More than just a game: The politics of sport

The origins of both politics and sport, in an organized and formalized manner, can be traced back to ancient civilizations; namely to ancient Greece. Indeed, the term “politics” originates from the Greek word “polis,” signifying “city-state” or a society with a sense of community (such as Athens and Sparta), whereas the first Olympic Games were held in Olympia, Greece in 776 B.C.E. as part of a festival to honor the Greek god Zeus. Every 4 years, thousands came from all over the Greek world to witness and participate in the Ancient Olympic Games, bringing victory and honor not just to individual athletes but to their entire polis as well; a recurring phenomenon witnessed contemporarily with the FIFA World Cup, for instance.

While sport is often characterized by inclusivity, impartiality, and fairness in competition, it has always been intertwined with politics. For as French educator and co-founder of the International Olympic Committee (I.O.C.), Baron Pierre de Coubertin, once observed:

Athletics can bring into play both the noblest and the basest passions… they can be used to strengthen peace or to prepare for war.

From here, to what extent are politics and sport inseparable in both domestic and international affairs?

Sport as a force for unity, diplomacy, and political influence

Sport could be used as a force for good; be it for individual nation-states or for the international community and humanity as a whole.

Fostering national and global unity:

Sport’s ability in fostering and reinforcing both national identity and global unity stems from the shared experiences, collective emotions, and mutual interactions among the citizens of the state and that of the wider world. Indeed, if we were to focus on national unity, when athletes compete under their national flags, they become representatives of an entire nation and its aspirations rather than individuals merely pursuing personal achievements. Major international tournaments, such as the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games generate unprecedented expressions of patriotism and national pride, with medals and trophies regarded as collective national accomplishments and symbols of national prestige.

Even during periods of unrest, political uncertainty, or economic hardship, sporting success serves as a source of national optimism and social cohesion. Lebanon’s national basketball team, for instance, has generated widespread national unity and pride despite prolonged political and economic crises, given the repeated continental runner-up finishes it managed to reach (particularly in the 2001, 2005, 2007, and 2022 FIBA Asia Cup finals), as well as its participation in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 4 times in the 21st century (in 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2023).

Members of the United States (U.S.) and Chinese table tennis teams at the Great Wall of China during the historic 1971 “Ping Pong Diplomacy” exchanges, a landmark sporting initiative that helped pave the way for the normalization of U.S.-China relations.

An instrument of diplomacy and soft power:

Unlike traditional diplomacy, which primarily relies on formal negotiations, official state representatives, and governmental institutions, sports diplomacy operates through cultural exchanges, people-to-people interactions, and symbolic gestures capable of fostering dialogue. While they rarely resolve disputes in and of themselves, such initiatives can contribute to creating a more favorable political environment in which diplomatic engagement becomes possible.

Perhaps the most widely cited example is the so-called “Ping-Pong Diplomacy” between the United States (U.S.) and the People’s Republic of China (P.R.C.) in 1971. At a time when official diplomatic relations were virtually nonexistent, exchanges involving American and Chinese table tennis players, particularly Glenn Cowan and Zhuang Zedong, helped reduce decades of political hostility and mutual distrust. More importantly, these sporting encounters demonstrated that dialogue could begin outside conventional diplomatic channels, thus paving the way for U.S. President Richard Nixon’s historic visit to China in 1972 and the signing of the Shanghai Communiqué; which marked a significant step in the normalization of U.S.-China relations that eventually occurred in 1979.

Beyond facilitating interstate dialogue, governments have also come to recognize sport as an effective means of projecting soft power and enhancing their international standing, image-building, and reputation before a global audience.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar serves as a perfect example. Aside from organizing the first FIFA World Cup to be hosted in the Middle East, Qatar sought to reinforce its international profile, diversify its economy, attract tourism, showcase its cultural heritage and organizational competence, and further establish itself as a regional diplomatic actor and commercial hub; especially following the Gulf Cooperation Council (G.C.C.) Crisis of 2017-2021. Nevertheless, the tournament also attracted widespread criticism concerning labor conditions and human rights. This demonstrates that while global sporting events provide states with unprecedented international visibility, they simultaneously expose them to greater scrutiny.

Sport as a reflection of existing socio-political divisions and conflicts

While it is true that sport possesses the capacity to unite societies and facilitate cross-national dialogue, it can also serve as an extension of existing socio-political divisions and conflicts, at both the local and international levels; thus mirroring the environment in which they take place. As armed conflicts became an anomaly within the contemporary world order and the establishment of the United Nations (U.N.) in 1945, theoretically at least, countries have frequently sought alternative arenas to project political tensions, geopolitical rivalries, and national prestige.