There is nothing inherently wrong with hosting a title fight or a derby—every country promotes itself. The difficulty arises when the same state apparatus that opens arenas to cameras closes courtrooms to reporters, or treats critical speech as national security.
Audiences are not fooled forever: they distinguish between entertainment product and news integrity. Soft power without hard accountability curdles into cynicism.
GCC Watch’s readers—diplomats, analysts, investors—should watch ownership structures as closely as match schedules.
