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the app of the betting company Bet Nacional is displayed on a smartphone showing a match of the Brazilian national football championship open for betting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 2 October 2024. MAURO PIMENTEL / AFP

The World Cup and the meteoric rise of sports betting

As sports gambling becomes a multibillion-dollar global business, fuelled by   digital technology and regulatory change, its influence is extending far beyond the pitch 

Abdel-Rahman Ayas 27 June 2026
Boris Séméniako

10 books that showcase how football mirrors the world

All of life can be seen and understood through the world's most popular sport, as authors from different countries and eras have shown. Al Majalla looks at the books with the biggest impact.

Bahaa Iy'ali 25 June 2026
A painting by the Egyptian artist George Bahgory from the series “Love and Football”.
George Bahgoury via Facebook

Football and art: fusing a popular sport with culture

Artists use paintings, sculpture, murals, and digital designs to iconise, idolise, and mythologise football culture in a language understood by all

Mimoza Al-Arrawi 23 June 2026
Sara Gironi Carnevale

A smarter ball, or a safer one? The header dilemma facing world football

The official World Cup ball showcases the latest advances in football technology, but new research questions whether future designs should prioritise brain safety as well as performance

Marco Mossad 18 June 2026
Stefano Summo

World Cup songs: from local themes to global industry

Football's biggest tournament has come to adopt a single soundtrack every four years to give each offering a distinct identity. Is this genuine culture, or a mass marketing technique?

Najeeb Mubarak 16 June 2026
This view shows the stand and the skyscrapers of New York during the 2026 World Cup Group C football match between Brazil and Morocco at the New York/New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford on 13 June 2026. Angela WEISS / AFP

How FIFA turned the World Cup into a giant cash cow

Billions of dollars are streaming into the Swiss-based organisation from broadcasting rights, advertising revenue, and ticket and hospitality sales, but have the fans been left high and dry?

Abdulfattah Khattab 14 June 2026
Al Majalla

From first-timers to semi-finalists: Arab teams in the World Cup

Fans of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar have made their way across the Atlantic to cheer on their teams

Mohamed Qutob 14 June 2026
Olga Aleksandrova

2026 World Cup: football in the age of AI

From 3D players to data-transmitting balls, the sport's biggest tournament is awash with technology to help with everything from offside decisions to viewer angles, but does this come at a cost?

Marco Mossad 11 June 2026
Gregori Saavedra

The World Cup has always been a pitch for global politics

From Hitler and Mussolini to South American dictators, world leaders have long seen in football's biggest tournament an opportunity to further an agenda

Mohamed Qutob 11 June 2026
Al Majalla

Al Majalla’s Film Watch: football on the big screen

We highlight some of the most notable movies centred on the world's most coveted sport

Wael Said 11 June 2026
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Pep Boatella
Politics

Al-Jawf: the key to defeating the Houthis

05, Nov 2026

The battle for this strategically important and resource-rich province tests the Yemeni army's ability to tilt the military balance in its favour

Al Majalla - London
Eduardo Ramon
Profiles

Abdul El-Sayed: the progressive Michigander who beat the pro-Israel lobby

07, Aug 2026

The Egyptian-American epidemiologist became the first Muslim senator in US history, despite $70mn spent to defeat him in the Democratic primary

Tarek Rashed
Politics

Can the Democrats prevent a new round of war with Iran?

05, Nov 2026

Despite the war's unpopularity, Trump seems determined to press on until he can claim a decisive victory, whether by diplomacy, force, or a combination of the two

Aqeel Abbas
Opinion

Trump may be a lame duck at home but not abroad

05, Nov 2026

A Democrat-majority Congress will clip his wings at home, but he will have far more freedom to act on foreign affairs, given the powers he still retains as commander-in-chief

Con Coughlin
French author Philippe Djianada looks out from a window at the Drouant restaurant in Paris, following his win of the French Goncourt literary prize for his novel "The Unknown Woman of Quai de Javel," on 3 November 2026. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann
Culture & Social Affairs

A novel about a murder in Paris wins the 2026 Goncourt

06, Nov 2026

French novelist Philippe Jaenada's novel 'The Unknown Woman of Quai de Javel' wins big, while the Prix Renaudot goes to François-Henri Désérable for his novel about an unlikely wine expert

Najeeb Mubarak

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OPINIONS

Democrats sweep the US midterms, but can they rein in Trump?

Al Majalla - London
Al Majalla - London

A novel about a murder in Paris wins the 2026 Goncourt

Najeeb Mubarak
Najeeb Mubarak

Al-Jawf: the key to defeating the Houthis

Al Majalla - London
Al Majalla - London

Trump may be a lame duck at home but not abroad

Con Coughlin
Con Coughlin
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