The latest issue of Fast Capitalism (a journal run by GMU Cultural Studies alum David Arditi) was edited by Paul Smith and centers on issues surrounding this year's FIFA World Cup, offering critical insights into political economy, sportswashing, mediatization, geopolitics, and environmental concerns. The issue promises to be an enriching read for fans of the beautiful game, and for those interested more broadly in the mediatized culture of sport in global capitalism.
Below is an excerpt from Smith's introduction to the issue:
"Amongst their many other virtues and points of interest, these essays together can be said to lay out a general picture of how FIFA, fueled by the desire for market expansion and driven by ever more intense mediatization, has spread its tendrils into football all over the world—both now and in the past. Infantino recently claimed that football would not even exist in some 150 countries were it not for FIFA’s role in expanding the game and spreading revenue. Whether that is a viable claim or not is open to question, but it remains unarguable that every aspect of the sport is in some way or other marked by FIFA’s presence."
Full contents of the issue can be accessed here.