Behind your favorite sport, there is always something else at play.
Power Plays is a new investigative podcast from the Human Rights Foundation hosted by sports journalist and HRF Sports and Dictators Program Lead Karim Zidan, exposing how authoritarian regimes weaponize sports for political influence.
Season 1 explores the regimes that have exploited the FIFA World Cup over the last century, from Italy’s fascists in 1934, to Argentina’s military junta in 1978, to Russia’s kleptocratic police state in 2018, to Qatar’s monarchy built on the backs of exploited migrant workers in 2022. We also look ahead to the 2030 and 2034 World Cups in Morocco and Saudi Arabia.
Whether you like football or geopolitics — whether you plan to watch the World Cup or turn it off in protest — these stories matter far beyond the game.
This podcast was produced by Elie Bleier, Robert Scaramuccia, and HRF’s multimedia team.
With the World Cup now underway in North America, this season finale of Power Plays explores what comes next for football and FIFA. From the politics surrounding this year's tournament to future World Cups in Morocco and Saudi Arabia, we examine how the game continues to shape—and be shaped—by power.
Over the course of Season 1, we’ve traveled from Mussolini’s Italy to Argentina's military junta, Putin’s Russia, and Qatar's controversial World Cup. Along the way, we’ve seen how football has been used to project global influence and advance political ambitions. Now, we end with a simple question—what should we do with all that we’ve learned?
We don’t pretend to have all the answers, but perhaps it starts here: When you love something, you should want to make it better… because the next chapter of the beautiful game is still being written.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Football’s role in Egypt's 2011 uprising
How Infantino has reshaped FIFA's relationship with world leaders
Why Morocco's youth are pushing back
The hidden costs of hosting the World Cup
Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 and football
Should fans boycott the World Cup?
What it means to love football without ignoring its political realities
Connect:
Website: hrf.org (http://hrf.org)
Instagram: @hrf (https://www.instagram.com/hrf/)
YouTube: @humanrightsfdn (https://www.youtube.com/@humanrightsfdn)
Facebook: humanrightsfoundation (https://www.facebook.com/humanrightsfoundation/)
X: @HRF (https://x.com/HRF)
We’ve partnered with La Media Inglesa (https://www.youtube.com/lamediainglesa) to bring you the full episode on YouTube, out now.
Created by Karim Zidan (https://oslofreedomforum.com/speaker/karim-zidan/) and Elie Bleier (https://eliebleier.com/).
Produced by Elie Bleier (https://eliebleier.com/) and Robert Scaramuccia (https://www.robertscaramuccia.com/).
Media strategy by Guillermo Purchese (https://hrf.org/member/guillermo-purchese/) and Marielle Marlys (https://animacreations.org/).
4 Jun 2026
4. The Story of Qatar's World Cup Whistleblower
On the eve of the 2022 World Cup, FIFA president Gianni Infantino took the stage in Doha and delivered a speech that stunned the football world—declaring “today I feel gay… today I feel like a migrant worker," while pushing back on criticism of Qatar. as he defended Qatar against mounting criticism over its hosting of the tournament.
In this episode, we travel to Qatar, where the World Cup’s “success” was built on the labor of millions of migrant workers—many facing stolen wages, extreme heat, and dangerous conditions. We trace how Qatar won the tournament, how FIFA’s leadership protected it, and how criticism was managed or silenced, told through the story of Abdullah Ibhais, who witnessed the atrocities firsthand.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Why Qatar wanted to host the World Cup in the first place
How Qatar won the World Cup, despite major concerns
How the kafala system controls migrant workers
What Abdullah saw when he spoke to workers
How protesting workers were treated
Why worker abuse was treated as a PR problem
What happened after Abdullah refused to comply
How the World Cup played out as a human rights crisis
Connect:
Website: hrf.org (http://hrf.org)
Instagram: @hrf (https://www.instagram.com/hrf/)
YouTube: @humanrightsfdn (https://www.youtube.com/@humanrightsfdn)
Facebook: humanrightsfoundation (https://www.facebook.com/humanrightsfoundation/)
X: @HRF (https://x.com/HRF)
Coming soon! We’ve partnered with La Media Inglesa (https://www.youtube.com/lamediainglesa) to bring you the full episode on YouTube, premiering in June 2026.
Created by Karim Zidan (https://oslofreedomforum.com/speaker/karim-zidan/) and Elie Bleier (https://eliebleier.com/).
Produced by Elie Bleier (https://eliebleier.com/) and Robert Scaramuccia (https://www.robertscaramuccia.com/).
Media strategy by Guillermo Purchese (https://hrf.org/member/guillermo-purchese/) and Marielle Marlys (https://animacreations.org/).
28 May 2026
3. Pussy Riot and Putin’s World Cup
In 2015, Swiss authorities—working with the FBI—raided a luxury hotel in Zurich and arrested top FIFA officials in a corruption scandal tied to how World Cups were awarded.
Three years later, Russia hosted the tournament anyway.
In Putin’s Russia, repression was not hidden. Journalists were silenced. Political opponents were imprisoned. And yet, as millions of fans arrived and billions watched, the country projected an image of openness, efficiency, and national pride.
In this episode, we trace how Russia secured the World Cup amid FIFA corruption—and how that image was challenged during the final, when Pussy Riot stormed the pitch, revealing the risks of dissent.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
How FBI agents arrested FIFA officials
Why Russia kept the 2018 World Cup despite the scandal
How Putin spent $50 billion on the Sochi Olympics
How FIFA’s voting system made corruption possible
Why Russia’s human rights abuses were already widely known
What Pussy Riot risked by storming the World Cup final
What their protest revealed about power in Putin’s Russia
Connect:
Website: hrf.org (http://hrf.org)
Instagram: @hrf (https://www.instagram.com/hrf/)
YouTube: @humanrightsfdn (https://www.youtube.com/@humanrightsfdn)
Facebook: humanrightsfoundation (https://www.facebook.com/humanrightsfoundation/)
X: @HRF (https://x.com/HRF)
Coming soon! We’ve partnered with La Media Inglesa (https://www.youtube.com/lamediainglesa) to bring you the full episode on YouTube, premiering in June 2026.
