rich 1.0 In this episode, we're talking about the people's sport, football, and its fascinating relationship with anti-fascism and the political power of sport ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Host Nick Dearden speaks with Chris Lee, author of The Defiant: A History of Football Against Fascism, Daniel Noroña from Amnesty International US, and Shaista Aziz, co-founder of The Three Hijabis. Throughout history, authoritarian regimes have used international sporting events to whitewash their reputations. The World Cup is usually framed as a celebration of unity and global joy around love for the sport, but this year’s events in Trump’s America are likely to become sites of repression and human rights abuses – despite Trump being given the first ever FIFA ‘Peace Prize’ earlier this year. In This Episode Why football has become such a battleground over identity, nationalism, and resistance The People’s Olympiad – the anti-fascist alternative to the 1936 Berlin Olympics The human rights crisis in the United States under the Trump administration, the heightening of authoritarian practices, and erosion of the rule of law How Trump is deputising federal and local law enforcement to build a deportation machine The movement in England following the 2022 Euros to ban racism in football What genuine change looks like, and when it it just “sportswashing” The power of fans to change not only the game, but politics Football Against Fascism Website (https://footballagainstfascism.org/) World Cup Chaos Tracker (https://tracker.footballagainstfascism.org/) Chris Lee Blog: Outside Write (https://substack.com/@outsidewrite) Book: The Defiant: A History of Football Against Fascism (https://housmans.com/product/the-defiant-a-history-of-football-against-fascism/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/outsidewrite/) Amnesty International Report: Humanity Must Win: Defending Rights, Tackling Repression at the 2026 FIFA World Cup (https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/ior10/0837/2026/en/) World Cup Travel Advisory (https://www.amnestyusa.org/blog/2026-world-cup-travel-advisory/) Website (https://www.amnestyusa.org/) Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/amnestyusa/) The Three Hijabis LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-three-hijabis/posts/?feedView=all) Twitter/X (https://x.com/THijabis) ABOUT THE PODCAST COUNTER•POWER is brought to you by Stop Trump Coalition, Another Europe Is Possible and Global Justice Now, three organisations at the centre of the new global resistance. This podcast isn’t just about chatting and conversation — it’s about turning ideas into action and building real community power. That’s why we have a simple pledge to you, our audience. On every single episode we’ll leave you with something you can do to catalyse change. Whether it’s the latest big ideas or the movements you need to check out, you’ll find them on COUNTER•POWER. But we need your help to launch this project. We need £8,000 to catapult COUNTER•POWER into the podcasting sphere with the aim of making it self-sustaining in the future. The funds will cover high-quality production – including sound and visuals – as well as consistent editorial quality, all of which are essential to creating the kind of impactful podcast we’re aiming for. Any donation – big or small – can help us get there. Thank you for your support. DONATE HERE (https://act.globaljustice.org.uk/node/4683) Follow Us Instagram @anothereuropeispossible (https://www.instagram.com/anothereuropeispossible/) @globaljusticenow  (https://www.instagram.com/globaljusticenow/) @ukstoptrump (https://www.instagram.com/ukstoptrump/) TikTok @global.justice.now (https://www.tiktok.com/@global.justice.now) @uk.stop.trump.coa (https://www.tiktok.com/@uk.stop.trump.coa) Twitter / X @Another_Europe (https://x.com/Another_Europe) @GlobalJusticeUK (https://x.com/GlobalJusticeUK) @UKStopTrump (https://x.com/UKStopTrump) Music(cc): Intro R&B instrumental loop, Mcgrogo (Freesound.org) COUNTER•POWER https://audioboom.com/channels/4960214-counter-power Audioboom https://audioboom.com 480 95 https://audioboom.com/i/43689087/600x600/c 600 600 <iframe width="100%" height="95" src="https://embeds.audioboom.com/posts/8914343/embed?v=202301" style="background-color: transparent; display: block; padding: 0; width: 100%" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="allowtransparency" scrolling="no" title="Audioboom player" allow="autoplay" sandbox="allow-downloads allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>