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World Cup’s ‘middle income trap’ – why breaking into soccer’s elite is so hard to do (as Morocco might soon find out)

Sport Management faculty member Stefan Szymanski discusses why it’s hard for soccer teams from Africa, Asia, and North America to win on the World Cup stage.
Morocco soccer players celebrating a win
December 9, 2022

Stefan Szymanski, professor of Sport Management, authored the Conversation article “World Cup’s ‘middle income trap’ – why breaking into soccer’s elite is so hard to do (as Morocco might soon find out)” discussing why the World Cup winners usually come from Europe and South America. According to Szymanski, nations who typically do well in the World Cup have three characteristics: 1) A large population to pull talented players from, 2) Wealth, and 3) A long history of playing international soccer.   

Read the Conversation article at myumi.ch/G1Xdy.

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