Brief #87 – Foreign Policy Brief
by Reilly Fitzgerald
The hijab is an article of clothing that has sparked debate for years due to its connections to the Islamic faith for some…
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Saudi Arabia’s Buys Into Sports as an Image Builder
Brief #83 – Foreign Policy Brief
by Reilly Fitzgerald
Saudi Arabia is attempting to invest in areas that will allow them to maintain their financial status in the world, after the planet has moved away from fossil fuels and oil.
The Increasing Use of Drugs to Enhance Performance in International Triathlons
Brief #78 – Foreign Policy
by Reilly Fitzgerald
Triathlon has a fairly short, when compared with the likes of cycling and running, history of doping. As the sport really was not founded until late in the 1970s.
The Diversification of US Soccer
Brief #176 – Foreign Policy
By Reilly Fitzgerald
The North American Soccer League was a league developed in the mid-1960s and lasted until the mid-1980s. It was a VERY poor league when it started, in every sense of the word. It did not have a lot of money, as soccer was not a major athletic interest in the United States (even though it was being played in Europe and around the world since the late 1800s). The quality of play in the sport was severely lacking, so much so that the immigrant communities in the US were not interested at all, according to an article from The Conversation. Also, European players who attempted to come and play in the United States were quickly frustrated and didn’t even consider it to be the same sport as European football. To address this lack of talent, and quality, the NASL decided to try and tempt high quality players from under-represented countries, in world football, to come to the United States to play.
Is The Premier League Getting Out of Control?
Brief #173 – Foreign Policy
By Reilly Fitzgerald
The UK government has been debating the idea of having more oversight in regards to the finances of Premier League clubs. Over the past few years, the world has seen unprecedented amounts of money on individual player transfers, team acquisitions by actors within foreign governments like the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) among others, talks of teams entering into new leagues across Europe at the exclusion of other teams, and so much more.
Fox News’ Role in FIFA Corruption Trial
Brief #167 – Foreign Policy
By Reilly Fitzgerald
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association, more famously known as FIFA, is the global face of football (or soccer, for Americans). They make the rules of the sport, they can sanction players and teams for misconduct on the pitch, they decide the when and where of major tournaments, they decide the TV rights for tournaments, and they also decide where to take bribes from.
Corruption and global sports have always been entwined; just as sports and politics have been. In regards to the most recent world cups in Qatar (2022), Russia (2018), and Brazil (2014), there has been a consistent documented pattern of corruption in which individual executives and corporations have been banned, imprisoned, sanctioned.
Morocco and the World Cup
Brief #158 – Foreign Policy
By Reilly Fitzgerald
The tournament is set for an intriguing and compelling final few matches. The last time a South American nation won the World Cup was Brazil in 2002; and the last time Argentina has won a World Cup was 1986. Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi will lead his team into their semi-final match tomorrow against Croatia, a team that has never won the World Cup, but finished in second place in the last World Cup hosted in Moscow in 2018.
Brittney Griner’s Sentencing in Russian Trial
Brief #154 – Foreign Policy
By Reilly Fitzgerald
WNBA star Britney Griner is one of several American citizens wrongfully detained in Russia. Her arrest took place within about one week of the start of Russia’s war in Ukraine. She was arrested on trumped up charges of ‘drug smuggling’ while traveling to Russia to play on a team during the WNBA off-season. She was convicted of drug smuggling, due to her carrying a small amount of cannabis oil into Russia, which she was prescribed by her doctor in the United States.
International Sports and Performance Enhancing Drugs, Part 1
Brief #153 – Foreign Policy
By Reilly Fitzgerald
The World Anti-Doping Agency, known as WADA, is the overseer of the sporting world’s rules on banned substances for athletes. Recently, they updated their rules to continue to ban marijuana-based drugs (containing THC), and added a new drug to the list, tramadol; an opiate painkiller used often in cycling.
Is Saudi Arabia a Gulf State … or a Golf State?
Brief #149 – Foreign Policy
By Reilly Fitzgerald
This summer has seen the ongoing disagreement and to some degree ‘war’ between LIV Golf and the PGA Tour. The traditional American viewing experience for generations has been the PGA Tour. Millions of viewers tune into individual tournaments throughout the season to see the worlds’ top golf professionals compete on American television. Now, a Saudi-backed challenger has stepped into the arena and has started to offer a significant challenge to the traditional golf watching, and competing, experience around the world.