FIFA has become an increasingly significant geopolitical actor in the Middle East, and one that is very much aligned with Donald Trump and his agenda for the region, argues FairSquare’s Research and Advocacy Manager, Alex Carlen.
In an article for Arab Digest, a long-standing source of expert insight and analysis on the Middle East and North Africa, Carlen compares FIFA’s lack of response to both the war of aggression against Iran and Israeli teams continuing to play on occupied territories with the swift and decisive action taken by FIFA against Russia following the invasion of Ukraine.
The piece argues that this muddled and inconsistent policy is the result of FIFA’s weak leadership, which is desperate to stay in Trump’s good graces, and their dysfunctional system of governance, most clearly exemplified in the FIFA peace prize.
FairSquare has published extensive research on FIFA’s policy toward the Middle East and FIFA’s governance more broadly.
