2026 World Cup Debutants: Jordan's Football Story ft. Curtis Ryan

About this episode

This episode discusses Jordan's historic qualification for the FIFA World Cup with scholar Curtis Ryan.

A compelling instalment in our in-season series on World Cup debutants, in this episode co-hosts Guy and Francesco talk to Middle East scholar Curtis Ryan of Appalachian State University about Jordan’s historic first-ever qualification for the FIFA World Cup. From the fierce rivalry between Al-Faisaly and Al-Wehdat—shaped by identity, history and social tensions—to the unifying force of the national team, this is a timely and insightful discussion on sport, identity and politics in the Middle...

People in this episode

Hosts: Francesco Belcastro, Guy Burton

Guest: Curtis Ryan

Topics covered

• World Cup debutants
• Jordan football
• sports and identity
• politics in sports
• Middle East football

Keywords

• Jordan
• FIFA World Cup
• football
• Al-Faisaly
• Al-Wehdat
• sports politics
• identity

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Appalachian State University

Places: Jordan, Al-Faisaly, Al-Wehdat

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