Invited Speaker & Keynote Addresses
2024
"Sport in the Arab World: 20 Years of Research"
Invited address — International academic forum
2023
"The 2022 FIFA World Cup: Legacies and Future Impact for Gulf Sport Governance"
Invited keynote — Sport and Politics symposium, international venue
2023
"Sport Communication and Identity Politics in the MENA Region"
Asian Journal of Sport History and Culture — symposium
2022
"The 19th Mediterranean Games, Oran 2022 and 'the New Algeria'"
International conference on Mediterranean Sport History
2022
"Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup: Between Soccer and Faith"
Observatoire international du religieux — symposium
2022
"Football in Algeria from the Black Decade to the Hirak"
Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP) — panel discussion
2021
"What lessons can we take from the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup?"
Qatar University Gulf Studies Centre — Gulf Insights Seminar
2019
"Geopolitics of Sport in the MENA Region"
Invited presentation — international sport management conference
2018
"Motor Sport in the Middle East: Regional Rivalries, Business and Politics"
History and Politics of Motor Racing — international conference
2018
"The World Cup and African Identities"
Invited commentary — academic and media platforms, June 2018
2017
"Sport, State, and Society in the MENA Region"
Expert panel — Georgetown University in Qatar, School of Foreign Service, Centre for International and Regional Studies (CIRS). 12–13 December 2017. See link →
2017
"The Olympic Movement and the MENA Region: History, Culture, Geopolitics"
Guest editor symposium — International Journal of the History of Sport, Special Issue Vol. 34, Issue 13
2017
"Sport Labor Migrant Communities from the Maghreb in the GCC"
Arab Migrant Communities symposium — Hurst Publishers
2016
"Postcolonial Approach to the Study of Sport in the Arab World"
Sport and Society Symposium — Centre of Humanities and Social Sciences, Qatar University, 11 May 2016
2016
"Sport, Media and Politics in the Arab Region"
Guest Lecturer — Sport and Media class, Northwestern University Qatar, 26 May 2016
2016
"Sport and Knowledge-Based Economy in Qatar: Challenges and Opportunities"
HEC Paris in Qatar — Knowledge-Based Economy in the Gulf, 25–27 October 2016
2016
"Olympic Ideology: Global and Local; Past and Present"
Guest Lecturer — Qatar Olympic Academy, May 2016
2016
"Sport Development and Sport for Development"
Josoor Institute Workshop — co-organised with Sport Sciences Program, College of Arts and Sciences, Qatar University, 29 February – 1 March 2016
2016
"Sport and Politics in the Arab World"
Routledge Handbook of Sport and Politics — editorial workshop
2015
"Reflections on Muslim (Over)visibility in Sport"
Invited keynote — International Workshop: Muslims, Sport and Physical Activity. Paus College Adrianus VI, University of Leuven, Belgium, 7 December 2015
2015
"Sports, Politics, and Society in the Arab World"
Invited guest lecture (via Skype) — Bill Rosenberg's Politics of Sport course, Global Classroom Initiative, 16 November 2015
2015
"Sport and Physical Activity for the Development of Human Capital"
Latvian Presidency of the Council of the EU — Conference on Sport and Physical Activity, National Library of Latvia, Riga, 16 February 2015. Also served as Moderator of a Workshop on Sport and Social Environment. See report →
2015
"Fan Violence and Social Change in Algeria"
ICSS International Centre of Sport Security — conference
2014
"Playing and Praying? Sport and Religion in Britain Today"
Festival of Ideas Panel Event — The Woolf Institute, University of Cambridge. Chaired by Ed Kessler; panellists: Michael Berkowitz, Omar Salha, Salma Bi, Adrian Cassidy. 22 October 2014. See link →
2014
"Body, Sport and Postcolonial Studies"
Invited Speaker — Workshop, Université de Lausanne, 5–6 June 2014
