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How football helped Putin start a war

June 24, 2022

Russia hosted the World Cup in 2018, one of the most watched sporting events in the world. Hard to believe that the country’s president would start a war only four years later. Did Putin fool us all?

https://p.dw.com/p/4D7Tm
Russland WM 2018 Frankreich gegen Kroatien
Image: Reuters/

This is the story of how Putin manipulated football - through sportswashing, a bromance with FIFA president Infantino, and tons of money from oligarchs and state-owned companies like Gazprom. 

 

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