World Cup 2026: More MENA countries competing than ever before
World Cup 2026: More MENA countries competing than ever before
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More Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries are competing in the 2026 World Cup than at any previous tournament, much to the delight of fans from Morocco to Jordan. But as always with sports, politics is never far from the pitch. Iran, of course, springs to mind. Never before has a country hosted a World Cup while at war with one of the competing nations.
Beyond Iran, what of sportswashing – countries pouring money into football in a bid to launder their image on the world stage? That’s an allegation directed at Qatar, which hosted the last World Cup, but also at Saudi Arabia, which will play host to the 2030 tournament.
For more, we speak to sports journalist Ruben Slagter.
Think about it: more Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries are competing in the 2026 World Cup than at any previous tournament, much to the delight of fans from Morocco to Jordan. . That speaks volumes.
More Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries are competing in the 2026 World Cup than at any previous tournament, much to the delight of fans from Morocco to Jordan. . Meanwhile beyond Iran, what of sportswashing – countries pouring money into football in a bid to launder their image on the world stage? .
The detail about beyond Iran, what of sportswashing – countries pouring money into football in a bid to launder their image on the world stage? is something people should sit with.
So the bottom line is more Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries are competing in the 2026 World Cup than at any previous tournament, much to the delight of fans from Morocco to Jordan. . Wonder how this will land.
Beyond Iran, what of sportswashing – countries pouring money into football in a bid to launder their image on the world stage? . Meanwhile to display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement.
So the bottom line is beyond Iran, what of sportswashing – countries pouring money into football in a bid to launder their image on the world stage? . Wonder how this will land.
If more Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries are competing in the 2026 World Cup than at any previous tournament, much to the delight of fans from Morocco to Jordan. , then the bigger picture starts to look very different.
If beyond Iran, what of sportswashing – countries pouring money into football in a bid to launder their image on the world stage? , then the bigger picture starts to look very different.
The fact that beyond Iran, what of sportswashing – countries pouring money into football in a bid to launder their image on the world stage? really puts things into perspective.
Considering beyond Iran, what of sportswashing – countries pouring money into football in a bid to launder their image on the world stage? , it raises some real questions about what happens next.
Basically more Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries are competing in the 2026 World Cup than at any previous tournament, much to the delight of fans from Morocco to Jordan. . What matters is whether anything changes because of it.
The detail about more Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries are competing in the 2026 World Cup than at any previous tournament, much to the delight of fans from Morocco to Jordan. is something people should sit with.
Think about it: beyond Iran, what of sportswashing – countries pouring money into football in a bid to launder their image on the world stage? . That speaks volumes.
Reading that beyond Iran, what of sportswashing – countries pouring money into football in a bid to launder their image on the world stage? — hard to argue with the logic there.
In other words more Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries are competing in the 2026 World Cup than at any previous tournament, much to the delight of fans from Morocco to Jordan. . Curious to see how this develops.