FIFA

PS Picks is a selection of the best things that the magazine's staff and contributors are reading, watching, or otherwise paying attention to in the worlds of art, politics, and culture.

• By Ian Hurley
• Member Exclusive

An exclusive newsletter that gives premium members greater access to Pacific Standard stories, staff, and contributors in their inbox every Sunday morning

• By Pacific Standard Staff
• Member Exclusive

For many, the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games represent missed opportunities to tackle health problems and inequality.

• By Catherine de Lange

Sometimes a national team looks nothing like the country it represents.

• By Will Parchman

The idea of Italian identity has always been a weak one, and the brief, oncer-every-four-years flirtation with the national team just brings those issues into sharper focus.

• By Vanda Wilcox

The massive, multicultural, multiracial nation initially struggled to find a uniting identity—until everyone started playing and watching the sport brought over by the British.

• By David Goldblatt

This post recognizes it is adding to the noise—but remains hopeful that it also says something valuable about the future of media coverage.

• By Noah Davis

A rumored death threat from Mussolini, what was ostensibly an on-field boxing match, and an egregious handball doubling as payback for the Falklands War.

• By Kevin Lincoln

As soccer picks up fans and followers in the U.S., entrepreneurs are betting that they’ll be able to make a lot of money off of a sport that’s already enormously popular elsewhere. Will their bets pay off?

• By Kyle Chayka

It's not easy to make a pop song that appeals to the entire world.

• By Elliott Turner

Bosnia and Herzegovina makes its maiden voyage to the World Cup this summer, and Croatia will be playing in its fourth tournament, but the memories of Yugoslavia—and the what-if questions—have yet to fade away.

• By Jon Arnold