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...

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

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-...

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...

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.

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.

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...

Congrats to FIFA President Infantino on receiving Lebanese citizenship. Having lived 12 years in Lebanon, I hope he helps improve Lebanese football so more homegrown players reach the national teams. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

We’re looking forward to receiving abstract submissions for our @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social Sport & Politics Group 2026 Conference on June 4–5, 2026, at the University of Liverpool. More information about conference theme, logistics & submission process here: www.psa.ac.uk/specialist-g...

Abstract submissions to the @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social Sport & Politics Group 2026 Conference on June 4–5, 2026, at the University of Liverpool are now open. You can find more information on the conference theme, logistics, and abstract submission process here: www.psa.ac.uk/specialist-g...

My introduction “Qatar’s World Cup Goals – Domestic Development and Global Influence,” which I wrote for the special issue of the Journal of Arabian Studies (for which I served as guest editor) on the FIFA World Cup 2022, is now available as open-access article. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The Department of Government and Society at United Arab Emirates University invites applications for an open-rank faculty position in Political Science. jobs.uaeu.ac.ae/Postings/Pos...

Many Emirati football fans are very upset about how the AFC has organised the qualification tournaments for the World Cup 2026. Criticism ranges from the criteria for host selection & the allocation of tickets to away fans to the unequal rest days for teams. www.nytimes.com/athletic/675...

The FIFA Under-17 Men’s World Cup is coming up in Qatar. New Caledonia and Tajikistan, currently preparing in the UAE and showcasing the regional impact of the event, played a friendly match last night at Al Ain Rugby and Cricket Club, which ended in a 1–1 draw.

Für die @faznet.bsky.social habe ich das gerade erschienene Buch 'Kingdom of Football: Saudi Arabia and the Remaking of World Soccer' (Hurst, 2025) von @kristianulrichsen.bsky.social rezensiert. www.faz.net/aktuell/spor...

That was fun! I really enjoyed participating in the United Arab Emirates University Faculty/Staff Table Tennis Championship and finishing in third place! Glad to work at a university that values and promotes sport so much!

Next week, the UAE has, for the first time since 1990, the chance to qualify for the FIFA Men’s World Cup. What I like about the team is its multicultural composition, and the fact that the diverse backgrounds of the players are not hidden by the country’s media.

The 2025 data update of the Stanford/Elsevier Top 2% Scientist Rankings is out! I’m honoured to be listed again — and especially proud to be at United Arab Emirates University, working alongside many colleagues who also appear in the rankings. More on the methodology & results here: l1nq.com/lkO7C

Save the date: Following our wonderful 2025 conference in London, the @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social Sport & Politics Group is delighted to announce that our 2026 annual meeting will take place on June 4–5, 2026, at the University of Liverpool Management School, and the Centre for Sports Business.

From our beautiful United Arab Emirates University campus in Al Ain, wishing everyone a great fall term. Looking forward to my first academic year in Abu Dhabi!

Delighted to share my appointment as Associate Professor in the Department of Government and Society at United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi’s second-largest city — commonly referred to as ‘The Garden City’. (This photo shows me during UAEU’s first-week photo shoot)

Ray, a talented athlete and very intelligent and sympathetic women, was one of the few Lebanese athletes who had the potential to make her country proud by winning an Olympic medal. But can't blame her as conditions in Qatar are much more professional. www.lbcgroup.tv/news/lebanon...

If you missed our event on "The Evolution of Basketball in the Middle East," on May 29, 2025, at Georgetown University in Washington D.C., the recording of the panel discussion is now online. www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vsB...

Delighted to receive in the digital age a Thank You note from a wonderful former student by snail post, sent all the way from Pennsylvania, USA, to Doha, Qatar.

Both legs of this workshop on basketball in the Middle East have been so enriching, not just content-wise but also exchanging with international colleagues on hoops of all kinds! Thank you @politicsofsports.bsky.social and team for making the magic!

Wonderful convening in Washington D.C. at the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies at Georgetown University for our Georgetown University in Qatar working group on basketball and discussing the manuscript drafts for our upcoming special issue on America's Game in the Middle East.

🏀 😉 Ahead of this week's Georgetown University in Qatar CIRS basketball workshop on "America's Game in the Middle East," re-upping this interesting conversation between FIBA President Sheikh Saud Ali Al Thani and @politicsofsports.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1ps...

