SPECIAL OPERATIONS FORCES "WIN" THE 2022 FIFA WORLD CUP
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Authors
Barge, Grant R.
Subjects
FIFA World Cup
Soccer Without Borders
National Security Strategy
Soccer Without Borders
National Security Strategy
Advisors
Strawser, Bradley J.
Date of Issue
2019-12
Date
Publisher
Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School
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Abstract
For the first time in its near one-hundred-year history, the world’s largest and most watched sporting event is coming to the Arabian Peninsula when the tiny country of Qatar hosts the 2022 FIFA World Cup. This global soccer spectacle is significant to the United States as Qatar is currently home to the forward headquarters of both the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and Special Operations Command Central (SOCCENT), with over 10,000 military personnel stationed at Al-Udeid Air Base, located on the outskirts of its capital city of Doha. With 3.5 million tourists expected, as predicted by The Guardian, the U.S. military has an opportunity to leverage the event’s popularity to build trust and confidence throughout the Middle East and further our strategic interests in the region.
Using personal experiences and lessons learned from Special Operations Forces' (SOF) highly successful mission in Lebanon at the beginning of the Syrian Civil War and replicating Soccer Without Borders' organizational model, this capstone creates the influence operation strategy for how the U.S. military, primarily SOF, can leverage the 2022 Qatari World Cup to further U.S. interests in the region.
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Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.