Sportswashing and Image Repair: A Case Study of Nigerian Public Response to Qatar: Part 1
Sportswashing is a phenomenon where political leaders utilize sports to present themselves as important or legitimate on the world stage while simultaneously diverting attention from social issues and human-rights problems within their own country and stirring up nationalistic sentiment.
These leaders often leverage major sporting events to bolster national image and project progress, notwithstanding the political system which could be authoritarian or democratic (Freeman, 2012). Sportswashing involves multiple audiences, including domestic and international ones, and can be aimed at either the country’s internal population or the global public. (Thibault, 2009). Sportswashing can subtly massage reputational repair into public consciousness through the sporty, cultural side door.
As such, Sportswashing both reflects the past and shapes the future. (Skey, 2023). Sports can have several impacts on global politics, both positive and negative. On the positive side, Sports diplomacy can be used to promote international cooperation and understanding, as sports can often bring people together across cultural and national boundaries.
In this way, Sports diplomacy can help to improve relations between countries, also becoming an important means of conducting relations between nations in the international system, (Peppard and Riordan, 1993) and also promote a more positive image of the host nation or sponsors of major tournaments, however, Sportswashing on the other hand can have negative impacts on global politics, particularly if it is used to distract from or cover up negative issues or controversies.
For example, governments or businesses may use their involvement in sports to distract from human rights abuses, corruption, or other negative issues, this can in turn lead to a lack of transparency and accountability, as well as a lack of attention to important issues. To further highlight the significance of sports in global politics, one wouldn’t need to look further than the announcement of the 2018 FIFA World Cup bid results, held on December 2, 2010, in Zurich, Switzerland which, underscored the profound global political significance of hosting mega sports events.
High-profile political figures were in attendance, reflecting the deep national interests tied to such mega -spots events. Vladimir Putin, then Prime Minister of Russia, showcased the strong governmental backing for Russia’s successful bid. Similarly, the United Kingdom’s bid was bolstered by the presence of then Prime Minister David Cameron and Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge. Spain’s bid, part of a joint effort with Portugal, was supported by then Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, emphasizing the collaborative regional aspirations within Europe.
These leaders were joined by other influential figures, such as Vitaly Mutko, Russia’s Sports Minister, and Angel Maria Villar, President of the Spanish Football Federation, further highlighting the intersection of sports, politics, and national prestige. The convergence of such significant political figures at the event illustrated the strategic importance countries place on hosting the World Cup, not only for its economic and cultural impacts but also for enhancing their international standing and influence.
Overall, the impact of Sportswashing on global politics can be complex, and it is important for governments, businesses, and other organizations to be transparent and accountable in their use of sports as a means of promoting their image or interests. In 2010 the world had its attention drawn to the end of the bidding process which saw the awarding of hosting rights to Russia (2018) and particularly Qatar 2022, and naturally eyebrows were drawn over the morality of allowing a state with very questionable human rights records to host such a prestigious tournament.
Not long after the Qatar Sports Investment (QSI) purchased French top division club, Paris St Germain, and soon after observers called out the Qatari government’s use of both actions as an image-cleaning tactic. No doubt that after the World Cup was successfully hosted in late 2022, the conversations around the death of many migrant workers who had worked on building key Qatari infrastructure, particularly for the World Cup, had now become overridden by the frenzy of the tournament, with the world cup attracting over 2.45 million spectators of various nationalities according to FIFA(2022), as well as the 3.575 billion people who watched from across the globe.
Introduction
As sports and particularly football have become global phenomenon over the past 20 years, coupled with the effects of globalization in the international community, its political relevance has seen an equally significant increase as well. Coakley (2008) emphasizes on this relationship between sports and politics, he posits that sports reflect a society’s laws, institutions and socio-cultural makeup, showing inevitability in their connectivity to each other.
A phenomenon that has also influenced the relationship between sports and politics is Globalization, Hans-Henrik Holm and Georg Sorensen (eds.) (1995) “…the intensification of economic, political, social and cultural relations across borders.”. Sports itself symbolizes and embodies globalization, it cuts across languages, cultures and borders, becoming more than mere entertainment or thrill in the process, enhancing its significance and importance to key actors in the international community.
“Sports have become an important part of the promotion of bilateral relations between countries”, said HH Sheikh Khalid Bin Hamad, First Deputy President of the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports, Head of the General Sports Authority and President of Bahrain Olympic Committee in a diplomatic visit to the Philippines.
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As of today football is the sport with the most global reach, with FIFA estimating that there are around 5 billion people from all continents around the world that play the sport, presenting an irresistible opportunity for political purposes in global politics, particularly in an era where superiority and influence are no longer represented through “soft power” a term coined by renowned scholar on international relations Joseph Nye, describing it as the ability to affect others by attraction and persuasion rather than just coercion and payment (Nye 1990).
Over the decades, as the world has become more interconnected, the internet has grown exponentially, and football for better or worse has been tethered to these factors, expanding as a result, consequently the sport has gained increased importance in global politics, whether state or non-state actors, particularly in image laundering or enhancement or more aptly- Sportswashing, a phenomenon that is the focus of the study that will be further and thoroughly explored in this paper.
Sports and particularly football is loved and celebrated all over the world, it is important to preserve that passion away from negative political undertones, so that billions of people from all over the world would not unwittingly become complicit in such issues. In my study, I explore the relevant literatures and theories on Sportswashing, discussing their application and relevance to the topic. I selected literature based on its relevance, both informationally and theoretically. The review is organized in a general to specific manner. order.