There is an increasing American-Middle Eastern engagement in basketball, from NBA pre-season games in Abu Dhabi, Gulf sponsorships of American teams, and Middle Eastern players at U.S. college teams. Attend our Georgetown University in Qatar event "The Evolution of Basketball in the Middle East."

Delighted to announce the edited volume "Qatar's World Cup Goals. Domestic Development and Global Influence," published by Routledge (previously published as a special issue of the Journal of Arabian Studies).

Tremendously enjoyed participating in the annual conference of the ‪@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social‬‬ Sport and Politics Group, this year hosted by Birkbeck, University of London, and discussing over two days the conference topic “The Governance and Regulation of Sport.”

Yesterday evening I had dinner with Norbert Lammert, Chairman of the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung and former President of the German Bundestag, to discuss recent developments in the Gulf, including the impact of the FIFA Cup 2022 on Qatari society and the country's foreign relations.

Tremendously enjoyed interviewing FIBA President Sheikh Saud Ali Al Thani for the Georgetown University in Qatar basketball Vlog, part of the project “America’s Game in the Middle East.” www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1ps...

Pleased to read about a potential common UAE/Qatar/Saudi bid for the rugby union World Cup, one of the largest mega sporting events in the world. dohanews.co/qatar-uae-an...

Just in case you were wondering what I am doing when not working on my next paper or preparing tomorrow’s class …

*PSA Event* #Sports and #Politics Conference 15 - 16 May in London, hosted by @psasport.bsky.social. More:

Looking forward to my (online) lecture today at Manchester Metropolitan University titled 'From Qatar 2022 to the Saudi 2034 FIFA men's World Cup,' starting at 2PM UK time. rise.mmu.ac.uk/activity/fro...

New article: Paul Brannagan and I published in the International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics the paper ‘Saudi Arabia and the 2034 FIFA World Cup: context, strategy, critique.’ www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Enjoyed talking to Guy Burton & Francesco Belcastro for their wonderful @footpolpodcast.bsky.social about The Politics of Football in Germany. At a time of increasing divisions football remains a unifying force in German society & a sport that is played & watched by people of different backgrounds.

Students @guqatar.bsky.social can now register for my in-person summer class 'Sport, Politics & Society in the Middle East.' Lots to discuss, from the impact of the FIFA World Cup 2022 on host country #Qatar to the upcoming #worldcup2034 #SaudiArabia & the (Western) debate on #sportswashing.

Enjoyed lots of tennis this week in Doha. It all started in 1993 with the men’s tournament & the women’s tournament launched in 2001. Excellent organization & worth mentioning how accessible the event is - both moderate ticket and food prices, very different from other top tournaments in the world.

Wonderful welcoming Ibtihaj Muhammad at Georgetown University in Qatar, learning about her experiences as African-American, Muslim athlete in a preliminary white sport, and discussing how sports can become more diverse. She emphasized sports federations need to fight racism.

Looking forward teaching again "Soccer Politics" online for Georgetown University's Main Campus Summer Program. Students learn about football governance, the role of the FIFA World Cup, and different soccer cultures across the globe.

Just saw in Doha the first ad for the basketball men’s World Cup 2027, featuring the South Sudanese team that sensationally had qualified for the 2024 Olympics. Hope to see them back in Qatar 2027!

In 2.5 years Qatar stages the men’s world championship in the worlds second most popular team sport after football: FIBA Basketball World Cup Qatar 2027 gets Bisht-inspired logo dohanews.co/fiba-basketb...

The abstract submission deadline is approaching soon, at the end of this month: Come & join our annual PSA Sport and Politics Group conference, 2025 organized by Birkbeck, University of London on May 15/16. Conference topic is 'The Governance and Regulation of Sport' www.psa.ac.uk/specialist-g...

When I started working at @guqatar.bsky.social in 2020, we were in the middle of the blockade. This term, I have for the first time two Saudi students in a class I am teaching. Wonderful development, and hopefully just the beginning of a peaceful and prosperous future for all the Gulf countries.

I talked to the news agency AFP about the Dakar 2025 rally and a training program for Saudi pilots, which incorporated both male and female drivers. www.metrolibre.com/deportes/los...