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    Infantino’s latest Oval Office show reminds us Trump will be inescapable at the 2026 World Cup

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    When Donald Trump remained on stage, grinning in the sun as Chelsea lifted the Club World Cup trophy last month, it was all too easy to treat the incident as a one-off mistake. A moment that said plenty about Trump’s ego, sure. But ultimately, only a moment.Nope. It’s reality. Inescapable. Donald Trump will be everywhere Fifa is in the US, including at the 2026 World Cup – due to start in about 10 months, when Canada and Mexico will co-host.If this much wasn’t clear already after that moment at MetLife Stadium and all the other times Trump or his agenda have affected World Cup affairs, it may have become so after Friday’s Oval Office appearance with Fifa president Gianni Infantino – the eighth reported meeting between the pair since January, and the fifth to take place in public at the White House.Trump wore a signature hat reading “TRUMP WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING” – one of his collection that was deemed noteworthy enough to display to world leaders in the middle of high-stakes talks with lives hanging in the balance. He then announced that the attention of the soccer world will once again be on him in December. On the fifth of that month, the World Cup draw will take place not at the Las Vegas Sphere as had been widely expected, but at Washington DC’s Kennedy Center – a historic venue and a worthy place to sort through some ping-pong balls, but also one that is now controlled by Trump, who has installed himself as chair, named himself as host of the institution’s annual honors, overseen upcoming renovations (“there’s nothing like gold,” he said on Friday in reference to his Oval Office redesign), and may soon lend his wife’s name to the opera house.“Some people refer to it as the ‘Trump Kennedy Center,’ but we’re not prepared to do that quite yet,” Trump said on Friday. “Maybe in a week or so.”The World Cup is not federally controlled like the Kennedy Center, but it will now be subject to a similar dynamic. The tournament Trump has taken credit for bringing to the US will take place under his presidency, with the draw and “big press conferences” happening in a venue he controls, put on by an organization run by someone looking to befriend Trump at every turn – including by becoming the Trump Organization’s tenant. There is almost no choice other than to accept that Trump will make sure he is front and center at this tournament – even in spots where he has no business, or where his involvement may be seen as uncouth or inappropriate. It’s a dynamic Americans know well now, more than a decade into Trump’s rise.After Trump’s announcement, Infantino allowed him to hold the single most valuable hardware in men’s soccer, the World Cup trophy – not unheard of for heads of state, but more uncommon when accompanied with Infantino’s comment: “Since you are a winner, of course, you can as well touch it.”Trump asked if he could keep the trophy afterward, and it was not immediately clear that he was joking, given that Infantino let him keep the Club World Cup trophy, where it has been on display in the Oval Office ever since.Trump made this latest World Cup announcement in practically the same breath as he expounded on his latest imposition on the American people – a strong-arm takeover of Washington DC, which he called a “crime-infested rat hole” despite the fact that the Justice Department had previously reported a 30-year low in violent crime in the capital. Trump continued to promote his crackdown later on, with the trophy directly in front of him on the Resolute Desk, as if it was a microphone meant to amplify his message. When Trump got to talking about immigration, Infantino moved the trophy out of the way.When prompted by Trump on Friday, Infantino – rather than demurring to comment on the domestic affairs of a foreign country – gave a solemn “oh yes” to express approval of the president’s plan for DC. It’s a plan Trump said he intends to spread to other American cities, mentioning Chicago specifically, but one can easily imagine that any city that voted against him – like 10 of the 11 US host cities for the upcoming World Cup – would be on the list.“Johnny”, as Trump calls Infantino, then gifted him a ceremonial ticket to the World Cup final – row 1, seat 1.Given all of this, expect the World Cup final camera to linger on Trump’s face longer than many of the players, coaches, and team staff who will have worked all their professional lives to get to that point.You’ll see him at the World Cup before then, too. He’ll boast endlessly about how well the tournament is going, only changing tack if things get so bad it’s obvious to everyone, in which case he’ll blame someone else (watch your back, “Johnny”). He’ll do at least one half-time interview on Fox, which is broadcasting the tournament in the US. Alexi Lalas, a big fan of Trump’s Maga movement, will shake his hand. Don’t rule out a gold-encrusted seat waiting for Trump at the final and any other games he chooses to attend.There can be no doubt now – the World Cup is not a guest in the house Trump runs. It is his plaything. And Fifa appears happy to do anything it takes for things to remain that way lest world football’s governing body be discarded or, worse, made a target.The World Cup, beneath all of the commercialism, is almost comically pure-hearted. It’s a celebration of the most popular sport in the world. It gives people across the world something in common to talk about, to bond over, to yell at. That feeling goes double for the host nations, and it’s a large part of the tournament’s singular power. It’s why it’s so coveted by countries that rule through authoritarian means – and that now arguably includes the US under TrumpIndelible, sublime moments will still happen at the 2026 tournament. People will still take joy, hurt, anger, and feelings from them. But those moments will be punctuated by Trump – eternally encroaching on even the most elevated of emotional experiences.If this news drives you to boo, ready your vocal cords. If it drives you to act, start thinking about what you want that to look like. If it thrills you, pace yourself. Whichever way, it’s time to get used to it. More

