Danyel Reiche is a visiting associate professor at Georgetown University Qatar, where he leads a research initiative on the FIFA World Cup 2022. He is a tenured associate professor of Comparative Politics at the American University of Beirut (AUB) in Lebanon. His past research has focused on two areas: energy and sport policy, and politics, with the latter being his current priority. He published Success and Failure of Countries at the Olympic Games in 2016, Qatar and the 2022 FIFA World Cup: Politics, Controversy, Change with Paul Brannagan in 2022, and edited with Tamir Sorek a volume entitled Sport, Politics and Society in the Middle East (2019). His peer-reviewed articles have been published in both area study journals (such as International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics and Journal of Energy Policy) and broader-oriented journals, such as Third World Quarterly or The Middle East Journal. Reiche has also been invited to write op-eds for leading international newspapers such as Washington Post and Spiegel Online and has been frequently interviewed and quoted by major media outlets such as Le Monde, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

Paul Michael Brannagan is a political sociologist specialising in the study of sport. His research primarily focuses on the role and use of sports mega-events by national governments for achieving specific political, economic, social and cultural objectives. To date, his research has centred most specifically on sport in the Middle East, focusing on the State of Qatar and its forthcoming staging of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He is the author of Qatar and the 2022 FIFA World Cup: Politics, Controversy, Change (co-authored with Danyel Reiche, 2022). His work has been published in leading political science and sports studies journals, including Leisure Studies , Global Society , Diplomacy and Statecraft and International Affairs. He has frequently been interviewed and quoted by major media outlets, such as the BBC World Service, The Independent and the New York Times.

This handbook provides a succinct overview of sport in the Middle East, drawing in scholars from a wide variety of geographical and disciplinary backgrounds (history, politics, sociology, economics and regional studies), with different methodological approaches, to create the 'go-to' text on the subject.

Introduction: Sports in the Middle East: Towards more inclusion and collaborative efforts? Part 1: History 1. Sport and Educational Development in the History of Oman 2. 'I was as Lebanese as Anyone:' The Story of David Saad, Lebanon's last Jewish Olympian 3. Riding in the Desert: Road Cycling in Qatar 4. The 1981 FIFA Youth World Championships: A Transformative Moment in Qatar¿s Sporting History 5. Football for National Purposes in Qatar: Participation at Gulf Cup 1970 and Qatar FA Recognition by FIFA 6. The Historical Development of Football in the UAE: A Journey from a Pastime to a Symbol of National Identity 7. The Making of Heritage Sport: falconry in the UAE Part 2: Politics 8. Controlling Iranian Soccer is Mastering Iranian Politics 9. Sport, Diplomacy, Conflict and Peace: the case of Israel 10. Using Sport as a National Soft Power Strategy: The Case of Mixed Martial Arts in Bahrain 11. The Syrian Men's National Football Team as a Propaganda Tool of the Assad Government 12. Olympic Bidding and Anti-Doping Policies in Turkey Part 3: Society 13. Barriers for Sport Participation of Children with Lower-Class Background in Turkey 14. Sports Events, Society and Sustainable Development: the case of Qatar 2022 15. 'Human capital soft power': the case of Qatar and the 2022 World Cup 16. The Development of Women's Sport in the Omani Context 17. Hapoel Tel Aviv vs. Maccabi Tel Aviv: A Microcosm of the Arab-Israeli Conflict and Peace Process 18. Football Fandom in Egypt 19. The Politics and Passion of Middle East Football Spectator Cultures 20. Ultras in Egypt: Massacred, Disbanded, Steadfast? Part 4: Economy 21. Saudi Arabia and Sport in the 21st century - From Oil and Gas to Event Driven Change 22. Sports Economics of Iran 23. Politics of Football Debt and Financial Fair Play in Turkey 24. Politics and Pirates: Sports Broadcasting in the Middle East 25. Hosting Mega-Events in the Gulf 26. Sporting Cities and Economic Diversification in the Arabian Peninsula 27. Investing into sport: A comparison of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates 28. Sports Business in Gulf countries: A case study of the UAE Part 5: Nation 29. Naturalized East African long-distance runners African in the Middle East 30. Homo Communautarius - the Influence of Politics on the Lebanese Sport Scene 31. Nationality Swapping in World Athletics: Cases and Contexts from the Middle East 1998-2016 32. Beyond 'Defecting' and 'Swapping' Nationality: Emigrant Women Athletes and the Iranian Gendered Bio-Politics 33. Inclusivity in an environment of exclusive citizenship: The multinational Qatari women's rugby team