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Sportswashing

Sportswashing is a term used to describe the practice of governments, individuals, corporations, or other groups using sports to improve reputations tarnished by wrongdoing. A form of propaganda, sportswashing can be accomplished through hosting sporting events, purchasing or sponsoring sporting teams, or participating in a sport.

At the international level, it is believed that sportswashing has been used to direct attention away from poor human rights records and corruption scandals. At the individual and corporate levels, it is believed that sportswashing has been used to cover up vices, crimes, and scandals. Sportswashing is an example of reputation laundering.

Overview

Internationally, sportswashing has been described as part of a country's soft power. The first usage of the term "sportswashing" may have been applied to Azerbaijan and its hosting of the 2015 European Games in Baku.

Gulf states accused of sportswashing have been the most vocal in attempting to dismiss these claims, often arguing that they simply want to enjoy sporting events in their home countries or attract new investments. These accused parties often say that sporting boycotts and event relocation are both unfair to sporting fans and are ineffective in changing government policy. In the case of Formula One, the league has even argued that "the sport is better able to effect change by visiting these countries and holding them to commitments they have made that are legally binding." The 2018 FIFA World Cup held in Russia has been cited as an example of a government's attempt to tackle the country's negative global reputation, which was low due to the Kremlin's aggressive foreign policy, with the sporting event attempting to redirect the international community's attention away from Russia's crimes and atrocities in Chechnya, Georgia, Syria, and Ukraine to the success of the World Cup.

Companies accused of sportswashing include Ineos's sponsorship of professional cycling's Team Sky (now the Ineos Grenadiers) in 2019, and Arabtec's sponsorship of Manchester City F.C.

A key characteristic of sportswashing is the very costly efforts parties must undertake as it is not just about getting the rights to an event but building the infrastructure to hold these games. For example, leading up to the 2022 FIFA World Cup the host country Qatar, the smallest country to ever host the World Cup, invested around $220 billion into luxury accommodations, expanded transport networks, and stadiums to prepare. In March 2021, human rights organization Grant Liberty said that Saudi Arabia alone has spent at least $1.5 billion on its own alleged sportswashing activities.

Hosting

Basketball

Combat sports

Boxing

Mixed martial arts

Cycling

Association football tournaments

Esports

"Esportswashing" is a term sometimes used to describe sportswashing which involves esports events.

Golf

Motorsport

Formula One

Formula E

Grand Prix motorcycle racing

Rally

Touring car racing

IndyCar

Olympic Games

Rugby union

Rugby union tours involving South Africa during the Apartheid era:

Tennis

Professional wrestling

Other events

Corporate sponsorship

Association football

Australian rules football

Cycling

Golf

  • Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, Public Investment Fund, sponsored the LIV Golf in 2021. Human rights organizations criticized Saudi Arabia for sportwashing its image through the tournament. Human Rights Watch also wrote a letter to LIV Golf urging the league to adopt a strategy that would minimize the risk of reputation laundering by the Saudi Arabian government.

Motorsport

Ownership

Association football

Domestic teams:

Foreign ownership:

Basketball

  • Russian businessman Mikhail Prokhorov owned the NBA team Brooklyn Nets. Prokhorov was known to be a close ally to Russian President Vladimir Putin. In 2017, Prokhorov sold the team; this was alleged to have taken place at Putin's request. Consequently, Hong Kong businessman Joseph Tsai bought the team in 2019. Tsai was previously criticized for his praise of China's restrictions on personal freedoms and for expressing his support of the Hong Kong national security law.

Cricket

Cycling

Motorsport

Other

By individuals

By nations

  • Kazakhstan joined UEFA in 2002 and has also sponsored numerous sporting events in recent years. Kazakhstan has been historically and sometimes still accused of being an authoritarian dictatorship due to its repression on dissidents and censorship of media, and that their UEFA membership association has also been under criticism as Kazakhstan has shared more commons with the authoritarian AFC than with more democratic UEFA due to the majority of Asian nations being authoritarian as contrast to European ones, which has gained headline after Kazakhstan become the first UEFA member after Belarus to send a national team (U-21) to play Russia since the invasion of Ukraine. Additionally, FC Astana, a football project launched by the autocratic government of Nursultan Nazarbayev to gain a foothold in Europe and justify its change of membership, was also seen as sportswashing. Recently, due to the impact of the Russian war on Ukraine, Kazakhstan has signalled contrasting claims, vowing to fight for UEFA membership while reserving the possibility of exiting UEFA for AFC once more if security guarantee is not assured, partly due to Donald Trump's pro-Russian attitude.
  • Myanmar has recently been allowed to host the 2022 AFF Championship, and its clubs have been allowed to play home games in the 2023–24 AFC Cup despite grave human rights concerns in the aftermath of the Myanmar protests and massacres by the Tatmadaw on unarmed protesters. Additionally, the AFC is also accused of sportswashing in support of the Tatmadaw by denying the request of the Australian club Macarthur FC to play their away match against Burmese opponent Shan United F.C. in a neutral ground.
  • UAE — In November 2021, the Emirates Culture and Tourism Department signed a multiyear partnership deal with the NBA, granting Abu Dhabi rights to host the preseason NBA games. Human rights groups questioned the deal, stating that the NBA was risking being complicit in the UAE's concerning human rights record. In February 2024, the NBA also signed a multiyear global marketing partnership with the airline Emirates, making the airline an inaugural title partner of the NBA Cup. Emirates also became the NBA's first-ever referee jersey patch partner. The league was questioned over the type of countries it was picking for alliance, including the UAE. The deals between the NBA and the UAE were criticized, citing the Emirates’ involvement in the Sudan civil war and its constant arms supply to the Rapid Support Force militia. Human Rights Watch stated that the UAE conducts high-profile sporting and other events in an attempt to portray an image of openness, while practicing a zero-tolerance policy.<br />

See also

References