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      in UK Politics

      New independent watchdog signed into law in watershed moment for English football

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      An independent football regulator has been signed into UK law after the Football Governance Act received royal assent, giving fans a greater say in how their clubs are run.It acts as a watershed moment for English football, with the Act introducing a football watchdog for the top five tiers of the men’s game to ensure clubs are run sustainably and are accountable to their fans.The regulator will also have “backstop” powers to impose a financial settlement between the English Football League (EFL) and the Premier League if they cannot agree one themselves.The House of Commons backed plans to set up the independent regulator earlier this month, with MPs voting in favour at third reading by 415 votes to 98 – a majority of 317.“This is a proud and defining moment for English football,” said Prime Minister Keir Starmer.“As someone who has loved the game all my life, I know just how deeply it runs through our communities. It’s where memories are made, and generations come together.”Our landmark Football Governance Act delivers on the promise we made to fans. It will protect the clubs they cherish, and the vital role they play in our economy. “Through our Plan for Change, we are ushering in a stronger, fairer future for the game we all love.”The Act follows a long journey to law, which began following the attempted breakaway European Super League, and a series of high-profile cases of clubs facing financial ruin. Over recent years fans from the likes of Bury, Macclesfield Town, Derby County, Reading and many others have been left to suffer the consequences of reckless mismanagement, excessive risk-taking and financial catastrophe at their club. The new regime is designed to raise standards across the game, supporting the government’s Plan for Change by ensuring English football can continue to deliver huge economic benefits across the country. Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: “Football clubs have been built and sustained by fans for generations, but too often they have had nowhere to turn when their clubs have faced crisis. “Today that changes as this Act will give hope and assurance to people, with the regulator working to protect clubs in towns and cities all over the country, where football clubs mean so much, to so many. “From Southend to Blackpool, Portsmouth to Wigan, these reforms have been driven by fans, for fans. I will be forever proud that this Government has delivered on its manifesto pledge to support them by reforming football’s governance, and I pay tribute to all those that have helped us deliver this historic moment for the nation’s game.” More