2014
"Discourse on Doping and Anti-Doping in the Arab World"
4th Annual Symposium: Anti-Doping; Sport Integrity & Public Health — Anti-Doping Lab Qatar, 6–7 May 2014, Doha, Qatar
2014
"Social Currents in the Maghreb"
Working Group — Centre for International and Regional Studies (CIRS), Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service in Qatar. Washington DC, 7–8 January 2014. See link →
2014
"Ultras in Morocco: Security and Political Dimensions"
ICSS — international conference on sport security
2014
"Social Impacts of Sport in the Arab World"
European Institute of the Mediterranean — Afkar/Idée symposium
2013
"Doping as Fatwa: Drugs, the Body and Islamic Ethics in Sport"
Two-day symposium: The History of Doping and Anti-Doping — Anti-Doping Lab Qatar, 5–6 May 2013. See link →
2013
"Sport Security and Integrity in Economic Development"
ICSS Sport Expert Summit — Expert panel, Vienna, Bundesministerium für Inneres, 16–17 May 2013
2013
"Media Perceptions of Arab Investment in European Football Clubs"
Sport & EU — international conference on sport and European integration
2013
"The Politicisation of Sport in the Arab World"
ICSS First International Congress on Sport Security
2012
"Sport Policy in Small Nations: Insights from the Middle East and North Africa"
The Future of Sport in Small Nations Symposium — University of Otago, New Zealand's National School of Physical Education, Dunedin, 21–23 November 2012. See programme →
2012
"Football Sub-Culture and Youth Politics in Algeria"
Mediterranean Politics — international scholarly forum
2011
"Equality and Ethnicity: Sport Participation as Social Policy"
Experts Conference — Ensuring equal chances through sport participation, City Hall, Wrocław, Poland, 18–19 July 2011. Organised by the Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Sport and Tourism, Poland
2010
"Football: The New Battlefield of Business in Algeria"
Seminar series: The Modern Maghreb — Politics, People and Energy, Centre for the Advanced Study of the Arab World (CASAW), Durham University, 15 November 2010
2010
"Sport, Muslim Identities and Cultures in the UK: Case Studies of Leicester and Birmingham"
Journée d'étude européenne: Dialogue(s) interculturel(s) par le sport? — Sport and Social Sciences Research Group, University of Strasbourg / Eucor, 8 November 2010, Strasbourg, France
2010
"Veiled Women Athletes in the 2008 Beijing Olympics: A Media Account"
International Conference: Nationalism, Orientalism and Globalism: the Asian Games — Chengdu Sport University, China, 6–7 December 2010. Co-organised with IJHS and University College Cork
2009
"Olympic Sport and Internationalism Debates in the Arab-Muslim World: Between 'Modernity' and 'Authenticity'"
International Symposium: Internationalism in the Olympic Movement — Institute of Sport Sciences, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, 22 May 2009
2008
"The Role of Sport in Post-Conflict Nations"
Two-day international conference: Regions Building a Legacy of Sports Participation and Excellence — Kurdistan Regional Government in partnership with Sport Council Wales, Cardiff, 9–10 December 2008
International Conference Papers
2015
Amara, M. Sport Labor Migrant Communities from the Maghreb in the GCC
ISSA World Congress of Sociology of Sport, Paris, France, 9–12 June 2015
2013
Amara, M. The Business of Sport in the Arabian Peninsula: the Global-Local Nexus
Sport and Nationalism in Asia – Power, Politics, and Identity — National University of Ireland, Maynooth
2012
Garcia Garcia, B. and Amara, M. The New 'Reconquista' of Europe through Football: Arab Investment in Top Professional Clubs
UACES 42nd Annual Conference, Passau, Germany
2010
Amara, M. Sport, Internationalism and Regionalism Debates in the Arab-Muslim World: Between 'Modernity' and 'Authenticity'
