Kick to the Balls: MAGA’s World Cup

The World Cup finally came to Canada. But has MAGA turned the Beautiful Game into something ugly? According to the BBC fans from about a quarter of the countries taking part in this World Cup are facing travel bans, tighter restrictions, or high visa rejection rates.

What about supporters who are already in the U.S. who might fall under the gaze of ICE agents? If you were a Senegalese, Haitian, or Ecuadoran-American, would you wrap yourself in your team’s colours and take to the streets knowing ICE is playing their own game?

And where in all this is Canada? Our co-host has threatened to invade, launched tariff battles and Trump keeps thumping his 51st state schtick. Where does Canada belong in a MAGA world cup?

Karim Zidan is an investigative journalist covering the intersection of sports and politics. His work has been featured in outlets such as The New York Times and The Guardian, and he runs his own media platform called Sports Politika,

He joins us today to kick off the World Cup. And no, Karim Zidan is no relation to the other Zidane….

Clarification: A previous version of this podcast had an omission. The podcast stated that Somali referee Omar Artan was denied entrance to the U.S. for the World Cup because of his nationality. The updated version of this episode now includes the information that the U.S. government claims Artan was denied entry to the United States because of his “association with suspected members of terror organisations.” Artan denies the accusation.

Further Reading:

• https://www.sportspolitika.news/
• https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZaivdiKYlJ/
• https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx212p8r28eo

Host: Bruce Thorson

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Fact checking by: Julian Abraham

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