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      in US Politics

      How the rightwing sports bro conquered America

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      View image in fullscreenThis February, Pat McAfee was broadcasting live on ESPN, the most watched sports network in the US, when he aired a salacious rumor about the sex life of a teenage college student. Once a workaday punter with the Indianapolis Colts, McAfee is now the most influential pundit in American sports with an eponymous ESPN show, who has more than 11m followers across YouTube, X, Instagram and TikTok.To howls of merriment from his panel, McAfee spelled out the rumor centered on a 19-year-old female student at Ole Miss, a public university in Mississippi, as it was “being reported by everybody on the internet”: that the student had sex with her boyfriend’s father. “Ole Miss dads are slinging meat right now!” roared “Boston” Connor Campbell, one of McAfee’s sidekicks.McAfee did not directly name Mary Kate Cornett, the college freshman at the center of the rumor, but she has since described how McAfee’s amplification of this “completely false” story encouraged others in the sports talk world to do likewise, resulting in her receiving a deluge of threats and harassment. Cornett has engaged lawyers to explore suing McAfee, ESPN and others involved in spreading the rumor for defamation. McAfee appeared moderately chastened by the episode: “I never, ever want to be a part of anything negative in anybody’s life, ever,” he said recently while addressing the outrage that his boosting of the rumor prompted. But he has not yet apologized, and in no way does his future as one of ESPN’s most bankable stars seem in jeopardy. Whatever blowback ensued has blown right on by.The whole episode served as a demonstration of power: the world of sports influencers such as McAfee, which is particularly influential among young men and can be understood as an extension of the Donald Trump-aligned “manosphere”, now stands as an important bastion of the culture of insensitivity and entitlement on which Trumpism thrives.View image in fullscreenA new generation of sports talk starsThe Pat McAfee Show, a two-to three-hour afternoon blast of high-volume sports chat, sweating and raw, uncomplicated American male heterosexuality, launched in 2019. It has quickly become a favored media stop for many of the top names in US sports and culture. Tom Cruise spent 30 minutes on the show recently (“I appreciate the shit outta you,” McAfee told Cruise); LeBron James stopped by for an hour.Throughout the show’s history, McAfee has courted controversy: he’s called WNBA star Caitlin Clark a “white bitch”, he’s made jokes about child abuse, he’s helped air rumors linking celebrities to Jeffrey Epstein. None of it seems to matter: McAfee, whose show moved to ESPN on a five-year, $85m deal in 2023, powers on unperturbed, growing in cultural might with each passing month.McAfee is now the avatar of a new generation of sports talk stars who have upended the rules about public speech, remade culture in their own brash image, and are completely bulletproof.View image in fullscreenAmong McAfee’s peers in this dripped-out new world of costless needling are Barstool Sports boss Dave Portnoy; former NFL players Will Compton and Taylor Lewan, who co-host the show Bussin’ With the Boys; and NFL receiver-turned-podcaster Antonio Brown. Sports are also a major, though not exclusive, topic of conversation for Joe Rogan, Theo Von and other leaders of the manosphere. The Wikipedia pages of many of these figures contain hefty “controversy” tabs. Portnoy has faced extensive and credible accusations of sexual misconduct; Brown refers to WNBA star Clark, an athlete on whom the anti-woke right seems psychotically fixated, as “Cousin Itt”, referencing the Addams Family’s hirsute, non-verbal relative, and is so crassly sexist online that even the famously feminist redoubt of Barstool Sports has described him as a “crackpot”.In an earlier era, reckless promotion of tasteless gossip about a teenager’s sex life might have been enough to sink a career like McAfee’s. Provocation, abrasiveness and a delight in offending have been essential to sports talk – on radio and cable TV – for decades. But in the years before social media, on-demand programming and betting turned sports into an all-hours, all-platforms juggernaut, there were still lines that sporting pundits could not cross: shock jock Don Imus, for instance, built his career on being outspoken but was fired by WFAN/MSNBC in 2007 after making racist and misogynist comments including describing the Rutgers women’s basketball team as “nappy-headed hos”.Today’s sports broadcast world runs according to a new set of rules, in which “respectable” TV and the demi-monde of sports podcasts, streaming, and shitposting increasingly intersect: all engagement is good engagement, and the best type of filter is no filter. Whatever faint norms of decorum constrained earlier generations of professional sports talkers have faded completely.There’s a reciprocal flow of testosterone and ideas between these shows, the world of sports, social media and real life. A handful of subjects and themes recur: veneration of the military, glorification of strength and traditional “male” values, celebration of gambling, the denigration of women and anything thought to represent “woke” culture. On any given day across the sporting bro-zone you might hear Bussin’ With the Boys and their guests rail against pronouns and cancel culture, the hosts of Barstool Sports’ Pardon My Take podcast argue Taylor Swift needs to “release a sex video” to make her presence at NFL games tolerable to the average male fan, or McAfee devote 30 minutes (as he did recently) to describing his day among “maybe the baddest motherfuckers on earth”: the drill instructors at the US Marine Corps training center on Parris Island in South Carolina. These interests and obsessions mirror the president’s cultural politics, turning the sports bros into critical emissaries for Trump’s peculiar brand of popularly elected vandalism.It’s worth questioning, of course, how influential these influencers really are. A recent poll from the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics found that 35% of young men had an unfavorable view of Rogan, while a further 36% had never heard of him or did not know enough about him to have an opinion. The much-rehearsed idea that the minds of young male voters have been irretrievably colonized by the manosphere is surely overblown.But there seems little dispute that these influencers have been effective in platforming rightwing figures and ideas. The sports bros are an essential part of that legitimizing apparatus – all the more so because their endorsement of the right’s reflexes, priorities and modes of attack is couched in the ostensibly apolitical language of sports. The cultural supremacy of the sports bros is now so total that Barstool’s Dave Portnoy is now famous for his online pizza reviews that can make or break restaurants in America. When a casual day trader from Massachusetts who built his media empire on college gambling advice becomes the arbiter-in-chief of America’s favorite food, something fundamental has shifted in how we determine cultural authority.View image in fullscreenThe sports bro supremacyThe unsinkability of these sporting mouths, bobbing forever on the surface of our cultural consciousness, parallels the envenomation of online discourse and the transformation of Trump from presidential punchline into the most consequential political figure of the century. Trump, let’s not forget, first reached the White House after navigating a storm of outrage over the Access Hollywood tape, a victory that set a precedent for the practitioners of “locker room talk” who have found fame in his wake. With the tacit endorsement of the sports bros, on whose shows he became a regular guest during last year’s election, Trump not only seized the young male vote, he also engineered a complete reversal in his own reputation throughout the sporting world from his first to second terms.Interestingly, McAfee himself declined an invitation to have Trump on his show during last year’s election campaign, reasoning that he and his sidekicks are “not the ones” to be asking questions about politics – an uncharacteristic moment of modesty. But UFC-adjacent