Sport is not a metaphor for life. It is life itself -
a ruthless contest for power, money, status, and control.
Original lectures and workshops that reveal
what really happens behind the scenes of professional sport -
politics, vested interests, power struggles, egos, alliances, betrayals, and intrigue.
About Me
I’m Hezy Asher, a researcher, lecturer, and storyteller.
For years, I have been fascinated by one question -
how do stories shape the way people, organisations, and nations perceive reality.
As a PhD candidate in History at Tel Aviv University, I study the relationship between sport, politics, and national identity. My lectures, however, take these questions far beyond the world of sport.
Through historical narratives, political crises, global brands, and major sporting events, I explore how myths are created, how reputations are built, and how people make decisions even when they are convinced that they are acting “rationally.”
I believe that historians and marketers are ultimately trying to answer the same question - why do people choose to believe one story rather than another?
That is why my lectures are not only about the past. They bring together history, psychology, leadership, branding, and decision-making, offering a different perspective on the world in which we live and work today.
Whether I am speaking to an organisation, a management team, or a professional audience, my goal is for people to leave with a new idea, a sharper perspective, and stories they will not forget.
Featured Lectures
'From Heroes to Traitors'
The National Sporting Heroes Who Crossed the Lines During the Second World War
Tell Me More
Leading athletes often become national heroes. They represent their country, win the public’s admiration, and come to embody the qualities a nation likes to see in itself. But what happens when those same heroes collaborate with an occupying enemy?
This lecture follows celebrated athletes from France, Belgium, and the Netherlands who entered the Second World War as national heroes and emerged from it branded as Nazi collaborators. Some were tried after liberation. Others were almost completely erased from public memory. All of them presented an awkward problem for societies eager to remember themselves as victims or nations of resistance.
Their stories reveal how nations manage discreditable chapters in their past, how comforting national myths take shape, and why it is often easier to blame “a few bad apples” than to confront uncomfortable questions about society as a whole.
'Three Jewish Women on the Podium and One Hitler in the Stands'
Tell Me More
Everyone knows Jesse Owens, the Black sprinter who supposedly “defeated Hitler” at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Yet the familiar story is far removed from reality: the Games were a spectacular propaganda and diplomatic success for the Nazi regime, while Owens returned home to a racist and discriminatory United States.
The lecture turns the spotlight on the overlooked heroes of Berlin 1936 and the Second World War: Jewish and other European athletes who paid a heavy price for defying the Nazis. Their lives expose how historical myths are manufactured, how societies select the heroes they prefer to remember, and why remarkable figures can remain virtually unknown beyond their own countries.
.jpg)
'Muscles of Hope'
The Jewish Athletes Whose Talent Became a Spectacle in the Nazi Camps
Tell Me More
The story of four Jewish sports heroes, most of them world-renowned champions, whom the SS turned into circus attractions in the Nazi camps—forced to entertain others while living under the constant threat of death.
This is a story about the power of sport, but also about its limits. Sport could not save them all, and certainly could not protect their families. Yet even in a place designed to strip them of their humanity, they never ceased to be human.
_con.jpg)
'On the Cutting Floor of History'
A lecture that invites a fresh look at how stories become etched in our collective memory
Tell Me More
For almost every historical event or famous figure, there is one dominant image that becomes etched in our memory: the paratroopers at the Western Wall, Albert Einstein sticking out his tongue, or the moment the second plane struck the South Tower on 9/11.
But who decides what is forgotten and what we remember? Why does the world remember Neil Armstrong, while Michael Collins - the astronaut who steered the Apollo 11 command module in orbit - remains a footnote in public memory?
You are invited to a thought-provoking lecture drawing on my knowledge and experience as both a photographer and a doctoral researcher in history.
'When Politics Masquerades as Celebration'
FIFA’s Rise to Power: The Organisation Behind the World’s Biggest Sporting Event
Tell Me More
“I can speak to any president, and they speak to a president as well, as an equal,” outgoing FIFA president João Havelange said in 1998.
How did a football federation become one of the most powerful organisations on the planet? How did FIFA grow into a global juggernaut that keeps accumulating money, power, and influence, giving it extraordinary leverage over governments, corporations, and political leaders?
By tracing the World Cup’s rise from a football tournament to a global political and commercial powerhouse, this lecture exposes how decisions are really made on the international stage. It shows how money and vested interests shape events, and how political and technological change has remade the world since the 1960s. This is not really a story about football. It is a story about power.
