Does football bring out the best and worst in people?

Football (or soccer) is more than just a game; it’s a global phenomenon. Today, as football club ownership, team talent and the fandom all evolve, have the meaning and merits of the sport also changed? What can we learn about ourselves and our world by examining the current state of the “beautiful game”? 

This episode uses football as a lens to explore questions of capitalism, nationalism, power and identity. Have powerful investors corrupted the sport and its fandom? Does football genuinely connect cultures or deepen divisions? And does the worldwide talent economy empower the global south or exploit it?