comedian Theo Von and Barstool Sports’ Bussin’ With the Boys both featured extended conversations with Trump during the campaign.These appearances showed Trump to be extremely well-versed in sports, which is perhaps no surprise when you consider the amount of time he spends tweeting about them, watching them and playing them – not to mention his own tangled history with the business side of sports (Trump owned a New Jersey-based team in the short-lived United States Football League during the 1980s). These podcasts also helped humanize Trump, presenting him as a relatable guy who works long hours and is sympathetic enough to engage a jumpy figure like Von in a conversation about drug addiction. The warm audience Trump received helped normalize his politics and support.Today the sporting world, with a few notable exceptions, genuflects before Trump in a way that seemed unthinkable during his first term. Beyond the unquivering Trumpian stronghold of Dana White’s UFC, the big professional leagues such as the NFL and NBA either kept their distance from the 45th president or were at outright war with him; now No 47 is the guest of honor at the Super Bowl and every second athlete is doing the Trump dance, the double fist pump and minor hip swivel that the president has turned into his signature choreographic move on the campaign stage.The president’s political endurance has perhaps, in turn, acted as a kind of bro bat signal, helping to validate the obnoxiousness and resistance to introspection on which the sports bros thrive: if he doesn’t have to censor himself, apologize or pay lip service to feelings, why should they?View image in fullscreenThe personality of American culture has long been split between purity and profanity. The death of consequences for figures like McAfee suggests the balance of power has definitively swung in favor of the trolls and tough guys, and now none of puritanical old America’s sanctities will hold them back. It says everything about the sports bros’ invincibility that among the top names floated by progressives to counter the blitzkrieg of Trump’s second term and lead them to 2028 is Stephen A Smith, the sports pundit who turned relentlessness into a career and is something of a spiritual godfather to the McAfees and Portnoys of the world. The only person who can defeat a sports bro is another sports bro.Might there be another strategy for the left to combat this tide flooding the sporting-cultural zone? Recent reports suggest Democrats are slinging money to all corners of the country in a desperate attempt to find the progressive answer to Rogan: the chatter is all about “speaking with American men” and investing to generate a “return on culture”, and Democrats such as Hakeem Jeffries and Josh Shapiro have in recent months zombied from sports podcast to sports podcast in a doomed and focus group-refined attempt to revive a cadaverous Democratic party with the tonic of their everyman cool.These appearances might be wooden and inauthentic, but it does suggest a key role for sports in the left’s attempt to pull itself off the canvas following the catastrophe of last November. Sports are hardly the exclusive preserve of the right. The Golden State Warriors’ four-time championship winning head coach, Steve Kerr, is probably the most vocal critic of Trumpism at work in American sports today, and Democrats have long associated themselves with sports: Barack Obama, of course, is an accomplished hooper, while Zohran Mamdani, the socialist candidate for New York City mayor who loves Arsenal and cricket and has spun his appearances at Knicks games during the recent NBA playoffs into campaign trail gold, is living proof that it’s possible to be passionate and knowledgeable about sports while eschewing the ugliness of bro culture.But left-leaning sports pundits? That’s a tougher ask. The pallor of recent attempts to seed a more robust progressive presence online highlights how severely Democrats have been left behind in the new world of sports talk. Broadcasts such as the Pat McAfee Show are powerful engines of political orientation not because they address politics directly – they almost never do – but because their politics emerge in the interstices of everything said on screen.There aren’t many popular voices in sports punditry that do for the left what McAfee and his cohort do, casually yet masterfully, for the right: embody an ethos, solidify an idiom and transmit a set of values that find a natural downstream outlet in electoral politics. Influential Twitch lefty Hasan Piker occasionally discusses sports but they are not his main focus; pundits such as Pablo Torre and Bomani Jones lean liberal but they do not have the same reach that the McAfees of the world do, and they don’t express their politics with anything like the same splash. Over the past decade sports broadcasters who discussed politics from a leftist perspective, such as former ESPN host Jemele Hill, were gradually forced out of the mainstream. NFL star Travis Kelce, who hosts a popular podcast with his older brother Jason, seems vaguely progressive in orientation but he also said playing in front of Trump at this year’s Super Bowl was “a great honor”, a tellingly wimpy political intervention. Like LeBron before him, he’s too big to get too real, too good to get dirty; the Kelce-James brand of progressivism is very much by the book, a progressivism of the civics class. Where the right is loud, the sporting left speaks with a militant squeak.View image in fullscreenA lack of voices on the leftOn-field athletic competition is about domination, strength, winners and losers, yes, but it’s also about finesse, beauty, cunning and wit; it’s a place where conservative fantasies of order and the cerebrations of the progressives can both find a home.But if any side should be controlling the field of sports talk, it is the left, since so many of the inequalities that plague society at large now infect sports as well, which are increasingly run on extractive lines for the benefit of predatory rentiers, autocrat-backed sovereign wealth funds and private-equity ghouls. Meanwhile the leveling mechanisms that still keep the American professional leagues interesting and unpredictable – collective wage bargaining, drafts, salary caps and luxury taxes – have their roots in this country’s unlikely tradition of sporting socialism. Far from being a natural stage for the tiresome politics of cultural revenge in which the right traffics, sports (as a thing to shoot the shit about) offer a rich canvas for the exploration of many issues about which the left cares deeply: race, gender, class, social mobility and the corrupting influence of money.The left should not be afraid of learning from the lords of the sporting bro-zone even as it spurns their machismo and lack of tact. A culture used to crew necks can’t go back to buttoned collars.For example, as part of his deal with ESPN, McAfee is allowed to swear live on TV: “The following progrum is a collection of stooges talking about happenings in the sports world,” announces a disclaimer that airs before each show, read aloud in a geriatric voice reminiscent of Grampa Simpson. “There may be some ‘cuss’ words because that’s how humans in the real world talk.” This is one area where the bros and the left should make common cause: swearing is good. Viewers love McAfee not despite the fact he’s loose, unpolished and has a dirty mouth; they love him because of these things. This is a man, let’s not forget, who first came to prominence at age 23, while playing for the Colts, after being arrested in downtown Indianapolis for taking a pre-dawn swim in a canal. Asked to explain why he was soaking wet, McAfee replied: “I am drunk.” The charge was dismissed but the hearts of a city were won, and a media career was born.Why can the left not take the best of McAfee and his ilk while jettisoning the worst? Surely it’s possible to talk sports in a way that’s biting, real, unfiltered, funny and even mean – to “connect with men where they are”, as we are repeatedly told the left must – without descending into toxicity, cruelty, belligerence and hate. If progressives want to reclaim the White House, they could do worse than to start rambling for hours on end about games and players that have nothing to do with politics at all. Sports-loving leftists of America, unite: you have nothing to lose but your parlays. More

