ESPN E:60 - The Dictator's Team

Backed by FIFA's tacit support, Bashar al-Assad's government in Syria has woven soccer into its grisly campaign of oppression, tearing apart a generation of players. This investigative journalism piece from Pulitzer Prize winner Steve Fainaru was shot in six countries and chronicles the Syrian Nation Soccer Team's campaign to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, and follows former players turned refugees who refuse to represent a dictatorship.