Those who follow sports in some way will know that politics always get involved no matter how much fans wish otherwise. As has been shown this year, domestic and international politics have characterized the Olympic Games, as the most international and inherently political non-political event there is. With the 2022 Beijing games ongoing, it is worth remembering that the Olympics’ thrust into political spotlights isn’t new.
Read moreSaudi Arabia recently made headlines in the sporting world with its purchase of a stake in the English Premier League club Newcastle United as part of their Public Investment Fund, according to NPR. This fund, which is owned by the Saudi Arabian government, ended up purchasing an 80% stake of Newcastle United for 300 million pounds, the equivalent of $400 million.
Read moreThe 2022 World Cup will be held in Qatar, an oil-rich Persian Gulf country eager to showcase its stadiums and landmarks as the first Arab nation to hold the tournament. Despite its wealthy aesthetic, human rights organizations and journalists have discovered via whistleblowers that Qatari authorities have overlooked human rights abuses of migrant workers brought to construct facilities for the event.
Read moreIn a recent interview with L’Equipe, Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai announced her retirement and retracted her sexual assault allegation against a high ranking member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The interview marked Peng’s first contact with a foreign publication since posting her initial accusation against Zhang Gaoli on Weibo, a Chinese social media platform.
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The Azeri Olympic team returned as “national heroes,” but some were barred from competing due to doping scandals and political interference in sports.
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Sports and athletics unite Nigerians, and many are hoping Nigeria will be able to remedy the problems faced before and during the Rio Olympics prior to the 2020 Games in Tokyo.
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Besides the exhausting preparation for the Olympics, the members of the ROT faced additional challenges when fleeing from their home countries and living as refugees.
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Popularity of the games has led North Korea to put more funding into the training facilities and North Korean citizens get the chance to watch certain events on state television. The events aired are merely highlights and are shown long after the event took place.
Read moreThe commission’s results state that the Moscow laboratory responsible for the maintenance of processed blood and urine samples has become decertified. The country will no longer have a running national anti-doping institution to test its own athletes.
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