Saudi Arabia and sportswashing: What are the repercussions in a world where sports meets soft power?

October 31st, 2023 – the date of the deadline for bids to host the FIFA World Cup – but more significantly, a date marking a momentous occasion in both Saudi Arabian and sporting history. On that night, following the announcement of Spain, Morocco, Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay as the hosts of the 2030 World Cup, Saudi Arabia was placed in a position where it was the remaining nation tabling a bid for the 2034 World Cup. Which means that following a ‘thorough bidding and evaluation processes’ (BBC News, 2023), Saudi Arabia will become the second Gulf State in 12 years to host the World’s largest sporting tournament.

In the hours, days, and weeks following this announcement, the discussion has immediately turned to football’s two new favourite buzzwords - ‘soft power’ and ‘sports washing’. The phrase ‘soft power’ was popularised by Joseph Nye in 1990 describing the ‘non-coercive power of states to appear attractive to the rest of the world’ (Nye, 1990). Subsequently, ‘Sportswashing’, coined in 2015, can be considered the application of ‘soft power’ in a sporting context. The World Cup in Saudi Arabia has been distinguished as an event of such nature and is considered to be part of a wider trend of states using the eyes and ears on such spectacles to alter their reputation.

But is it fair to cast a judgement on the nation so hastily?

Within Saudi Arabia, the World Cup is seen as a transformative event. The display is viewed with the potential of ‘improving the lives of its population … and diversifying its economy, all at the same time’ (The Guardian, 2023). The World Cup is not just an opportunity to celebrate Saudi Arabian culture, but something much larger, being used as a springboard for economic and social change (The Athletic, 2023). The spectacle is tied to the national objective ‘Vision 2030’, Saudi Arabia’s blueprint to ‘diversify the economy away from oil and gas to create a more sustainable long-term economy’ (The Athletic, 2023). Expanding the sports industry provides a real opportunity for Saudi Arabia to differentiate its economy by getting more and more people to visit the country, spend money, and improve the lives of the population in real terms (The Guardian, 2023).

What’s more, Saudi Arabia’s move of using a sporting event to provide the state with a more pronounced outside profile on the world stage is hardly an original strategy, take for example: The London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics games. According to research by King's College London ‘results from … eleven strategically important countries … showed that on average 36% of people stated that the Games had made the UK more attractive as a place to study or do business, and 35% were more likely to visit the UK’ (Dubber et al., 2015). Sport is one of the most effective ways for a nation to develop influence.

It could be argued that Saudi Arabia is using a sporting event on the world stage to generate a genuine positive effect for its people, just like many before. While using sports as soft power in the Western world is celebrated for its impact on development,nations beyond are criticised for their attempts to grow influence beyond borders.

Yet, the relationship between soft power and sports is a complicated one – and Saudi Arabia unfortunately represents the considerable negative implications from such a connection.

Whilst sporting events in some instances can be a force for good, bringing more eyes to an economy, and helping to highlight the best a country has to offer, it also has the dangerous potential to distract from the powerful and warranted negative reputation of a state.

The World Cup in Saudi Arabia is an example of soft power being used as a distraction. By this, Saudi Arabia is not using an event to promote its culture and economy, but rather project a fabricated view of a nation, covering up a history of appalling human rights records. Fundamentally, women’s rights remain subordinate to men’s, partaking in same-sex relations is a crime punishable by death, mass executions and torture are still common, and migrant workers are subject to appalling conditions. To allow a world cup in Saudi Arabia will undoubtedly legitimise a regime with such a human rights record. No matter the coverage, the articles describing conditions, and a negative discourse across social media will be overwhelmed by fans who feel so passionate about the sport that Saudi Arabia will become a more established nation with an improved reputation.

With sporting events that are so global in the modern age due to developing technology allowing increasing viewership – it is undeniable that sport and politics are inextricably linked. Organisations such as FIFA hold a responsibility to delegate such opportunities as hosting a world cup with an understanding of this link between sport and politics. Because as billions tune in to the 2034 World Cup to admire some of the greatest athletes on the Earth, atrocities committed by a nation become a little more accepted.

Bibliography:

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