Sportswashing
The term Sportswashing is a neologism, meaning it is relatively at its infancy and as such it is to many unfamiliar, yet it has existed in practice for centuries. Sportswashing, a term which according to Oxford Words, derives the “washing” element from the word “whitewashing”, which originally referred to the act of applying a white liquid to a surface, such as a wall, dating back to 1650.
The verb “to whitewash” is even older, and its figurative sense of “cover-up” emerged in the mid-19th century. By incorporating the concept of “washing”, Sportswashing carries both the connotations of “covering up” and “cleansing” or “sanitizing”, and although being a relatively new term, it has existed in practice for decades, and although this study primarily focuses on its most recent example the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, it is necessary to acknowledge the prior instances of Sportswashing.
Sportswashing in itself can be described as an extension of soft power, making use of sports as a political tool to launder the image of a controversial regime or government into a more positive one. Despite being a neologism, the concept has existed in practice for many years, and to fully establish its scope and context, it is important to revisit the prior examples of Sportswashing in order to have a better understanding.
Although some scholars have argued that Sportswashing in practice has existed centuries ago even back to ancient Greece, the most notable and blatant example in the modern era of general sports, is the 1936 summer Olympics hosted in Nazi Germany, under the same regime responsible for the genocide that saw six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 2023).
Innocent civilian Jewish men, women and children killed and imprisoned during the Holocaust. Adolf Hitler’s regime recognized the opportunity of hosting a major sports tournament to showcase a friendlier perception of Germany, distracting the world away from the atrocities committed under the regime.
Most governments engage in propaganda in one form or the other, particularly in periods of war or conflict and it is in fact “unavoidable” and there must be a “mobilization of opinion” Laswell (1971). So, Hitler enhancing the image of his regime was neither an isolated practice nor a new concept, but it doesn’t make it any less problematic, it begs the question that should millions of naive people be made complicit in the actions and policies of a socially ill regime.
For football the first most indicative example is the 1934 FIFA World Cup in Italy, hosted under a similarly fascist regime as Hitler’s. Italy in that period was governed under the dictatorship of Benito Mussolini in a Fascist state that used violent methods to exert its power over its society.
The regime employed various forms of coercion, such as confinement, imprisonment, economic sanctions, discrimination, and intimidation, to control the population and maintain its grip on power. These tactics were pervasive and often took the form of low-level physical assaults or other everyday forms of oppression, Ebner, M. (2010), yet this regime was allowed to not just host a world cup but use it to bolster its image.
Another example of the use of Sportswashing as a tool of image laundering in football is the 1978 FIFA World Cup hosted in Argentina, under the military dictatorship of Jorge Rafael Videla, a regime responsible for the kidnap, disappearance and deaths of over 10,000 Argentine people considered to be against the junta government, a period otherwise known as the ‘Dirty War’ (Britannica, 2023). In all fairness the rights to host the tournament were awarded in 1966, ten years before the coup that brought about the regime, but yet the World Cup served as a chance for Videla’s government to give the world a perception that they could control.
Ordinarily one would expect that modernity would bring about a more conscious effort to prevent sport from being used as a complicit tool in covering up controversial regimes, particularly in the area of human rights, but yet Sportswashing has only become increasingly sophisticated. Take for instance in 2008, Manchester City were acquired by Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour, and although Man City is not technically owned by the state of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the city’s ruling family member, serves as the deputy prime minister of the United Arab Emirates.
Amnesty International has criticized the country’s human rights record, citing restrictions on freedom of expression and the imprisonment of peaceful government critics. In addition, the organization has noted unfair trials and the arbitrary detention of citizens who have completed their prison sentences, furthermore, Amnesty has highlighted ongoing gender inequality through Emirati law, enabling women to remain unequal to men.
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Another more recent example takes us back to 2018 when Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a vocal critic of the Saudi government was murdered and dismembered with the CIA concluding that Mohammed Bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, had given the order, but yet in 2021 PIF, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi was allowed to acquire English Premier League football club, Newcastle United, the same league as Abu Dhabi-backed Manchester City.
To give context to the significance the implications football clubs can have on the world, a study conducted by SPORT+MARKT, the annual TV audience for the Premier League stands at an impressive 4.7 billion viewers. The consultancy firm’s research revealed that these games are watched in 643 million homes worldwide, as well as numerous bars and restaurants. In addition, over 1.4 billion people identify as fans of a particular Premier League club.
Relevant literatures have indicated it is surely no coincidence that states with negative human rights records have been pursuing football in one form or another, and examples can be found in how actively states pursue hosting major football tournaments. Qatar, for instance, faced scrutiny for its treatment of migrant workers during the 2022 World Cup construction (Amnesty International, 2023).
Similar concerns surrounded Russia’s hosting of the 2018 World Cup, given its annexation of Crimea and suppression of dissent (Freedom House, 2023). China, too, has drawn criticism for its human rights record in Xinjiang, despite its growing investments in football development and hosting ambitions (BBC News, 2023). These examples raise questions about the potential for sporting events to be used for Sportswashing, where a nation’s human rights abuses are overshadowed by the glamour of the competition (Human Rights Watch, 2023; The Diplomat, 2023).
While the economic and soft power benefits of hosting major tournaments are undeniable, it’s crucial to consider the potential human rights implications and avoid legitimizing problematic regimes through sporting spectacle, an indicative trend proving the influence and importance of Sportswashing in the international community, particularly in molding the perception of these complicit states.
By: @free__flowing
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Pablo Blazquez Dominguez / Getty Images / Serena Taylor / Newcastle Unied