Power Plays – Details, episodes & analysis

By 1978, the World Cup was a global spectacle—broadcasted into millions of homes and increasingly valuable to those in power. That year, it came to Argentina, under a military dictatorship.

Just miles from the stadiums, thousands were being detained, tortured, and disappeared, while inside them, there were celebrations and a carefully constructed image of national unity.

Power Plays is a podcast about how authoritarian governments use sport to make their power look legitimate—shaping perception and controlling the stories the world is told. In this episode, that strategy spreads from one country to the next. From Mexico to Germany to Argentina, regimes use the World Cup to project power and shape how they’re seen by the world.

• Mexico 1970 & the rise of global TV audiences
• Germany 1974 & the tournament’s expansion
• The 1978 World Cup in Buenos Aires, near detention & torture sites
• Videla presenting the trophy as Argentina won
• The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo protesting
• Argentina’s controversial 6–0 win over Peru
• The junta’s effort to present Argentina as stable and unified

• Website: hrf.org
• Instagram: @hrf
• YouTube: @humanrightsfdn
• Facebook: humanrightsfoundation
• X: @HRF

Coming soon! We’ve partnered with La Media Inglesa to bring you the full episode on YouTube, premiering in June 2026.

Created by Karim Zidan and Elie Bleier.

Produced by Elie Bleier and Robert Scaramuccia.

Media strategy by Guillermo Purchese and Marielle Marlys.

In 1934, tens of thousands packed into a stadium in Rome, where Italy would go on to win the World Cup.

It should have been a celebration of sport and diplomacy—but more so, it was a carefully staged display of power.

As Italy lifted the trophy on home soil, Benito Mussolini used the tournament to manufacture nationalism and reshape how the world understood his regime. Ahead, we return to that moment to understand what was really at play.

Power Plays is a podcast about how authoritarian governments use sport to shape perception, control narratives, and legitimize power. From fascist Italy to modern-day regimes, this series traces how the World Cup has been used for something far beyond fraternal competition.

• How authoritarian regimes use sport to legitimize power
• Rimet’s idealism vs. Mussolini’s manipulation
• How the 1934 World Cup rebranded fascist Italy
• The violent, controversial matches (including the quarterfinal against Spain)
• How the infrastructure & media staged a controlled national image
• Why foreign journalists praised Italy’s efficiency & “modernity”
• Why there was hardly any visible dissent

• Website: hrf.org
• Instagram: @hrf
• YouTube: @humanrightsfdn
• Facebook: humanrightsfoundation
• X: @HRF

Coming soon! We’ve partnered with La Media Inglesa to bring you the full episode on YouTube, premiering in June 2026.

Created by Karim Zidan and Elie Bleier.

Produced by Elie Bleier and Robert Scaramuccia.

Media strategy by Guillermo Purchese and Marielle Marlys.

Behind your favorite sport, there is always something else at play.

Power Plays is a new investigative podcast from the Human Rights Foundation hosted by sports journalist and HRF Sports and Dictators Program Lead Karim Zidan, exposing how authoritarian regimes weaponize sports for political influence.

Season 1 explores the regimes that have exploited the FIFA World Cup over the last century, from Italy’s fascists in 1934, to Argentina’s military junta in 1978, to Russia’s kleptocratic police state in 2018, to Qatar’s monarchy built on the backs of exploited migrant workers in 2022. We also look ahead to the 2030 and 2034 World Cups, which will be hosted — and used — by authoritarian regimes in Morocco and Saudi Arabia.

Power Plays reveals what’s happening beyond the headlines. Whether you like football or geopolitics — whether you plan to watch the World Cup or turn it off in protest — these stories matter.

In 2015, Swiss authorities—working with the FBI—raided a luxury hotel in Zurich and arrested top FIFA officials in a corruption scandal tied to how World Cups were awarded.

Three years later, Russia hosted the tournament anyway.

In Putin’s Russia, repression was not hidden. Journalists were silenced. Political opponents were imprisoned. And yet, as millions of fans arrived and billions watched, the country projected an image of openness, efficiency, and national pride.

In this episode, we trace how Russia secured the World Cup amid FIFA corruption—and how that image was challenged during the final, when Pussy Riot stormed the pitch, revealing the risks of dissent.

• How FBI agents arrested FIFA officials
• Why Russia kept the 2018 World Cup despite the scandal
• How Putin spent $50 billion on the Sochi Olympics
• How FIFA’s voting system made corruption possible
• Why Russia’s human rights abuses were already widely known
• What Pussy Riot risked by storming the World Cup final
• What their protest revealed about power in Putin’s Russia

• Website: hrf.org
• Instagram: @hrf
• YouTube: @humanrightsfdn
• Facebook: humanrightsfoundation
• X: @HRF

Coming soon! We’ve partnered with La Media Inglesa to bring you the full episode on YouTube, premiering in June 2026.

Created by Karim Zidan and Elie Bleier.

Produced by Elie Bleier and Robert Scaramuccia.

Media strategy by Guillermo Purchese and Marielle Marlys.