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      Donald Trump’s UFC stunt is more than a circus. It’s authoritarian theatre | Karim Zidan

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      Ten years ago – before I became an investigative journalist – I found myself working as a color commentator for a Russian mixed martial arts organization bankrolled by an oligarch deep in Vladimir Putin’s orbit.The job took me around the Russian Federation and its neighboring states, allowing me to pursue unique stories that would otherwise have been out of my reach. I met a Latvian fighter who escaped a black magic cult run by his coach, attended an MMA show with the president of Ingushetia (now Russia’s deputy minister of defence) and knocked back vodka shots with ex-KGB officers and Russian oligarchs.Then there was the time the organization attempted to host an event in Moscow’s famed Red Square, one of the most historically and politically significant landmarks in Russia. It also sits adjacent to the Kremlin, the seat of Russia’s political power. The event would have been a chance for the organization and its oligarch to ingratiate themselves to Putin, a known MMA fan who had previously attended their shows.Logistical issues, including security concerns and layers of bureaucratic red tape, rendered the event impossible at the time. But the incident stuck with me nonetheless as an example of the political undercurrent flowing through the sport. That memory became especially relevant as Donald Trump announced plans to host an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event at the White House to commemorate the nation’s 250th birthday next year.Speaking to a crowd of supporters during a Salute to America event in Iowa Thursday, Trump said: “Does anybody watch UFC? The great Dana White? We’re going to have a UFC fight. We’re going to have a UFC fight – think of this – on the grounds of the White House. We have a lot of land there.”White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the news during the press briefing, adding that the president was “dead serious” about hosting a UFC event at the official residence and workplace of the president.The announcement comes as no surprise given Trump’s longstanding relationship with the UFC, its current owner Ari Emanuel and its CEO Dana White.Over the past few years, Trump has frequently attended UFC events, basking in the admiration of the young, predominantly male crowd. He has cultivated relationships with fighters, leveraging their support to portray himself as a symbolic strongman. He has embraced the UFC’s culture of defiance, machismo and spectacle to help buttress his image as a rebel against liberal norms. It has also hastened the replacement of America’s conventional political culture with an abrasive new blend of entertainment and confrontational politics, perfectly embodied by both Trump and White.The UFC CEO stumped for Trump at three Republican national conventions and a slew of campaign rallies over the past eight years. He traveled with the president on Air Force One and produced a propaganda documentary on Trump entitled Combatant-in-Chief. And when Trump won the 2024 presidential election, it was White who took the stage at his victory party – because, naturally, Trump needed his fight promoter to seal the deal.For the UFC, its association with Trump has granted the once-renegade promotion a new kind of political legitimacy and influence. It also set it apart from other sports leagues through its unapologetically conservative posture. The UFC is even sponsoring the United States semiquincentennial, dubbed America250, joining the likes of Amazon, the Coca-Cola Company, Oracle and Walmart.Since taking office in January, Trump has attended two UFC events. He most recently attended UFC 316 in June just hours after signing a memo ordering the deployment of 2,000 national guard troops to Los Angeles county after Ice immigration raids sparked mass protests. He nevertheless enjoyed a standing ovation from the fans in attendance, and glowing endorsements from the fighters, one of whom even kneeled before Trump. UFC champion Kayla Harrison embraced him, planted a kiss on his cheek and wrapped her championship belt around his waist as his family and supporters looked on in delight. It was a spectacle befitting the strongman Trump imagines himself to be.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionWhich is why Trump’s plan to stage a UFC event at the White House makes perfect sense. It is the natural climax of a partnership in which the UFC has become the stage for Maga mythology. It carries shades of fascist Italy under Benito Mussolini, particularly its obsession with masculinity, spectacle and nationalism – but with a modern, American twist.View image in fullscreenFascist Italy used rallies, parades and sports events to project strength and unity. Sports, especially combat sports, were used as tools to cultivate Mussolini’s ideal masculinity and portray Italy as a strong and powerful nation. Similarly, Trump has relied on the UFC to project his tough-guy image, and to celebrate his brand of nationalistic masculinity. From name-dropping champions who endorse him to suggesting a tournament that would pit UFC fighters against illegal immigrants, Trump has repeatedly found ways to make UFC-style machismo a part of his political brand.Since Trump returned to office in January, his presidency has been marked by a purge of federal agencies, crackdowns on dissent and immigration, and hollowing out institutions once designed as guardrails against abuses in presidential power. Loyalty to Trump, rather than the constitution and the American people, has become the primary litmus test for political advancement. Meanwhile, sports have emerged as a central feature of his administration, advancing his policies while projecting a cult of personality and the celebration of violence. All of these are the hallmarks of authoritarianism.There was once a time when the US could point to the authoritarian pageantry of regimes like Mussolini’s Italy and claim at least some moral distance. That line is no longer visible. What was once soft power borrowed from strongmen is now being proudly performed on America’s own front lawn.

