maintain ownership of major clubs to serve national interests www.agbi.com/opinion/busi...

Next in our series of books is coming soon The Geopolitical Economy of Esports 40+ chapters From Saudi hosting of events to South Korean PC Bangs to European football clubs & their esports teams + much more Thanks to chapter contributors & @tandfsport for your incredible help

Comments in... From World Cup glory to Olympic dreams: Qatar's bold 2036 hosting bid Looking to host the 2036 Olympics, Qatar’s bid is a push to elevate its national identity and statecraft under the watchful eye of the international community www.newarab.com/features/wil...

Thanks Pierre-Etienne for asking me to make a contribution... English football players heading to France

Comments in... From World Cup glory to Olympic dreams: Qatar's bold 2036 hosting bid Looking to host the 2036 Olympics, Qatar’s bid is a push to elevate its national identity and statecraft under the watchful eye of the international community www.newarab.com/features/wil...

Omertà and the changing face of activism in sport Colin Kaepernick was the beginning of an end, Mohammed Salah is the start of a new beginning substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Geosport

Bayern Munich terminates its Visit Rwanda deal, but sidesteps itself into other issues The geopolitical economy of sport is complex, no matter what decisions are made or by whom substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Geosport

Comments in... Son Heung-min's smile and goals changed everything about Asian players The South Korean star convinced the Premier League club to acquire talent from Asia asia.nikkei.com/spotlight/sp...

The geopolitics of European football clubs' African sponsorships FC Barcelona's new shirt sponsorship deal with DR Congo comes hot on the heels of an AC Milan deal with the country substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Geosport

Comments in... Newcastle’s rivals have taken £500m in transfer fees from PIF clubs. Is it hurting Newcastle? www.nytimes.com/athletic/653...

The geopolitics of European football clubs' African sponsorships FC Barcelona's new shirt sponsorship deal with DR Congo comes hot on the heels of an AC Milan deal with the country substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Geosport

Darwin Nunez, Newcastle United and hierarchical power in interorganisational networks There's speculation that Saudi Arabian interests are governing player transfers, but this should be no surprise to anyone substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Gesport

Should Nigeria's government care more about sport? A win in the Women's Africa Cup of Nations shows there's more to the country than Afrobeats, banking...and corruption substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Geosport

CALL FOR PAPERS 6th Annual Eurasian Sport Industry Conference AfroEurasian Sport – From Vision to Reality and Beyond linkedin.com/posts/profes...

João Félix and the rise of football's 'circuit players' How value moves through football’s transfer network substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Geosport

PIF unit Surj adds 100km triathlon tour to sporting portfolio www.agbi.com/business-of-...

Saudi Arabia's hybrid statism highlights football's changing relationship with governments As the Gulf kingdom has privatised its clubs, so Britain's Football Governance Act has just become law substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Geosport

Trumpamania: Hulk Hogan, MAGA, and the new American soft power “Whatcha gonna do when Hulkamania runs wild on you!” Hulk Hogan substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Geosport

The soft power of country houses - is FIFA learning from the IOC? How countries tell the world about themselves substack.com/home/post/p-... @paulwiddop.bsky.social #Geosport

Comments for New York Times | Athletic Saudi Pro League courting overseas investment in bid to compete with the best www.nytimes.com/athletic/649...

Small club, big ambitions: Salisbury FC latest to net Gulf owner www.agbi.com/business-of-...