Was This World Cup More Political? | State of Play

The 2026 FIFA World Cup unfolded against a backdrop of geopolitical tension, trade disputes, and competing national ambitions. But did these politics shape the tournament more than in previous years? Join CSIS experts Max Bergmann, Victor Cha, and Enoh Ebong and host Will Todman on Thursday, July 16 at 3:00 PM EDT at the CSIS headquarters to assess the geopolitical dimensions of this year's World Cup in a live episode of State of Play. The discussion will examine how host nation diplomacy, soft power competition, and economic interests played out on and off the pitch, and what the tournament revealed about the emerging world order. This event is made possible through general support to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. --------------------------------------------- A nonpartisan institution, CSIS is the top national security think tank in the world. Visit https://www.csis.org to find more of our work as we bring bipartisan solutions to the world's greatest challenges. Want to see more videos and virtual events? Subscribe to this channel and turn on notifications: https://cs.is/2dCfTve Follow CSIS on: • Twitter:   / csis   • Facebook:   / csis.org   • Instagram:   / csis