      Karim Zidan writes a regular newsletter on the intersection of sports and authoritarian politics. More

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      NWSL’s Angel City wear ‘Immigrant City Football Club’ shirts after Los Angeles raids

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      Angel City, Los Angeles’ NWSL team, wore shirts that proclaimed themselves “Immigrant City Football Club” before Saturday night’s game against the North Carolina Courage.The team also printed 10,000 t-shirts bearing the same message, with “Los Angeles is for Everyone” on the back in English and Spanish, and gave them to fans at the game. The move was in solidarity with immigrants in the city who have been targeted by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.Protests over Donald Trump’s immigration policies broke out in Los Angeles a week ago. Members of the marines and national guard have been sent into the city and dozens of similar protests have broken out nationwide.“Football, the game that we all love, we have it here because of immigrants,” said Angel City captain Ali Riley after the game, which her team lost 2-1. “It’s played the way it is because of immigrants. This club that is such a huge part of me wouldn’t be here without immigrants.”Singer Becky G, who is one of the club’s founding investors alongside figures such as Natalie Portman and Serena Williams, also read a statement before the game. “The fabric of this city is made of immigrants,” she said. “Football does not exist without immigrants. This club does not exist without immigrants.”Women’s soccer players have a long history of speaking out on social and political issues. The US women’s national team was at the forefront of campaigning for equal pay in soccer, while stars such as Megan Rapinoe have been critical of Trump’s policies during his two terms as president.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionAngel City is one of the most commercially successful women’s football teams in the world. The club’s average attendance this season is just over 17,000, the highest in the NWSL. More

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      US state department says World Cup fans ‘want to see’ Donald Trump’s travel ban

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      A US state department spokesperson on Thursday claimed that attendees of the upcoming World Cup and Olympics should support the restrictions on travel from 19 countries ordered by Donald Trump.On Wednesday evening, the US president signed a sweeping order banning travel from 12 countries and restricting travel from seven others, reviving and expanding a policy from his first term.“I think people from around the world, and Americans going to these events, would want to see actions like this,” said US state department spokesperson Tommy Pigott at a press briefing on Thursday afternoon. “This is part of what it means to host an event. We take security concerns extremely seriously, we want people to be able to go to the World Cup and do so safely.”The order claims at various points that the restrictions are a response to supposed deficiencies in each country’s own vetting procedures. Pressed on Thursday on what relevance other country’s procedures had on the US’s ability to vet immigrants themselves, Pigott declined to elaborate.Nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen will be “fully” restricted from entering the US, according to Wednesday’s proclamation. Meanwhile, the entry of nationals of Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela will be partly restricted. The order is set to go into effect on 9 June.The order does contain an exception for “any athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives, travelling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the secretary of state.” However, that exception does not explicitly cover a number of specific cases or situations that will be relevant for players from affected countries who intend to play in the United States.First, the exception does not specify whether the “World Cup” referred to in the order includes the Club World Cup, which starts this month and is being hosted by the US. Asked by the Guardian whether the Club World Cup – in which a number of players from the banned countries are due to play – was included in the exception, a state department spokesperson declined to comment other than to say they would not get into hypotheticals or specific cases.Fifa also declined to comment to the Guardian when asked about this distinction and whether the organization was involved in lobbying Trump to carve out this exception as part of the travel ban.The definition of “major event” is also left open to interpretation, making it unclear whether or not this summer’s Gold Cup qualifies. That tournament, the regional soccer championship for North and Central America and the Caribbean will feature Haiti, who are scheduled to play the United States in Austin, Texas on 19 June in addition to group games in San Diego, California and Arlington, Texas.A spokesperson for Concacaf, the confederation that oversees the Gold Cup, did not respond to a request for comment. The state department declined to comment.skip past newsletter promotionafter newsletter promotionThe order also lays out a number of exceptions regarding current visa holders, providing a list of visa types for which holders will not be subject to travel restrictions. The P-1 visa most often issued to professional soccer players in MLS, the NWSL and other leagues is not listed among those who qualify for the exception, but specific type of banned visas are specified for individual countries in the order.Venezuela, for example, has various types of B, F, M and J visas that are banned under the order. That means that the order does not impact P-1 visas issued to nationals of Venezuela. MLS currently has three players on international duty with Venezuela. One, the San Jose Earthquakes’ Josef Martínez, became a US citizen last year. The other two, Inter Miami’s Telasco Segovia and LAFC’s David Martínez, are recent arrivals to MLS and do not yet have permanent residency. Venezuela are set to play a World Cup qualifier on Thursday night against Bolivia, and are scheduled for another at Uruguay on Tuesday 10 June – one day after the ban is set to be enforced.An MLS spokesperson declined to elaborate when asked if there were concerns about the Venezuelan players’ immigration status. Asked on Thursday if the travel ban could impact current US visa holders from these countries, Pigott said that the exceptions will apply on a “case-by-case basis.” More