'In the Mountains of Nepal, on the Plains of Peru, and in Mateh Asher'
Volleyball as the Ultimate Team Sport
Tell Me More
How did volleyball become a symbol of entire communities, from remote mountain regions around the world to the heart of the Israeli kibbutz?
The lecture takes the audience on a cultural journey, beginning with children in the mountains of Nepal and Peru before travelling to the golden age of kibbutz sport in the Galilee. Along the way, it uses volleyball to explore national identity and the transformation of Israeli society since the 1970s. Above all, it asks why, in an era dominated by huge budgets and commercial interests, a game in which every attack depends on one player setting up another still captures the value of partnership and community.
'Football Is Played for 90 Minutes, and in the End Nazi Germany Wins'
Tell Me More
Few countries have invested football, and matches against Germany in particular, with as much meaning as Austria and the Netherlands. After the war, the Netherlands embraced the myth of an overwhelmingly resistant nation, even though hundreds of thousands of spectators had filled its football grounds during the occupation. Austria followed a different path. A victory over West Germany in a largely meaningless match at the 1978 World Cup became a symbol of Austrian independence and is still celebrated today.
The lecture explores sport’s contradictory roles. It could help normalise occupation and the exclusion of Jews, yet it could also help nations construct a distinct national identity by setting themselves apart from Germany. It explains why Chamberlain’s policy of appeasement led the England team to perform the Nazi salute before a friendly in Berlin in 1938, and why, fifty years later, the myth of Dutch resistance brought millions into the streets after victory over West Germany at Euro 1988.
'From the Playing Field to the Boardroom'
What Marketers Can Learn from Cities and Countries That Transformed Their Image Through Sporting Events
Tell Me More
What do Germany, South Korea, Barcelona, LEGO, and Apple have in common? Each managed to change how the world saw it, and that shift helped make later success possible.
Blending history, sport, and marketing, the lecture shows how the Olympic Games in Seoul and Barcelona, and the 2006 World Cup in Germany, were used to overturn entrenched perceptions and recast the identity of cities and nations. It then asks what organisations can learn from them.
It explores how changing the way a country or organisation sees itself, as well as the way others see it, can produce a new and persuasive public narrative.
The success stories are set against cases in which powerful brands squandered public trust. They demonstrate how the gap between a brand’s promises and the reality it delivers can eventually bring the entire story crashing down.
'From the Tractor to the NBA'
How Kibbutz Sport Transformed Israel, and What Happened to It Along the Way
Tell Me More
In the early decades of the state, kibbutzim did much more than farm the land. They built swimming pools when most Israeli cities had none, developed formidable volleyball, basketball, and water polo teams, and produced generations of national champions, international captains, war heroes, Paralympic champions, and even NBA players.
Then Israel changed. Television became dominant, big money entered sport, kibbutzim were privatised, and local competition became global. What did these upheavals do to kibbutz sport? And why have so many kibbutz teams disappeared while athletes raised on kibbutzim continue to reach the highest levels?
The story stretches from Avigdor Moskowitz, a teenager from Kibbutz Givat Brenner who became a star of Israel’s national basketball team, to Deni Avdija of Kibbutz Beit Zera, now thriving in the NBA. It is the story of kibbutz sport, but it is also the story of Israel itself.
Podcasts
Testimonials
"I am delighted to recommend Hezy Asher, who spoke as part of the ‘Seniors at the Bar’ programme. Hezy was professional and engaging, with a tremendous command of his subject. Above all, he presented his extensive knowledge of FIFA politics fluently while maintaining a lively dialogue with the audience. The audience remained interested and involved throughout the session, thanks to Hezy’s ability to spark curiosity, present the material in a compelling way, use relevant video clips, and genuinely listen to his audience. I warmly recommend him."
Galia Levy, Community Services Development Coordinator for Senior Citizens, Tel Aviv–Yafo Municipality
"Dear Hezy, thank you so much for the fascinating lecture on politics and sport that you gave here last week. The residents of Ad 120 Hod Hasharon were simply amazed by the breadth of your knowledge. You presented the subject with exceptional professionalism, grace, and genuine interest, and you captivated everyone. We have rarely seen such enthusiastic reactions. Everyone is already eagerly awaiting your next lecture."
Osnat Naki, Cultural Director, Ad 120, Hod Hasharon
"It was a fascinating lecture. You truly live and breathe FIFA. Many thanks. I have already recommended you to the Menashe clubs group."
Dganit Oriko, Cultural Coordinator, Kibbutz Ma’anit
Looking for a Fresh and Engaging Lecture on History, Sport, and Business?
Contact
Hezy Asher
052-639-0346
