About this episode
The Gulf States and China are spending billions to build stadiums and buy up teams — but what are they really buying? And can an entrepreneur from Cincinnati make his own billions by bringing baseball to Dubai? SOURCES: Simon Chadwick , professor of afroeurasian sport at Emlyon Business School. Derek Fisher , high school basketball coach, former N.B.A. coach and player. Kash Shaikh , chairman, C.E.O., and co-founder of Baseball United. Rory Smith , football correspondent at The Observer. RESOURCES: " China Keeps Building Stadiums in Africa. But at What Cost? " by Elian Peltier (New York Times, 2024). " Manchester Off-Shored: A Public Interest Report on the Manchester Life Partnership Between Manchester City Council + The Abu Dhabi United Group ," by Richard Goulding, Adam Leaver, and Jonathan Silver (Centripetal Cities, 2022). " Manchester City's Cozy Ties to Abu Dhabi: Sponsorship Money – Paid for by the State ," by Rafael Buschmann, Nicola Naber, and Christoph Winterbach (Spiegel International, 2022). " China Renews Its ‘Belt and Road’ Push for Global Sway ," by Keith Bradsher (New York Times, 2020). EXTRAS: " What Is Sportswashing — and Does It Work? (Update) ," by Freakonomics Radio (2024). Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.