World Congress of Middle Eastern Studies (WOCMES), Barcelona, 19–24 July 2010. Panel: Le sport dans les pays du Moyen Orient et d'Afrique du Nord, organised by Prof. Michel Raspaud, IEMed
2010
Amara, M. and Henry, I. Sport, Muslim Identities and Cultures in the UK: Case studies of Leicester and Birmingham
RC 27 Sociology of Sport — XVII ISA World Congress of Sociology, Gothenburg, Sweden, 11–17 July 2010
2007
Amara, M. When the Arab World was Mobilised Around the FIFA World Cup 2006
Sport in the Global World: Past–Present–Future — ISSA & ISHPES Congress, Copenhagen, Denmark
2007
Amara, M. Discourses on Modern Sport and Values in a Non-Western Context: a Case Study of Algeria
ESMQ Methodology Workshop — 15th EASM Congress, Turin, 13 September 2007
2005
Amara, M., Henry, I.P. and Aquilina, D. Toward a New Approach for the Study of Sport and Muslim Communities in Europe
1st World Leisure European Conference: Leisure and the Young Migrant — Malmö, Sweden, May 2005
2005
Aquilina, D., Amara, M., Henry, I.P., Coalter, F. and Taylor, J. The Roles of Sport and Education in the Social Inclusion of Asylum Seekers and Refugees
1st World Leisure European Conference, Malmö, Sweden, May 2005
2005
Amara, M. A Modernisation Project from Above? Sport between 'Modernity' and 'Authenticity' in the Gulf Countries in Late Modernity
10th Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science, Belgrade, July 2005
2004
Amara, M., Henry, I.P. and Aquilina, D. Sport and Multiculturalism: Sport and Integration of Muslim Minorities in Europe
9th Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science, Clermont-Ferrand, France, July 2004
2004
Henry, I.P., Amara, M. and Aquilina, D. Philosophies of Integration and Assimilation in Sport Policies in European Nation States
9th Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science, Clermont-Ferrand, France, July 2004
2003
Amara, M. Professionalisation of Football in Non-Western Context: Globalisation, Local Modernity and Post-Modernity
11th EASM Congress, Stockholm University College of Physical Education and Sports, 2003
2003
Henry, I.P., Liang, J., Uchiumi, K. and Amara, M. The Roles of the State in the Changing Governance of Professional Soccer: Four Case Studies
11th EASM Congress, Stockholm University, 2003
2003
Amara, M., Henry, I.P. and Al-Tauqi, M. Sport, Arab Nationalism and the Pan-Arab Games
International Sociology of Sport Association (ISSA) Congress
2002
Amara, M. A Case Study of the Algerian Government's Project for Professional Sport
7th Annual Congress of the European College of Sports Science, Athens, Greece, July 2002
2002
Amara, M. Sport, Arab Nationalism and the Pan-Arab Games
7th Annual Congress of the European College of Sports Science, Athens, Greece, July 2002
2002
Amara, M. Global Sport and Local Identity: Case Study of the Algerian Government's Project for Professional Sport
L'Algérie: 40 ans après (1962–2002) — International Colloquium, Lancaster University, July 2002
2002
Amara, M. Professionalism of Sport between Tradition and Modernity: A Case Study of the Algerian Government's Project for Professional Sport
10th EASM Congress, Jyväskylä, Finland, September 2002
2002
Amara, M. Global Sport and Local Identity: Le Sport comme Vecteur de Développement Économique et Social
1er Colloque International de Management du Sport — UFR-STAPS Dijon & Moroccan Ministry of Youth and Sport, Rabat-Salé, March 2002
2000
Amara, M. Modernisation Thesis, Hegemony Theory, Modern Sport and Olympic Games
8th International Postgraduate Seminar on Olympic Studies — International Olympic Academy, Ancient Olympia, Greece, May 2000
Invited Talks & UNESCO / International Body Presentations
Dr. Amara has been invited to present research findings to international organisations including UNESCO, the British Academy, the European Commission, BBC, and the ICSS. He has served as an expert voice on sport policy in the Arab world for multiple supranational bodies.