Reconstruction of Afghanistan and Iraq has proven far harder than the invasions of those two countries. In Afghanistan, a newly released report from a British think tank claims that the Taliban can attack US and coalition forces in over half of the country. In Iraq, the cost of occupation may soon hit $1 trillion dollars, yet the country lacks security in many places.

One important aspect of the US military’s reconstruction work has been an attempt to win over Afghan and Iraqi “hearts and minds.” This work has seen the American military (along with private contractors and the State Department) to use soccer, a popular sport in both countries, to gain support from locals. In doing so, they have run into many obstacles, several of which are emblematic of the larger difficulties the US military has faced in attempting to rebuild Iraq and Afghanistan.

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Sandoval, from Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 35th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, juggles a soccer ball before giving it away to a boy in the Maghdad district of Kirkuk, Iraq, Sept. 30, 2006. (Photo: TheDonovan.com / U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Samuel Bendet)

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If you’ll permit me a moment of self horn-tooting, I was recently interviewed by a Saudi journalist about a previous post I did on Why Saudi Arabia’s Players Don’t Go Abroad. While he may have slightly overestimated my knowledge of Saudi soccer, I am honored nonetheless to appear in the online edition of Aleqtesadia newspaper, which is an financial-focused publication. For those of us whose Arabic is a bit rusty, you might want to check out the always hilarious online translation of the article, in which “it should be noted that researcher David Keys attends a letter doctorate at the University of California at San Dyeju America.”

Salaam alaikum to my people in Saudi Arabia

Speaking of letter doctorates at the University of California San Dyeju America, that has been responsible for my lack of posts this past week. I have a couple interesting interviews coming up this week and I hope you will enjoy reading the results of them.

When Tim Vickery went to Brazil in 1994 he was, like many people traveling to a new land, overwhelmed by a sense of “straight off the boat surprise.” Everything was new, and he loved the feeling of being immersed in it. Vickery, who had never left England until he was 23, quickly came to realize that “discovery is the best thing in life.”

Since 1994, Vickery has been discovering more and more about South American soccer and writing about it for the BBC, The World Game, Sports Illustrated, and World Soccer magazine. He was kind enough to take the time to speak with me recently about soccer in Brazil, the country where he is based.

Tim Vickery (photo: Tim Vickery)

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President of Liberia was a position for which George Weah was eminently unqualified when he ran for election in 2005. He never completed high school and had no political experience. Liberia was mired in a state of despair, coming off of years of civil war which had divided the country and crippled the economy of the west African nation. Yet despite all of this, Weah finished a respectable second in the run-off election (after winning the first round). George Weah had something that no other candidate could match: a glowing career in soccer.

Surprisingly, George Weah is one of the few former soccer players to use their fame to move into a career in politics. Former players are some of the most prominent people in society and were they to move into politics, they would begin their new careers with higher name recognition than many politicians in office for years. But, for whatever reason, few players attempt to make this transition. A few of those who have (along with some former coaches, officials, and referees) are listed below. I’m limiting this list to those who have played at the professional level. Many politicians played soccer as kids (though few are as bad as Tony Blair).

Blair attempts to at least make contact

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The Qaddafi family of Libya treats soccer just like they treat politics: strangely. Father Muamar Qaddafi, Libya’s leader of the past forty years, has gone from international outcast and sponsor of terrorism to host of a peace conference between rebels in Daruf and the Sudanese government.

Son Al-Saadi Qaddafi, meanwhile, has signed for several Italian Serie A teams, played no more than one game for each, and been banned for drug use. Trying to understand the way that the family’s mind works, on politics or soccer, is difficult, is mind-boggling.

Father and son (photos: Getty Images/BBC and AP/BBC)

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