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      Teen trans athlete at center of rightwing attacks wins track events in California

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      A teenage transgender athlete in California, who has been at the center of widespread political attacks by rightwing pundits and the Trump administration, won in two track events over the weekend. The 16-year-old athlete, AB Hernandez, tied for first place alongside two other athletes in the high jump, and tied for first place in the triple jump.This comes as the Trump administration threatened to withhold federal funding from California for allowing trans athletes to compete in girls’ sports.The meet took place days after the California Interscholastic Federation, the governing body for high school sports in the state, changed its rules. Now, if a transgender athlete places in a girls’ event, the athlete who finishes just behind will also receive the same place and medal.Despite protests at the meet, the athletes expressed joy during the meet, multiple outlets reported.“Sharing the podium was nothing but an honor,” another high school athlete said to the San Francisco Chronicle. “Although the publicity she’s been receiving has been pretty negative, I believe she deserves publicity because she’s a superstar. She’s a rock star. She’s representing who she is.”View image in fullscreenHernandez finished the high jump with a mark of 5ft 7in (1.7 meters), the Associated Press reported, with no failed attempts. The two co-winners also cleared that height after each logged a failed attempt. The three shared the first-place win, smiling as they stepped together onto the podium.Hernandez received first place in the triple jump, sharing the top spot with an athlete who trailed by just more than a half-meter, the AP said. Earlier in the afternoon, Hernandez placed second in the long jump.Hernandez and her participation in the meet brought national attention and attacks by the Trump administration. She has become the target of a national, rightwing campaign to ban trans athletes from youth sports. The justice department said it would investigate the California Interscholastic Federation and the school district to determine whether they violated federal sex-discrimination law.The federation’s rule change reflects efforts to find a middle ground in the debate over trans girls’ participation in high school sports. They announced the change after Trump threatened to pull federal funding from California unless it bars trans athletes from competing on girls’ teams. But the federation said it decided on the change before the Trump threats.Hernandez’s participation in the sport is allowed by a 2013 state law, stating that students can compete in the category reflecting their gender identity.At least 24 states have laws on the books barring transgender women and girls from participating in certain women’s or girls’ sports competitions, the AP reported. More

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      Jalen Hurts stays away as Eagles visit White House to celebrate Super Bowl victory

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      Donald Trump feted the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles at the White House on Monday, but several players, including quarterback Jalen Hurts, decided to skip the celebration.Hurts and other players cited scheduling conflicts as the reasons for their absences, according to a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity.Despite the quarterback’s absence, Trump called Hurts a “terrific guy and terrific player” who turned in “one stellar performance after another” during the Eagles’ run to the championship.“The Eagles have turned out to be an incredible team, an incredible group,” Trump said.In April, Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie said attending the White House was not compulsory for players. “Our culture is that these are optional things,” Lurie said. “If you want to enjoy this, come along and we’ll have a great time and if you don’t, it is totally an optional thing.”NBC Sports Philadelphia reported that other Eagles players who did not attend Monday’s ceremony included AJ Brown, DeVonta Smith, Jalen Carter, Jordan Davis and Brandon Graham.The Eagles were disinvited to the White House in 2018, the last time they won the Super Bowl, after a number of players said they would drop out amid tensions over the anthem protests that had swept the NFL. Trump, then in his first term as president, had attacked players who knelt during the anthem to protest against racial inequality. At the time, Trump wrote on social media that the Eagles were in dispute “with their President because he insists that they proudly stand for the National Anthem, hand on heart, in honor of the great men and women of our military and the people of our country.”Asked by a reporter on the red carpet of the Time magazine gala last week whether he would take part in the White House visit, Hurts responded with an awkward “um” and long silence before walking away.The Eagles’ star running back, Saquon Barkley, visited Trump over the weekend at Trump National Golf Club in New Jersey, and caught a ride with the president to Washington on Air Force One.“He loved it,” Trump said of Barkley’s flight on the presidential airplane. “He’s a great young guy and an incredible football player. Saquon had a season for the ages, running behind the most powerful offensive line in the NFL,” Trump said.Barkley, meanwhile, pushed back on social media criticism earlier Monday for spending time with Trump. He noted that he has golfed with Barack Obama too.“Maybe I just respect the office, not a hard concept to understand,” Barkley posted on X.While Trump’s first term in office led to a number of athletes, such as LeBron James and Megan Rapinoe, criticizing the president, there has been little pushback from the sports world so far in his second term. In February, Trump became the first sitting US president to attend the Super Bowl, and his presence was welcomed by several players, including the Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce.Teams who have won a major championship are traditionally invited to the White House to celebrate their victory with the president. However, during Trump’s first-term several teams were not invited or made it clear they would not attend if they were. Those teams included the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, and the United States Women’s National Team after their victory at the 2019 Women’s World Cup. More

