https://www.scmp.com/rss/323832/feed Dr Paul Widdop is a cultural networks analyst at Leeds Beckett University in the UK. He is also co-founder of The Football Collective and research editor of Connect Sport. en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com India does not do things by halves. Bollywood movies, for instance, are often lavish affairs, funded by huge budgets and populated by casts of thousands. Although a hugely popular staple of everyday life in India, Bollywood movies can be complicated and confusing, with many elements heavily influenced by entertainment elsewhere. Such observations seem resonant in the context of Indian sport, as well as cinema: the country’s biggest game, cricket, is a remnant of a previous, colonial era which is... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3095705/indian-sport-remains-great-enigma-bollywood-style-epic-yet-be?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3095705/indian-sport-remains-great-enigma-bollywood-style-epic-yet-be?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Aug 2020 00:00:24 +0000 As the sun sets on another decade and a new one rises, the frantic pace of modern sport seems unrelenting, and nowhere more so than in Japan. Indeed, having just hosted the 2019 Rugby World Cup, Hinomoto-no-kuni heads into 2020 as the host of perhaps the world’s biggest sporting mega event, the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Across in West Asia, fresh from its hosting of the world title boxing bout involving Andy Ruiz and Anthony Joshua, Saudi Arabia will presumably continue to vigorously pursue... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3042775/ufc-manchester-city-and-nfl-money-networks-see-east-meets-west?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3042775/ufc-manchester-city-and-nfl-money-networks-see-east-meets-west?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Dec 2019 07:19:11 +0000 When South African captain Siya Kolisi recently lifted rugby union’s World Cup trophy in Yokohama, it wasn’t just a significant moment in his country’s history. It was also an important one in the history of the tournament’s host nation, Japan. Not only was this the first time that an Asian nation had hosted rugby’s showcase event, it was also something of a coming-out party for Japan’s year of sport. Japan will next be in the global sporting spotlight in 2020 when Tokyo hosts both the Olympic... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3038392/explosion-japans-commercial-partnerships-shows-soft-power-offer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3038392/explosion-japans-commercial-partnerships-shows-soft-power-offer?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Nov 2019 00:00:12 +0000 Some 15 years ago, English Premier League (EPL) football matches between Manchester City and Arsenal were innocuous affairs – perhaps aside from a little north-south antagonism, which, at the time, sometimes characterised these games. Nowadays, fixtures between the two EPL giants are more pointed, though off the pitch rather than on it. And there’s a reason for this. Behind each club sits a constituent of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In City’s case, it’s Abu Dhabi; for Arsenal, it’s... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3016802/tug-war-between-emirates-abu-dhabi-and-dubai-two-brothers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3016802/tug-war-between-emirates-abu-dhabi-and-dubai-two-brothers?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 02 Jul 2019 00:00:23 +0000 Eden Hazard, a Belgian playing for English Premier League club Chelsea, recently scored the deciding penalty in a Uefa Europa League semi-final against Eintracht Frankfurt. The goal secured the team a place in the competition’s final against Arsenal, a match that will be staged in Baku – Azerbaijan’s capital city. Most Chelsea and Arsenal fans were left scratching their heads, wondering where Baku actually was, which was quickly followed by questions about how to get there. The latter took on... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3011862/baku-big-league-arsenal-and-chelsea-supporters-caught-uefa-playing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3011862/baku-big-league-arsenal-and-chelsea-supporters-caught-uefa-playing?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 May 2019 00:00:13 +0000 It would be really interesting to see Fifa President Gianni Infantino’s burgeoning air miles account, which would inevitably reveal details of a man who spends his time shuttling between countries across the world. And there are some more miles to come, as he will soon be travelling Stateside to attend Fifa’s next Council meeting in Miami due to take place on the 14th and 15th of this month. Extensive travel is to be expected when working for Fifa; after all, Infantino is the leader of world... https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3001520/fifa-president-gianni-infantino-plays-global-game-how-football-has?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/football/article/3001520/fifa-president-gianni-infantino-plays-global-game-how-football-has?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 13 Mar 2019 08:30:44 +0000 Russia recently launched the official poster that will be used to promote the 2018 Fifa World Cup. It portrays the image of leaping goalkeeper Lev Yashin, a Russian football great during the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s. The imagery used in the poster prompted all manner of discussion on news and social media. Consensus seemed to be the semiotics of it hark back to communist era Soviet Union, when the country was in its pomp and at the height of its global power. In other words, the... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/2125028/far-reaching-gazprom-deals-show-russias-state-backed-sports?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/2125028/far-reaching-gazprom-deals-show-russias-state-backed-sports?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Dec 2017 03:32:18 +0000 Over the last decade, Qatar has become synonymous with sport, albeit at times contentiously. The small Gulf nation’s rapid ascendancy to a position of influence in world sport has not been accidental. In its 2030 National Vision and accompanying development strategy, sport is explicitly mentioned as a vehicle through which Qatar can achieve a multiplicity of goals. The country is one of the world’s biggest oil and gas producers, which has enabled it to accumulate considerable currency reserves.... https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/2123791/soft-power-sponsorships-how-qatar-uses-sport-promote-positive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/2123791/soft-power-sponsorships-how-qatar-uses-sport-promote-positive?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Dec 2017 05:41:10 +0000 Ali Baba is a character from the folk tale Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, a woodcutter who gains entry to a den of treasure using the phrase ‘open sesame’. As the tale’s tit suggests, the treasure is ill-gotten, accumulated by a gang of thieves who try to kill Ali when he finds it. A willing servant strikes first though, killing the thieves and saving Ali, who then unites her in marriage with his son. What this ta might tell us about sport in the 21st century is probably best ft unexplored at... https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/2065997/open-sesame-sports-success-guanxi-alibaba?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/2065997/open-sesame-sports-success-guanxi-alibaba?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Jan 2017 04:18:35 +0000 Wang Jianlin is China’s richest man, his fortune derived from his ownership of the Wanda Corporation. Wang set up the company in 1988, originally to deal in real estate. Through a process of conglomeration, the business is now also active across the hospitality, retailing, tourism, entertainment and sport industries. This has enabled Wang to accumulate a personal fortune worth more than US$30 billion, and to build a company currently generating upwards of US$40b each year. This is a long way... https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/2059495/feast-wolves-chinas-richest-man-hunting-global-sports-and-entertainment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/soccer/article/2059495/feast-wolves-chinas-richest-man-hunting-global-sports-and-entertainment?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Jan 2017 00:58:38 +0000