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Clare Balding tells the story of how a shocking act of violence altered sporting history, and how a visionary tennis champion fought to find her way back to the life she once had

A political powder-keg World Cup qualifying tournament held in Doha. American security on the line. James tries to make sense of what went down in the desert shadows. Thirty years on he reviews the matches, looking for clues about why the conspiracy persists, and hears what it was like to play for Iraq in the 1990s under the whip of Uday Hussein - Saddam’s son. Presented by James Montgaue Written by Ben Wyatt and Emma Weatherill Production co-ordinator: Juliette Harvey Production manager: Debbie Waddell Development Executive: Emma Shaw Executive Producers: Ben Wyatt, Emma Weathrill and Joe Kent Sound Design and Composition: Melvin Rickarby Assistant Commissioner: Rob Green Commissioning Executive: Stevie Middleton A BBC Studios Production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.

Can an ex-referee with a cryptic message help James unravel an explosive conspiracy about the build-up to World Cup USA 1994? James travels to Bucharest to find out more … Presented by James Montague Written by Ben Wyatt and Emma Weatherill Production co-ordinator: Juliette Harvey Production manager: Debbie Waddell Development Executive: Emma Shaw Executive Producers: Ben Wyatt, Emma Weatherill and Joe Kent Sound Design and Composition: Melvin Rickarby Assistant Commissioner: Rob Green Commissioning Executive: Stevie Middleton A BBC Studios Production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds. ARCHIVE: AP Archive - Iraqi football team celebrates Asia Cup victory - (Aug, 2007) Firstpost America -FirstPost Live TV - Iraq’s World Cup 2026 qualification - (March, 2026) White House Communications Agency - Clinton’s USA ‘94 opening speech - (July 1994) Spitting Image Productions - The Mary Whitehouse Experience World Cup skit anticipating America as hosts - (Oct, 1990) Los Angeles Times - Uncle Sam’s Visas? Not for Iraq, Iran : World Cup: Both fail to qualify, alleviating fears of U.S. officials over possibility of political terrorism - (Oct, 1993) CSPAN - Trump announces World Cup taskforce alongside Infantino - (March, 2025)

The world of spies and sports collide as James speaks to security specialists and those who lived to tell the tale about rumours of America’s shadowy past. From claims of secret mass surveillance of the Olympic Games, both home and abroad, to the curious World Cup interests of Henry Kissinger. But what does it all mean for the conspiracy theory he’s trying to make sense of, the claim that America influenced a World Cup qualifying tournament to protect USA ‘94? Presented by James Montague Written by Ben Wyatt and Emma Weatherill Production co-ordinator: Juliette Harvey Production manager: Debbie Waddell Development Executive: Emma Shaw Executive Producers: Ben Wyatt, Emma Weatherill and Joe Kent Sound Design and Composition: Melvin Rickarby Assistant Commissioner: Rob Green Commissioning Executive: Stevie Middleton A BBC Studios Production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.

Former referees and a FIFA insider: can the USA ‘94 conspiracy theory floated by the Iraqi Football Federation over 30 years ago finally be explained? James travels to Cologne to retrace the steps of England’s failed 1993 World Cup qualifying campaign under Graham Taylor. Could Taylor’s men really have been caught up in the same plot? If anyone will know it’s the men in black who held the whistles at the time and those working inside FIFA’s glass-walled offices who are now ready to talk. Presented by James Montague Written by Ben Wyatt and Emma Weatherill Production co-ordinator: Juliette Harvey Production manager: Debbie Waddell Development Executive: Emma Shaw Executive Producers: Ben Wyatt, Emma Weatherill and Joe Kent Sound Design and Composition: Melvin Rickarby Assistant Commissioner: Rob Green Commissioning Executive: Stevie Middleton A BBC Studios Production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.
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