Freakonomics Radio
640. Why Governments Are Betting Big on Sports
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Show notes
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).
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