The Evolution of Soccer in the Middle East

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Abdullah El-Aryan is a professor of Middle East history at Georgetown University in Qatar. He edited a book called Football in the Middle East, State, Society and the Beautiful Game. "The game was introduced really through the colonial experience," he says. And all of a sudden it becomes a source of empowerment for populations against colonial rule.

Soccer is sometimes called “the second religion of the Arab World,” and Qatar is the region’s first country to host the World Cup. But FIFA’s pick of the desert nation comes with boundless controversy.

This episode was produced by Haleema Shah, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Efim Shapiro, and hosted by Noel King.

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