Hey there GRC subscribers,

It’s Andie Crossan here, the Executive Director of the GRC and host of State of Play. I hope you’re enjoying the summer. It’s been a busy one for us as we’ve been producing bonus episodes of the pod! There’s been so much going on — with a very Trumpian Club World Cup, Saudi Arabia playing in the Concacaf Gold Cup, and plenty going on ahead of the next World Cup in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.

The subject of sports, politics, and the way that big events change cities was one that we kind of fell into. For those who may not be familiar with our story, the Global Reporting Centre is based on the campus of the University of British Columbia (UBC). In Vancouver, we hosted the 2010 Olympic Games and will soon be one of the 16 host cities across North America that will host the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup.

And it was on the Vancouver campus of UBC that I had the opportunity to sit down for a conversation with Karim Zidan. Karim is an investigative journalist who has been writing about sports and politics for over a decade — stories like President Trump’s connection to the UFC, fascist ‘fight clubs’ in Canada, and how Formula 1 is helping authoritarian regimes. He’s an outstanding journalist, and to read his stories, you can visit his newsletter, Sports Politika.

Karim explained to me why he doesn’t use the term ‘sportswashing’ to describe what countries like Saudi Arabia are doing when they invest in sports.

“That’s how Saudi Arabia really wins you over. This is why sports washing is not a good term here because, as a matter of fact, they are making no effort to distract from the human rights abuses. This is chequebook diplomacy at its finest because you know just how bad they are, yet you still keep coming, crawling on your hands and knees, begging for that money. They are in the position of power, and that’s what this is about.”

— Karim Zidan, investigative journalist

Karim also works for Play the Game, an organization that promotes democracy, transparency, and freedom of expression in sports. They host an annual conference that brings together the world’s leading experts on sports and politics. In October, I’ll be heading to Finland to meet up with Karim and other friends from the pod, and hopefully make some new ones! And you might even get a bonus episode or two.

For now, though, you can enjoy my conversation with Karim Zidan here.

Andie Crossan,
Executive Director