Power over sports is power over people, power over passion. Worldwide, there is no stronger sports phenomenon than football. So when you see your team, your favourite player, sporting a brand name on their uniform, particularly a brand associated with a world power (such as Arsenal and Real Madrid united by partnerships with Emirates), or with addictive products like gambling, that’s not neutral marketing. You're seeing an outright soft power flex.
Vass Bednar is joined by Joey D’Urso in this timely Policy Prompt episode where they discuss the reality of active geopolitics in the beautiful game. Joey is a journalist with a career focus on football (soccer) and politics, and he’s the author of More Than A Shirt: How Football Shirts Explain Global Politics, Money and Power (Seven Dials, 2025).
Mentioned:
• Ronald Reagan’s Proclamation 5606, National Women in Sports Day: https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/proclamation-5606-national-women-sports-day-1987 • Title IX, Richard Nixon’s amendment against the discrimination on the basis of sex in sport: https://time.com/4822600/title-ix-womens-sports/ • Real Madrid’s long-standing partnership with Emirates: https://www.realmadrid.com/en-US/news/club/sponsors/el-real-madrid-y-emirates-amplian-su-historica-alianza-hasta-2031-09-06-2026 • Arsenal’s partnership with Emirates: https://www.arsenal.com/news/arsenal-and-emirates-extend-partnership-2028 • Sportswashing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sportswashing • Premier League clubs banning sports gambling logos from uniforms in 2026–27: https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/apr/13/premier-league-clubs-ban-gambling-sponsors-on-front-of-shirts-from-2026-27 • Gambling companies circumventing advertising ban: https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/ce9ree15yd0o • Saudi Arabia’s 80% stake purchase of Newcastle United F.C. in 2021: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_takeover_of_Newcastle_United_F.C. • US sanctions Colombia soccer club for crime ties: https://insightcrime.org/news/brief/us-treasury-sanctions-colombia-soccer-club-for-criminal-collusion/ • Aston Villa supports Acorns, children’s hospice: https://www.acorns.org.uk/news/aston-villa-supports-acorns-in-europe/ • Football teams owned by Red Bull: https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Football_clubs_owned_by_Red_Bull Further Reading:
• More Than A Shirt: How Football Shirts Explain Global Politics, Finance and Power (Seven Dials, 2025): https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/215148690-more-than-a-shirt • Joey D’Urso bio: https://www.northbanktalent.com/clients/joey-durso/ Policy Prompt is produced by Vass Bednar and Paul Samson. Our supervising producer is Tim Lewis, with technical production by Henry Daemen and Luke McKee. Show notes are prepared by Rebecca MacIntyre, Libza Manna and Isabel Neufeld, who also handles social media engagement, brand design and episode artwork by Abhilasha Dewan and Sami Chouhdary, with creative direction from Som Tsoi.
Original music by Joshua Snethlage.
Sound mix and mastering by François Goudreault.
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