According to Wikipedia, “Sportswashing is a term used to describe the practice of individuals, groups, corporations, or governments using sports to improve reputations tarnished by wrongdoing.” and,” A form of propaganda, sportswashing can be accomplished through hosting sporting events, purchasing, or sponsoring sporting teams, or participating in a sport.”
Introduction:
Before delving deeply into how the UAE is using sports diplomacy or sportswashing to improve their standing in the global arena. It is more important to understand why they are using sportswashing as a tool. For this first we must understand the history of the United Arab Emirates.
The United Arab Emirates lies in the oil rich gulf region and is one of the top exporters of crude oil. Also, UAE is one of the few countries in the world which still have monarchy, but they also have oil in bulk. It is their huge oil reserves which make them indispensable irrespective of the human right abuses that people have to suffer in UAE. The labour conditions and labour laws in the UAE are inhumane keeping in view the global standards.
Hosting International Sporting Events:
With the vast resources and the economic flourish UAE never bothered about their soft image. But since the last two decades things are changing and they have now become a hub for international sports events. These events range from Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to the Dubai World Cup and many more to come. This has helped greatly in promoting tourism across the UAE from European countries.
Their minister of Culture, Youth and Community development made it clear that, “Organising an event of international stature is definitely a clear message to the whole world that the emirates, and Dubai in particular, [are] ready to take this up as part of a bigger challenge,”. This is a statement that UAE is not only dependent on its economic power from oil but is diversifying its economy and global outreach.
Non-Traditional Diplomacy:
Sports is a form of non-traditional diplomacy which the UAE is using very wisely. Their effectiveness lies in the fact that they haven’t limited themselves to one sport only like cricket or football. They have expanded their reach to other sports like horse racing, golf, and motorsports. Diversifying their domain has expanded their outreach in terms of the fans and the targeted audience also.
Sporting Facilities:
Obviously, this has not developed overnight, UAE worked and planned for this. The UAE has established top notch stadiums and sporting facilities by spending tons of money. Take the example of Yas Marina circuit which cost them $1.3 billion which makes it the most expensive F1 track around the globe. Moreover, the head office of the International Cricket Council (ICC) is also situated in the United Arab Emirates alongside the ICC cricket academy.
Celebrities as Ambassadors:
UAE has not limited itself to holding sports events only but also its leaders are in very good terms with the international sports stars. These include Roger Federer, Shahid Afridi, Christiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, etc. and the list goes on. Many of the global sports superstars call UAE their home and they literally spend most of their time there.
Ownership of Football Clubs in Europe:
Another important area where they managed to gain soft power is their ownership of the European football clubs. The most significant in this list is the Manchester City Football Club. The club is owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nayhan who is also the vice president of the United Arab Emirates, and is the brother of Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nayhan who is the president of UAE. This shows the direct link between the royal rulers and sports.
Conclusion:
It is however pertinent to know for UAE that sports diplomacy does build your positive social image. Moreover, it also adds to the soft power of the country but still it is for some time only. But in the case of UAE, it has to do more than just sports washing because no one is oblivious of their domestic happenings. Although no one is denying that sportswashing by the UAE has in fact changed the perception of their country in the European citizens especially.