Created by Karim Zidan (https://oslofreedomforum.com/speaker/karim-zidan/) and Elie Bleier (https://eliebleier.com/).
Produced by Elie Bleier (https://eliebleier.com/) and Robert Scaramuccia (https://www.robertscaramuccia.com/).
Media strategy by Guillermo Purchese (https://hrf.org/member/guillermo-purchese/) and Marielle Marlys (https://animacreations.org/).
21 May 2026
2. Pelé, the Dirty Wars, and the Monster in the Streets
By 1978, the World Cup was a global spectacle—broadcasted into millions of homes and increasingly valuable to those in power. That year, it came to Argentina, under a military dictatorship.
Just miles from the stadiums, thousands were being detained, tortured, and disappeared, while inside them, there were celebrations and a carefully constructed image of national unity.
Power Plays is a podcast about how authoritarian governments use sport to make their power look legitimate—shaping perception and controlling the stories the world is told. In this episode, that strategy spreads from one country to the next. From Mexico to Germany to Argentina, regimes use the World Cup to project power and shape how they’re seen by the world.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
Mexico 1970 & the rise of global TV audiences
Germany 1974 & the tournament’s expansion
The 1978 World Cup in Buenos Aires, near detention & torture sites
Videla presenting the trophy as Argentina won
The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo protesting
Argentina’s controversial 6–0 win over Peru
The junta’s effort to present Argentina as stable and unified
Connect:
Website: hrf.org (http://hrf.org)
Instagram: @hrf (https://www.instagram.com/hrf/)
YouTube: @humanrightsfdn (https://www.youtube.com/@humanrightsfdn)
Facebook: humanrightsfoundation (https://www.facebook.com/humanrightsfoundation/)
X: @HRF (https://x.com/HRF)
Coming soon! We’ve partnered with La Media Inglesa (https://www.youtube.com/lamediainglesa) to bring you the full episode on YouTube, premiering in June 2026.
Created by Karim Zidan (https://oslofreedomforum.com/speaker/karim-zidan/) and Elie Bleier (https://eliebleier.com/).
Produced by Elie Bleier (https://eliebleier.com/) and Robert Scaramuccia (https://www.robertscaramuccia.com/).
Media strategy by Guillermo Purchese (https://hrf.org/member/guillermo-purchese/) and Marielle Marlys (https://animacreations.org/).
21 May 2026
1. The Fascist World Cup
In 1934, tens of thousands packed into a stadium in Rome, where Italy would go on to win the World Cup.
It should have been a celebration of sport and diplomacy—but more so, it was a carefully staged display of power.
As Italy lifted the trophy on home soil, Benito Mussolini used the tournament to manufacture nationalism and reshape how the world understood his regime. Ahead, we return to that moment to understand what was really at play.
Power Plays is a podcast about how authoritarian governments use sport to shape perception, control narratives, and legitimize power. From fascist Italy to modern-day regimes, this series traces how the World Cup has been used for something far beyond fraternal competition.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
How authoritarian regimes use sport to legitimize power
Rimet’s idealism vs. Mussolini’s manipulation
How the 1934 World Cup rebranded fascist Italy
The violent, controversial matches (including the quarterfinal against Spain)
How the infrastructure & media staged a controlled national image
Why foreign journalists praised Italy’s efficiency & “modernity”
Why there was hardly any visible dissent
Connect:
Website: hrf.org (https://hrf.org/)
Instagram: @hrf (https://www.instagram.com/hrf/)
YouTube: @humanrightsfdn (https://www.youtube.com/@humanrightsfdn)
Facebook: humanrightsfoundation (https://www.facebook.com/humanrightsfoundation/)
X: @HRF (https://x.com/HRF)
Coming soon! We’ve partnered with La Media Inglesa (https://www.youtube.com/lamediainglesa) to bring you the full episode on YouTube, premiering in June 2026.
Created by Karim Zidan (https://oslofreedomforum.com/speaker/karim-zidan/) and Elie Bleier (https://eliebleier.com/).
Produced by Elie Bleier (https://eliebleier.com/) and Robert Scaramuccia (https://www.robertscaramuccia.com/).
Media strategy by Guillermo Purchese (https://hrf.org/member/guillermo-purchese/) and Marielle Marlys (https://animacreations.org/).
20 May 2026
Welcome to Power Plays
Behind your favorite sport, there is always something else at play.
Power Plays is a new investigative podcast from the Human Rights Foundation hosted by sports journalist and HRF Sports and Dictators Program Lead Karim Zidan, exposing how authoritarian regimes weaponize sports for political influence.
Season 1 explores the regimes that have exploited the FIFA World Cup over the last century, from Italy’s fascists in 1934, to Argentina’s military junta in 1978, to Russia’s kleptocratic police state in 2018, to Qatar’s monarchy built on the backs of exploited migrant workers in 2022. We also look ahead to the 2030 and 2034 World Cups, which will be hosted — and used — by authoritarian regimes in Morocco and Saudi Arabia.
Power Plays reveals what’s happening beyond the headlines. Whether you like football or geopolitics — whether you plan to watch the World Cup or turn it off in protest — these stories matter.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.8 / 5
36 ratings
Contact Power Plays
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