World Cup Analysis 2026

World Cup Analysis 2026:
Mega events, media, and the politics of sport

Featuring over 100 contributors from leading institutions….

We hope it makes for a vibrant, informative and engaging read.

PDF (via Dropbox)

Introduction and Acknowledgements (Daniel Jackson, …)

Section 1: Host City & Mega-Events

  1. Nation branding, city diplomacy, and the 2026 FIFA World Cup: The missed opportunity Dr. Yoav Dubinsky
  2. Looking for America at the 2026 FIFA men’s World Cup Prof. David Rowe
  3. Infection control amid weakened public health infrastructure at World Cup 2026 Dr. Kathleen Bachynski
  4. The World Cup’s $10 billion sustainability blind spot Prof. John Davis 
  5. Reconsidering simplistic assessments of environmental harm Dr. Brian McCullough
  6. Time to abolish the World Cup Prof. Adriana Pantoja de Alba and Dr. Toby Miller
  7. Elevating the gritty city: Philadelphia and the World Cup politics of welcome Zoe Tzanis
  8. FIFA captured Mexico’s World Cup, but fans took it back Dr. Mireya Márquez-Ramírez
  9. The hidden price of welcome: Tipping, inequality, and mega-event hospitality Dr. Umer Hussain and Dr. Steve Bien-Aimé 
  10. The 2026 World Cup, the carnivalesque, and “modern football”  Dr. Jan Andre Lee Ludvigsen
  11. A Transit Hat Trick? Short-Lived Sustainability at the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup Dr. Courtney M. Cox and Analise Pugh

Section 2: Athletic Performance

  1. /// Prof. …

Section 3: Identity and Representation

  1. Access at the World Cup Dr. James L. Cherney
  2. A tale of two migrations: Socceroo Mo Toure and the migrant politics of the world’s game. Prof. Andy Ruddock 
  3. Come together Prof. Michael Silk and Dr. Keith Parry
  4. Colombia – Whose shirt is it anyway? Dr. Peter J. Watson
  5. The Brazilian national team call-up: A shadow theater Dr. William Douglas de Almeida
  6. Fandom and identity: Scotland Prof. Raymond Boyle
  7. A stigmatized symbol: The St George’s Cross at the 2026 FIFA World Cup Dr. Daniel Read and Prof. Daniel Lock

Section 4: Fandom and World Cup

  1. What are we watching when we watch the World Cup: A very American take Dr. Amy Bass
  2. Fanship and shifting national identities: The promise of the World Cup Dr. John M Sloop
  3. EAFC and the building blocks of soccer fandom in the United States Dr. Johnathan Anderson
  4. “There’s always a few dickheads”: Live sites, public dis/order and the crowd as media spectacle Dr. Brett Hutchins 

Section 5: Politics and the World Cup

  1. Sportswashing and the 2026 FIFA World Cup: The politics of World Cup enjoyment Dr. Jack Black
  2. VAR is getting smarter — but soccer’s biggest decisions are still human Joshua Gray and Dr. Tom Webb
  3. The other side of globalization: Congolese of Belgian origins in DR Congo’s 2026 World Cup squad Dr. Guilherme Silva Pires de Freitas and Dr. Felipe Antonio Honorato
  4. How mega-events help authoritarians like Putin and Trump Dr. Sven Daniel Wolfe
  5. FIFA as the embodiment of corrupt crony capitalism Dr. Mark Doidge Anderson
  6. How did the United States use the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup for political ends? Dr. Kyle R. King
  7. Liberté, Égalité, Mbappé: Les Bleus and America at 250 Dr. Lindsay Sarah Krasnoff
  8. Leaving more than a jersey: the rhetorical power of the Iranian national football team’s letter Dr. Mark A. Mederson
  9. Football solidarity and Palestinian imagination of liberation and justice Dr. Nadia Naser-Najjab 

Section 6: Marketing and Betting

  1. Fighting ambush marketing through contracts: The role of ticket terms of use and stadium codes of conduct Dr. Cem Abanazir
  2. Predicting the World Cup champion: Media, AI, and the illusion of algorithmic certainty Dr. Angel Torres-Toukoumidis

Section 7: Global Media Coverage

  1. The World Cup’s newest disruption for sports journalism is generative AI Dr. Fahad Humayun
  2. Ten days on Fox TV’s planet FIFA Dr. Michael Mirer
  3. Beyond the pitch: How The Athletic addressed the larger framework of the World Cup Dr. Xavier Ramon and Dr. Christopher D. Tulloch 
  4. The revival of newsletters in the coverage of sports mega-events Dr. José Luis Rojas Torrijos
  5. ‘All eyes on us’: World Cup framing in Mexican and Canadian mainstream news Dr. Cecilia Arregui Olivera, Dr. Vitaly Kazakov and Dr. Kirsten Frandsen
  6. Roblox and the mediatization of soccer: the case of FIFA Super Soccer Dr. Estée Fresco and Dr. Natalie Coulter
  7. Political framing of the World Cup in distinct media systems: the case for comparative, interdisciplinary research Dr. Cecilia Arregui Olivera, Dr. Vitaly Kazakov and Dr. Kirsten Frandsen
  8. From heroes to villains: how the media shaped the image of the Czech national team at the World Cup Dr. Veronika Macková and Dr. Ondřej Trunečka 
    FIFA’s creator correspondents – the beginning of the end of sports journalism? Dr. Matheus Simões Mello and Dr. Thomas Horky  
  9. The creator World Cup: How FIFA expanded engagement while controlling access Dr. Merryn Sherwood
  10. “Amefricanidades” on the global stage: Brazil, Cape Verde, and Afro-Atlantic belonging in FIFA World Cup media narratives Dr. Doiara Silva dos Santos