2018 FIFA World Cup Russia: Political, Economic, and Social Implications

Please join the Center on Global Interests and the Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies (IERES) at George Washington University for a discussion on the political, economic, and social implications of Russia hosting the 2018 FIFA World Cup. This event marks the beginning of a joint CGI-Futbolgrad project on the World Cup that will continue this discussion through various panels, publications, and digital journalism leading up to the event.

About the Speakers:

Lisa Delpy Neirotti is a pioneer in the field of sports tourism having served over twenty years as a professor of sport, event, and tourism management and co-authored The Ultimate Guide to Sport Event Management and Marketing. She is a member of the Women’s Sport Foundation (WSF), Up2Us, and Council for Responsible Sports advisory boards as well as President of the DC Chapter of Women In Sports and Events (WISE).

Marlene Laruelle explores contemporary political, social and cultural changes in Russia and Central Asia through the prism of ideologies and nationalism. She is the author of Russian Eurasianism: An Ideology of Empire (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2008), In the Name of the Nation: Nationalism and Politics in Contemporary Russia (Palgrave, 2009), and Russia’s Strategies in the Arctic and the Future of the Far North(M.E. Sharpe, 2013), and is editor of Eurasianism and the European Far Right: Reshaping the Europe-Russia Relationship (Lexington, 2015).

Lori Lindsey has been playing professional soccer since she graduated from the University of Virginia in 2002, where she was two-time ACC player of the year. A member of the US 2011 World Cup team and recent anchor of the Washington Spirit’s midfield and fan favorite, Lori is an active ambassador for the game.

Manuel Veth is a PhD candidate at King’s College London and creator of the website Futbolgrad, which features articles and stories from the post-Soviet space through the prism of football, culture, history and politics. He is working on a dissertation entitled “Selling the People’s Game: Football’s transition from Communism to Capitalism in the Soviet Union and its Successor States.”