Spoiler alert, I am a huge soccer fan and will occasionally make points in that context. Skip this post if you do not care
Russia and Qatar given 2018 and 2022 World Cup respectively. Soccer is supposed to this universal game that everyone can play. The people who run the sport resist all change to any kind of technology, microchips in the ball to see if it goes over the line, instant replay or additional officials because they want to to be accessible to everyone on all levels, sounds all happy and granola groovy, right?
What happens if Israel qualifies? FIFA already makes Israel qualify through Europe (amazing geographers those heads of FIFA) because Israeli athletes are not allowed to enter various countries in the Middle East, including Qatar. There was probably a reason that South Africa did not get the World Cup until after Apartheid. Can you imagine if the USA got the World Cup and did not allow Muslims? What is the difference? Would we even be allowed to apply?
Further food for thought, it's not just in the Middle East
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