On Saturday, 1 October 2022, the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies will host the symposium “Sports, Politics, Society.”

This academic event, to mark the 2022 Qatar World Cup, will address the topic with critical approaches aimed at understanding the phenomenon of sport through the lenses of political science, international relations, economics, sociology and anthropology. The presentations will be offered by researchers and specialist experts, whose research contributions will be published in two special issues of the Siyasat Arabiya and Omran journals after a year of preparations.

The agenda includes 9 sessions, with the participation of 28 male and female researchers, from Qatar, Palestine, Iraq, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Lebanon, Syria and Germany. The sessions examine the contribution of social sciences to the study of sports as a phenomenon, and the role that sport can play in social, cultural and political development, focusing on Qatar’s hosting of the 2022 World Cup. It will deal with a range of themes, including sport and international relations, sport as a space for resistance (as in the case of Palestine) and as a space for political investment, women and sports and governance and sports. It also addresses the issue of sports and social movements through an understanding of the ultras phenomenon in the Arab world.

The symposium will be held in attendance at the Arab Center headquarters in Doha, from 9 AM on 1-2 October 2022. The sessions will be livestreamed on Arab Center social media pages.

* Simultaneous translation between Arabic and English will be available throughout.