Who Really Controls Football? Money, Power & Premier League | Joey D’Urso

Football, Power and Shirts: On China, FIFA and Fields of Power

In a wide-ranging conversation, journalist Joey D'Urso discusses how football and politics have always been intertwined, from FIFA’s unpopularity in the UK and World Cup expansion debates to historical links with regimes and soft power.

Drawing on his book More Than a Shirt, he explains China’s top-down push to become a football power, the use of football by the state, and figures like Li Tie amid opaque corruption allegations.

The discussion covers how national-team success depends on deep football ecosystems, France’s team as an immigrant story, and football’s roots in industrialization and natural resources.

Joey outlines his career from BBC Westminster and BuzzFeed to The Athletic and The Times, his shift to full-time writing, and monetization via Substack, social media, and freelance work. He previews his next book, Fields of Power, telling 20th-century history through 20 stadiums worldwide.

Chapters

00:00 FIFA Backlash

00:24 China Football Ambitions

01:58 Corruption And Control

03:24 Why Money Isnt Enough

05:35 France Culture And Ecosystems

07:32 Industry And Soft Power