Vladimir Putin's own goal

Hosting the World Cup is for suckers

Vladimir Putin.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Clive Rose/Getty Images, YURI KADOBNOV/AFP/Getty Images)

Vladimir Putin thinks he's being smart by hosting the World Cup in Russia. After all, owning one of the world's biggest sporting events is a major source of international prestige, an opportunity to win the adoration and accolades of the world while casting the host country in the most favorable possible light, and therefore a tremendous boon to Russia ... right?

Wrong. Hosting the World Cup is a fool's bargain.

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Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry

Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry is a writer and fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. His writing has appeared at Forbes, The Atlantic, First Things, Commentary Magazine, The Daily Beast, The Federalist, Quartz, and other places. He lives in Paris with his beloved wife and daughter.