Donald Trump's World Cup?

In this episode of COUNTER•POWER, we're talking about the people's sport, football, and its fascinating relationship with anti-fascism and the political power of sport ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Host Nick Dearden speaks with Chris Lee, author of The Defiant: A History of Football Against Fascism, Daniel Noroña from Amnesty International US, and Shaista Aziz, co-founder of The Three Hijabis. Throughout history, authoritarian regimes have used international sporting events to whitewash their reputations. The World Cup is usually framed as a celebration of unity and global joy around love for the sport, but this year’s events in Trump’s America are likely to become sites of repression and human rights abuses – despite Trump being given the first ever FIFA ‘Peace Prize’ earlier this year. In This Episode - Why football has become such a battleground over identity, nationalism, and resistance - The People’s Olympiad – the anti-fascist alternative to the 1936 Berlin Olympics - The human rights crisis in the United States under the Trump administration, the heightening of authoritarian practices, and erosion of the rule of law - How Trump is deputising federal and local law enforcement into ICE to build a deportation machine - The movement in England following the 2022 Euros to ban racism in football - What genuine change looks like, and when it it just “sportswashing” - The power of fans to change not only the game, but politics Football Against Fascism Website https://footballagainstfascism.org/ World Cup Chaos Tracker https://tracker.footballagainstfascism.org/ Chris Lee Blog: Outside Write https://substack.com/@outsidewrite Book: The Defiant: A History of Football Against Fascism https://housmans.com/product/the-defiant-a-history-of-football-against-fascism/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/outsidewrite/ Amnesty International Report: Humanity Must Win: Defending Rights, Tackling Repression at the 2026 FIFA World Cup https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/ior10/0837/2026/en/ World Cup Trav