The Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies cordially invites you to attend the symposium Sports, Politics, Society, to be held in Doha on 1-2 October 2022.

The symposium has been organised to mark Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The Arab Center, as an institution specialised in the social sciences and humanities, will explore sports through critical approaches to understand the phenomenon.

By way of sociology, anthropology, history, political science, international relations, cultural studies, and other related fields of the social sciences and humanities, the symposium addresses an array of research questions. What can the social sciences contribute to the study of sports? How might social development in Qatar be evaluated through its hosting of the World Cup? What is the cultural impact of hosting this tournament, and what role have sports and the media taken up in constructing and promoting the Qatari national brand? In what ways might sports represent a space for resistance, and how might we understand the intersections of sports, politics, and religion? What role do ultras movements play in protest movements in the Arab World? How have stadiums been utilised as spaces to stimulate political awareness? What is the relationship between sports and governance in the Arab World of today? Have athletic policies contributed to bringing about socioeconomic integration? And how does women athletes’ experience of the body differ from that of men in the Arab World?

The symposium will be held in Auditorium 2 of the Arab Center’s Cultural Building. Registration begins at 9:30 am. Events will be livestreamed across the ACRPS social media accounts.

• Simultaneous Arabic-English translation will be provided.
• Attached is the Symposium Booklet.