Overview
International actors, in particular governments and corporations, have increasingly invested in professional sports to improve their image and distract focus from their abuses, such as those against human rights and the environment – a practice called sportswashing. By contributing to professional sports and exploiting their influence, these actors cleanse their reputation and gain legitimacy in the international arena. Sportswashing can be subtle, through investments and sponsorships, or it can be more blatant, through the establishment of entirely new sporting leagues. By gaining mass popularity, the sportswasher becomes associated with the positive and entertaining growth of the sport. As sports have a significant influence over politics, economies and cultures, it is crucial to consider what sportswashing means for the global impact of sports and potential frameworks that could better regulate sporting operations.
Sportswashing: Old and New
Whilst the term “sportswashing” was coined in 2015, similar practices can be traced back to the early twentieth century when countries took part in global sporting events to showcase their national talents. The 1936 Berlin Olympics served as a stage on which Adolf Hitler could showcase Nazi propaganda. The Olympics held in Munich in 1972, Moscow in 1980 and Los Angeles in 1984 saw heavy strife between the United States and Soviet Union, both in and out of the sporting arena. Recently, however, sportswashing has evolved to include investments, sponsorships, event-hosting, league establishments and much more.
In the last decade, the majority of sportswashers have been Middle Eastern nations such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar. These states’ geopolitical motives drive them to sportswash, but it is also their large influx of wealth coming from sources, predominantly oil production, that allows them to invest so heavily in professional sports.
Corporations in the Middle East
In addition to national actors, fossil fuel companies are significant sportswashers – and it is no surprise that many of these corporations are based in or have operations in the previously mentioned Gulf states. These companies have invested over $5 billion in professional sports: leading companies include Aramco with over $1 billion in investments, Ineos with over $700 million in investments and Shell with over $400 million in investments. While these companies attempt to cleanse their associated countries’ reputations of human rights violations, they also divert the global community from their non-renewable energy operations and contribution to environmental devastation.
Sportswashing Today
The previously mentioned Olympics saw acts of sportswashing through political strife and national representation; sportswashing today, however, features more direct involvement in professional sports including football, motorsports and golf.
In football, Middle Eastern countries have invested heavily in the English Premier League and its clubs. Saudi Arabia financially backed Newcastle United FC in 2021 to recruit better players – within a year, the club jumped from outside the top ten rankings in the league to ranking fifth. Manchester City, the currently second-best ranked club in Premier League, is owned by the United Arab Emirates and consequently receives lucrative sponsorships – at the expense of distracting fans from Abu Dhabi’s human rights violations. Besides investments into clubs, there are also premier divisions within the Middle East. The Saudi Pro League, for instance, currently has players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar Jr, and N’Golo Kanté – some of the biggest names in football. The athletes’ massive global influence draws popularity towards the league whilst diverting attention away from their controversies.
In motorsports, countries like Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates are notable for hosting major Formula 1 races. Saudi Arabia is considered to be the leading Middle Eastern state in Formula 1 and invests in races, car manufacturers and sponsorships within the organisation to grow the sport and distract the world from its controversial practices.
In golf, the most notable sportswashing development is LIV Golf, a professional golf league that was established in 2021 by Saudi Arabia. The country’s Public Investment Fund invested over $2 billion dollars into the league with a return of less than $100 million in the 2021 season – a sacrifice worth making for Saudi Arabia to achieve its geopolitical goals. LIV Golf has offered lucrative deals to professional golfers across the world, but primarily to those on the PGA Tour – a United States-based professional golf tour that is considered to be the most competitive and prestigious. The PGA Tour declared that its players would be barred from playing on the PGA if they entered contracts with LIV Golf. LIV consequently filed an antitrust lawsuit in 2022 against PGA, stating that the PGA was illegally operating as a monopoly. The sporting tensions became political once the lawsuit reached Capitol Hill and Saudi Arabia’s human rights violations were observed. The two tours shocked the golfing world in 2023 by deciding to merge, with developments in their peace deal still underway.
Combating Sportswashing
The United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights outlines principles like due diligence and corporate responsibility so that governments and businesses can prevent and remedy abuses. These are not legally binding, though, making compliance voluntary and legal ramifications of little to no harm. Nonetheless, they provide crucial, normative measures about how organisations ought to act, encouraging both legal and ethical operations.
Likewise, a form of international sports governance can be established to regulate sport bodies and actors. Due diligence encourages organisations to assess their operations more effectively to prevent and remedy offences, allowing for easier identification of sportswashing; transparency provides disclosure on an organisation’s finances, operations, risks and impact. Developing frameworks for sports that already exist for governments and businesses can raise awareness on sportswashing and allow for more legal and ethical operations within the world of sports.
Beyond frameworks for sporting governance, people themselves can combat sportswashing. Professional athletes can diligently scrutinise their sponsorships, investments and league, as their massive impact in the world goes beyond merely playing the sport and drawing fans. Additionally, the media can consider the light in which they cover sports. Sportswashers often portray themselves and their sport in an entertaining, extravagant manner and how the media portrays these operations plays a crucial role in the public understanding of sportswashing. Public pressure and efforts from groups like non-governmental organisations can also raise awareness and play a significant role in the fight against sportswashing.
Conclusion
The evolution of sportswashing and its presence in some of the world’s largest sports today present a concern on sports’ global impact. Norms like securing human rights and protecting the environment are eroded when nations and corporations disguise their abuses through entertaining platforms like professional sports. By establishing normative frameworks like international sports governance and principles for athletes and the media, the sporting world can develop both legally and ethically to achieve positive impact.