The POLITICAL dimension of the US FIFA World Cup with Cas Mudde

So, um, Cas, what do you think now within one week into the World Cup, um, there were many observers, uh, assuming that this might become the most political World Cup of all times.

What is your take on this?

Yeah.

I must admit that the start is less politicized than, uh, I had expected, and I think many others had expected.

And that is, in itself, also really interesting because you have the biggest show in the world in the US.

You have a president who is obsessed with shows and being at the center of them, and he has largely ignored it because he is organizing his own, like, MMA fights [laughs] in the lawn of the White House, which shows you, first of all, still how secondary the status of, of football, soccer is in the US, particularly within right-wing circles, right? I mean, I don't think there's any other president in the world that would have pretty much ignored a World Cup in their country.

Um, but he's completely obsessed with his own thing.

But the other thing is that it's true it's not so political as expected because Trump himself hasn't spoken out.

But the World Cup is still fully shaped by mega politics in a way that I don't think previous, um, World Cups have been.

One example, of course, the Somali referee who wasn't allowed into the country.

The Iranian team, which cannot sleep, uh, on US soil and has to go direct- almost directly after the game on a plane, uh, which, which will affect how they can play because it's really bes- uh, bad for rest.

There was a, a, a news item that the whole Uru- Uruguayan team was pulled over, um, for an immigration stop, right? Now, on any, on any normal day, these would be major scandals, but because we live in Trump's world where every day we have the craziest type of scandal, these are now just minor scandals.

And it is, I mean, to me, pretty upsetting to see how most of the coverage of the World Cup is now fully just about soccer and how great Messi is and whatever.

And these levels of, and human rights abuse of, of authoritarianism are just considered sideshows.

And in that sense, I get this, this Qatar vibe again where you had, like, a lot of stories before the first ball was kicked, and as soon as the first ball was kicked, everything went back to normal.

So, um, Cas, what do you think now within one week into the World Cup, um, there were many observers, uh, assuming that this might become the most political World Cup of all times.

What is your take on this?

Yeah.

I must admit that the start is less politicized than, uh, I had expected, and I think many others had expected.

And that is, in itself, also really interesting because you have the biggest show in the world in the US.

You have a president who is obsessed with shows and being at the center of them, and he has largely ignored it because he is organizing his own, like, MMA fights [laughs] in the lawn of the White House, which shows you, first of all, still how secondary the status of, of football, soccer is in the US, particularly within right-wing circles, right? I mean, I don't think there's any other president in the world that would have pretty much ignored a World Cup in their country.

Um, but he's completely obsessed with his own thing.

But the other thing is that it's true it's not so political as expected because Trump himself hasn't spoken out.

But the World Cup is still fully shaped by mega politics in a way that I don't think previous, um, World Cups have been.

One example, of course, the Somali referee who wasn't allowed into the country.

The Iranian team, which cannot sleep, uh, on US soil and has to go direct- almost directly after the game on a plane, uh, which, which will affect how they can play because it's really bes- uh, bad for rest.

There was a, a, a news item that the whole Uru- Uruguayan team was pulled over, um, for an immigration stop, right? Now, on any, on any normal day, these would be major scandals, but because we live in Trump's world where every day we have the craziest type of scandal, these are now just minor scandals.

And it is, I mean, to me, pretty upsetting to see how most of the coverage of the World Cup is now fully just about soccer and how great Messi is and whatever.

And these levels of, and human rights abuse of, of authoritarianism are just considered sideshows.

And in that sense, I get this, this Qatar vibe again where you had, like, a lot of stories before the first ball was kicked, and as soon as the first ball was kicked, everything went back to normal.