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      MLB commissioner Manfred to rule on Pete Rose ban after Trump meeting

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      MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said he discussed Pete Rose with Donald Trump at a meeting two weeks ago and he plans to rule on a request to end the sport’s permanent ban of the career hits leader, who died in September.Speaking Monday at a meeting of the Associated Press Sports Editors, Manfred said he and Trump have discussed several issues, including Manfred’s concerns over how Trump’s immigration policies could impact players from Cuba, Venezuela and other foreign countries.Manfred is considering a petition to have Rose posthumously removed from MLB’s permanently ineligible list. The petition was filed in January by Jeffrey Lenkov, a Southern California lawyer who represented Rose prior to the 17-time All-Star’s death at age 83.“I met with President Trump two weeks ago, I guess now, and one of the topics was Pete Rose, but I’m not going beyond that,” Manfred said. “He’s said what he said publicly, I’m not going beyond that in terms of what the back and forth was.”Trump posted on social media in February that he plans to issue “a complete PARDON of Pete Rose.” Trump posted on Truth Social that Rose “shouldn’t have been gambling on baseball, but only bet on HIS TEAM WINNING.” It’s unclear what a presidential pardon might include – Trump did not specifically mention a tax case in which Rose pleaded guilty in 1990 to two counts of filing false tax returns and served a five-month prison sentence. The president said he would sign a pardon for Rose “over the next few weeks” but has not addressed the matter since.Rose had 4,256 hits and also holds records for games (3,562) and plate appearances (15,890). He was the 1973 National League MVP and played on three World Series winners.An investigation for MLB by lawyer John M Dowd found Rose placed numerous bets on the Cincinnati Reds to win from 1985-87 while playing for and managing the team. Rose agreed with MLB on a permanent ban in 1989.Lenkov is seeking Rose’s reinstatement so that he can be considered for the Hall of Fame. Under a rule adopted by the Hall’s board of directors in 1991, anyone on the permanently ineligible list can’t be considered for election to the Hall. Rose applied for reinstatement in 1997 and met with Commissioner Bud Selig in November 2002, but Selig never ruled on Rose’s request. Manfred in 2015 denied Rose’s application for reinstatement.Manfred said reinstating Rose now was “a little more complicated than it might appear on the outside” and did not commit to a timeline except that “I want to get it done promptly as soon as we get the work done. I’m not going to give this the pocket veto. I will in fact issue a ruling.”Rose’s reinstatement doesn’t mean he would automatically appear on a Hall of Fame ballot. He would first have to be nominated by the Hall’s Historical Overview Committee, which is picked by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America and approved by the Hall’s board. Manfred is an ex-officio member of that board and says he has been in regular contact with chairman Jane Forbes Clark.“I mean, believe me, a lot of Hall of Fame dialogue on this one,” Manfred said.If reinstated, Rose potentially would be eligible for consideration to be placed on a ballot to be considered by the 16-member Classic Baseball Era committee in December 2027.Manfred added he doesn’t think baseball’s current ties to legal sports betting should color views on Rose’s case.“There is and always has been a clear demarcation between what Rob Manfred, ordinary citizen, can do on the one hand, and what someone who has the privilege to play or work in Major League Baseball can do on the other in respect to gambling,” he said. “The fact that the law changed, and we sell data and/or sponsorships, which is essentially all we do, to sports betting enterprises, I don’t think changes that. It’s a privilege to play Major League Baseball. As with every privilege, there comes responsibilities. One of those responsibilities is that they not bet on the game.”Manfred did not go into details on his discussion with Trump over foreign-born players other than to say he expressed worry.“Given the number of foreign-born players we have, we’re always concerned about ingress and egress,” Manfred said. “We have had dialogue with the administration about this topic. And, you know, they’re very interested in sports. They understand the unique need to be able to go back and forth, and I’m going to leave it at that.” More