@jamespiotr.bsky.social
Journalist and father to a super intelligent alien queen. Author of five books: Engulfed, 1312, The Billionaires Club, Thirty One Nil, When Friday Comes. Co-founder of Delayed Gratification. https://linktr.ee/jamespiotr
Enough footballers were killed by the Iranian Islamist regime in the space of forty-eight hours in January to make up two full teams. Fifa’s response? Silence.
By Zohreh Abdollahkhani
josimarfootball.com/2026/03/05/s...
Anytime Cas!
Tomorrow we will discuss "ultras" in my "Soccer and Politics" course. The students will listen to my interview with @jamespiotr.bsky.social - which was the first episode of my podcast RADIKAAL. It was the perfect start (although, fortunately, the sound quality improved over the years).
Denne vart bestilt etter besøk og foredrag med James Montague på Bergen Bibliotek for 2 veker sidan, i dag kom den i postkassa @jamespiotr.bsky.social @challa1.bsky.social
Ballen er vår! Ny serie på biblioteket. Foredrag om Saudi-Arabia og Ultras med @jamespiotr.bsky.social 5. og 6. februar og @aselliaas.bsky.social om Det farlige spillet 24. mars. Flere show kommer. Kom?
Thank you Simon!
Mijn interview met de vermaarde voetbaljournalist @jamespiotr.bsky.social. We spraken o.a. over zijn nieuwe boek "Engulfed: How Saudi Arabia Bought Sport, and the World". Het volledige interview verschijnt komende maand in @panenkanl.bsky.social. www.indehekken.net/interview-me...
I dream of one day playing on grass!
Try playing in goal
Crystal Palace officially appeal to CAS pushing to be reinstated into Europa League at the expense of either Nottingham Forest (who were bumped up to replace them by UEFA) or John Textor’s other team, Lyon.
Also includes Saudi international & Al Hilal opinions inc fans, Engulfed author @jamespiotr.bsky.social “everyone has their price”, analysis of Trump/US geo-political relations, @kristianulrichsen.bsky.social on Middle East instability impact & much more
pod.fo/e/2f6765
Thanks to both the @esportsworldcup.bsky.social and @jamespiotr.bsky.social for contributing to this week’s Memo, which I think is well worth a read
Nazis especially visible in my part of Berlin at the moment. Shaven heads and Helly Hansen tracksuit tops (HH for Heil Hitler); Ellesse tracksuit tops (worn so they can show off the SS symbol). It’s wild how in some German towns this is as natural a part of youth culture as hip-hop is in the US.
A message from @philippeauclair.bsky.social
The reality we at Josimar face is stark. Should we fail to raise 50 000 euro by 1 July, the world’s only investigative media dedicated solely to football will cease to exist.
josimarfootball.com/2025/06/03/a...
This is an extract from my new book “Engulfed: How Saudi Arabia Bought Sport, and the World”, out now with @blinkbooks.bsky.social
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1785...
This is an extract from my new book “Engulfed: How Saudi Arabia Bought Sport, and the World”, out now with @blinkbooks.bsky.social
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1785...
Last yr I turned on the TV in my Riyadh hotel. A Saudi 3rd div game was on & a team called NEOM was playing. It sparked a journey that uncovered a plan to build the biggest club in the world from scratch.
An extract from my book “Engulfed”: @theathletic.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/athletic/632...
NEW with @simonkuper.bsky.social:
The prevailing narrative around increased injuries and player workload in elite football is wrong.
Players don’t play any more football than in the past. What has changed is a sharp rise in intensity of play.
Not more minutes, but each minute exerts more load.
Nominative determinism hard at work on this one.
It's lunchtime and we have already been kicked out of the FIFA hotel.
Meanwhile, 5000 security personnel, including the army and tanks, have been deployed in Asunción to safeguard the 'football family'.
All totally normal.
Leon’s appeal against being booted out of Club World Cup for having same owners as Pachuca has failed. So FIFA’s plan for Club America to play off against LA FC will now determine 32nd team. That place should be LA’s but Club America is popular and FIFA needs to shift tickets to the meritocratic CWC
Thank you!
Happening in Turkey: Saturday morning wave of police operations against politicians and officials, tens of people have been detained in Istanbul, Ankara and Tekirdağ in Western Turkey tr.euronews.com/2025/04/26/i...
NEW: In the latest episode of the YouTube series I host, @lhn.bsky.social joins me to get into the nitty gritty of surveillance against protesters and steps you can take to protect yourself: www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL34...
Thank you Andreas!
Litt lavbluss her for tiden (noe jeg kommer tilbake til), men jeg har i hvert fall lest en bok, som jeg anbefaler på det sterkeste. Den er det @jamespiotr.bsky.social som har før til pennen. idrettspolitikk.no/2025/04/15/s...
Late to this, but glad to see @jamespiotr.bsky.social fighting the good fight, explaining the why & how of Saudi money in sport. (note: it's a source of unending wonder to me that in 2025 it's genuinely necessary to explain wahhabism in a sports podcast). www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AMa...
The Masters are on, but there's a hidden contest: LIV Golf v the PGA Tour.
Here's a video from my new book for Tifo Sports, about the Saudi golf takeover & the resulting uncivil war.
Feat: the PIF, McIlroy, Mickelson going rogue, Woods, a $850m deal plus Donald Trump.
m.youtube.com/watch?v=3wh8...
In the pub Marx once lived!