The Sam Nunn School of International Affairs is proud to announce ICE Age: FIFA, Human Rights, and the 2026 FIFA World Cup with Dr. Adam Beissel, Associate Professor of Sport Leadership and Management at Miami University (OH). This talk is part of the Soccer, Politics and Society Speaker Series, a collaboration between Dr. Kirk Bowman from the Nunn School and Dr. Cas Mudde at the University of Georgia. This is event is made possible by support from the Soccer, Community, Innovation, and Politics (SCIP) VIP.

Dr. Beissel’s current research project critically examines the geopolitical economy of the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup jointly hosted in Mexico, Canada, and the United States. He has authored several journal article manuscripts and refereed book chapters that explore the cultural, political, and economic issues and concerns that emerged through the bidding process and in the lead-up to the event’s hosting. He plans to conduct ethnographic fieldwork throughout the tournament in Summer 2026 for a series of additional journal articles and book chapters, eventually culminating in a research book on the event.

Previously, he led an interdisciplinary research project critically examining the cultural and political economies of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup held in Australia and New Zealand. In 2023, he published a co-edited monograph, The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup: Politics, Representation, and Management in the Routledge Series on Women, Sport, and Physical Activity (with Verity Postlethwaite, Andrew Grainger, and Julie Brice).

We are only a few short months away from the World Cup here in Atlanta, and this talk promises to be one you should not miss! This event is open to the public, and no registration is required. We hope to see you there!