Sportswashing

By Gavin Huet

Because of golf, the term sportswashing has been front and centre over the last week. For many sports fans the term sportswashing is not something they will have given much thought to, indeed most of us would have just ignored it thinking it does not affect us and our favourite sports in any way.

But what exactly is sportswashing? It is the practice of using sport to improve the tarnished reputation of individuals, corporations, and of course governments. It is more typically referred to as reputational laundering.

I am not going to even attempt to explain the Saudi backed LIV golf issue as I can’t do it justice, there are numerous articles by sports, business, and political journalists who have done it in depth already.

But let’s be clear, this is nothing new. Just as sports and politics are inseparable, so are sports and sponsorship. There is a reason that companies sponsor teams and events, there is a reason individuals buy into sports teams, and there is certainly a reason countries host sporting events. It seems almost every second Olympic Games is an example of sportswashing yet we still send our athletes along to compete and celebrate their successes.

It would be wonderful if all sports can exist without the need to accept money from less than perfect sources, but the reality is that we all want our teams to be successful and have all the resources they need, and the entities that are wanting to engage in sportswashing usually have more of an incentive to outbid any potential competition.

Express an opinion about the Saudi backed LIV golf series on social media and the devil’s advocates will be asking where you were for the Qatar Football World Cup vote, or when Formula 1 is racing in Azerbaijan as they are at the time of writing this? Well, you are allowed to have an opinion on more than one sport or event, and you are probably talking about the LIV golf series at the moment and not the Football World Cup because the golf is in the news right now. Once the Qatar Football World Cup swings into gear later this year I expect the golf to be nowhere near this conversation.

While it does look like every sport has aspects of sportswashing somewhere and it is not something that will be going away any time soon, the biggest issue for the fans is that once you argue against a certain incidence of sportswashing where do you draw the line – can a fan boycott the Saudi backed LIV golf whilst supporting the INEOS sponsored All Blacks?

And while talking about these issues rarely does anything, that doesn’t mean we should ignore them and blindly let these things happen around us. These companies, individuals, and governments should be told that we do not condone their behaviour. Other sponsors may then think more about their own involvement in these sports, events, and individuals, and over time this may effect change.

My advice is to enjoy your sport, enjoy the successes that come with that money, but always remember where that success is coming from and let those sponsors, owners, and hosts know that you have not forgotten.

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