Sports Politika is 2 Years Old
We’re living in an era where sports aren’t just entertainment—they’re political theater, recruiting grounds, and soft power tools. If we want to understand what’s happening—and what’s coming next—help
Welcome to Sports Politika, a media venture founded by investigative journalist and researcher Karim Zidan that strives to help you understand how sports and politics shape the world around us. Our mission is to offer an independent platform for accessible journalism that raises awareness and empowers understanding.
If you share this vision, please consider supporting us by joining our community and becoming a paid subscriber. We are currently running a 20% promotion on annual subscriptions, which you can take advantage of below.
For those who’ve followed my work over the past decade, you might’ve noticed a recurring theme: being in the right place at the right time. From my years in Russia—witnessing the annexation of Crimea, the assassination of Boris Nemtsov, and the rise of Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov and his MMA fight club—to my early coverage of the Trump-UFC alliance and the rise of Saudi Arabia’s sports empire in 2016, I’ve often found myself poised, pen in hand, just as the ground was beginning to shift.
The same applies to Sports Politika. In the two years since I launched my media platform, we’ve witnessed a seismic shift in global sports and politics, redefining the landscape while drawing new relevance to my work.
In politics, we witnessed the eruption of the Israel–Hamas war, reviving the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian territories. More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed since Hamas-led gunmen attacked communities in southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and abducting 251 as hostages. Millions of Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced while hospitals, universities, and generational homes have been razed to the ground.
Former President Donald Trump secured victory over incumbent Kamala Harris, amassing 312 electoral votes to Harris's 226, marking his return to the White House as the 47th president. Since assuming office in January 2025, Trump has embarked on a series of destructive policies, including igniting a global trade war, decimating federal institutions, and spreading fear and intimidation through unconstitutional deportations and migrant round-ups.
Meanwhile, the war in Ukraine has persisted, with NATO welcoming new members like Finland while Russia is reportedly undertaking one of the largest rounds of conscription to Russia’s military in years, as Vladimir Putin pushes ahead with an expansion of the country’s military at a crucial moment in the war in Ukraine.
In sports, the last two years have also been significant. Saudi Arabia’s aggressive push into the sports world—from soccer to golf—has dominated the economics and politics of global competition. The kingdom, along with other authoritarian regimes like Rwanda, Qatar, China, and the United Arab Emirates continue to grow their influence through sponsorships, acquisitions, event hosting, and infiltrating sports governing bodies.
Events such as the Paris Olympics and the Euro 2024 tournament in Germany unfolded in a world more politically polarized than ever. Even in the U.S., the overlap between politics and sport has never been clearer, as Trump’s alliance with the UFC is emblematic of the hyper-masculine, spectacle-driven appeal has helped mainstream a new form of political theater, where aggression, bravado, and spectacle matter more than policy or governance.
Compared to 2023, the world in 2025 feels more volatile, divided, and uncertain than ever. And if we want to understand how we got here, we have to start where spectacle meets strategy: the world of sports and politics.
From wars and nationalist movements to authoritarian resurgence and digital subcultures, today’s most urgent global events can be decoded by tracing the intersection of sports and politics.
This is the work I have dedicated myself to over the past decade—and it needs your support now more than ever.
In order for Sports Politika to continue to grow for years to come, we need to reach a critical mass of 2000 paid subscribers. We are approximately 1700 subscribers away from that goal.
This is not an arbitrary figure. It is the minimum number of paying subscribers required to reach a gross annual revenue that would allow me to reinvest in the platform. I want to hire an editor, a couple of staff writers, and expand our audio/video offerings. I want to invite guest contributors — other journalists, athletes, or thinkers—to share their insight and expertise. None of this can be achieved without the support of you, my loyal readers.
We’re living in an era where sports aren’t just entertainment—they’re political theater, recruiting grounds, and soft power tools. If we want to understand what’s happening—and what’s coming next—we need to trace the money, muscle, and masculinist currents attempting to shape our future.
This is my mission—and your support makes it possible.
Sports Politika is a media platform dedicated to the intersection of sports, power and politics. If you like what you see, upgrade to a paid subscription ( or gift a subscription if you already have your own). We would appreciate if you could also like the post and let us know what you think in the comment section below.
You do great work, keep it up.
Rock on Karim!!! Love this. Let’s meet that vision together 😍