Essay

Soccer Still Has Some Explaining to Do

Re-read today, Franklin Foer’s 2004 classic inadvertently suggests where globalization went wrong. December 12, 2025, 2:30 PM

A drawn illustration of a soccer player with a US dollar sign on the bottom of their show about to kick a globe like a soccer ball.

In November, FIFA, international soccer’s governing body, announced that it would be awarding its inaugural Peace Prize at the 2026 World Cup draw. Pretty much the entire internet quickly concluded that Donald Trump would be the recipient. A few weeks later, international soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo joined Trump for a state dinner with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. And last week, during a convoluted and unhinged draw ceremony that concluded with a half-hearted rendition of

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