Welcome to the final episode of Power Plays Season 1. If you haven’t seen the previous four, now’s the time. Today we’re going to talk about the future. About what to do with everything we’ve learned in this series: about FIFA; about the World Cup, and its support for authoritarian regimes. About whether you (yes, you) should do something about it.

In a desert transformed by migrant labor and sustained by vast reserves of petrodollars, Qatar’s 2022 World Cup laid bare both the promises and the limits of reform. The tournament’s dazzling stadiums and meticulously curated spectacle projected an image of modernity and progress, even as they obscured deep-rooted labor abuses and restrictions on basic rights.

This episode investigates how wealth reshaped scrutiny, softened accountability, and reframed criticism—and what the event ultimately revealed about the global institutions, corporations, and audiences willing to look away, exposing the quiet complicity that allows authoritarian systems to endure.

As the modern strongman era took hold, Vladimir Putin seized the 2018 World Cup as a chance to reintroduce Russia on the global stage. Far more than a sporting spectacle, the tournament became a carefully orchestrated exercise in soft power: a showcase designed to project openness, competence, and national pride while muting criticism and dissent.

In this episode, we’ll examine how the World Cup functioned as a masterclass in image management—blending hospitality, spectacle, and tightly managed media narratives—and what it reveals about the politics of perception in an age defined by disinformation and authoritarian branding.

Amid the terror of Argentina’s military dictatorship, the 1978 World Cup became a tool of distraction and legitimacy. This episode unpacks how the junta used football to project unity and stability while thousands “disappeared” in the Dirty War — and how the game’s global audience became unwitting spectators of repression.