Have you ever heard of “sportswashing”? It is a combination of the words “sports” and “washing”, which means washing public images through sports. In other words, the primary purpose is to get rid of negative public perceptions by holding large-scale and famous sports events. Countries that are controversial due to dictatorship, corruption, and suppression of human rights hold many international sports events. This year, as the winter Olympics is held in China, and the World Cup is held in Qatar, some say, “2022 is the year of sportswashing.” Four of the 22 Formula 1 Grand Prix races in the 2021 season were held in the Middle East (Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates). Sportswashing can also be found in Korea. One of the 3S policies implemented by former president Chun Doo-Hwan regarded sports. He created professional sports leagues, such as baseball and basketball, and attracted public attention through doing so. The global economic situation is severe due to the COVID-19 virus and the Ukraine-Russia war, so many countries are reluctant to hold large sports events. On the contrary, some are holding more competitions and joining as sponsors using the financial power gained from the Gulf oil money. Did they shake off the negative image as they wanted?

Nazis and the Berlin Olympics

(Source) Britannica,www.britannica.com

Sportswashing started quite a long time ago. Hitler’s Nazi Germany had a negative image because of antisemitism, racism, and militarism. He planned this Olympics to improve the negative image and promote a powerful and united Nazi regime to the world. Antisemitic policies led to some players and countries boycotting this event, and the Nazis originally intended to exclude Jews from the German squad. However, as the United States decided to boycott the tournament, the Nazis included several Jews on the team and briefly suspended antisemitic policies during the games. Another interesting thing is that this was the first Olympics broadcast live worldwide on television. Nazi Germany achieved great success by winning 39 gold medals. As a result, Hitler was able to make himself known to the world as he wanted.

Azerbaijan and Sports Competitions

(Source) The Atlantic, www.theatlantic.com	(Source) Fox Sports, www.foxsports.com	Source) Autoweek, www.autoweek.com

Azerbaijan has raised controversy over its dictatorship and war with Armenia. Heydar Aliyev served as the third president of Azerbaijan from 1993 to 2003. Since then, his son Ilham Aliyev has taken over as president. In 2017, he created the new position of Vice President and appointed his wife to that position. Azerbaijan started a war with Armenia in 2020, occupying a part of the Nagorno-Karabakh territory. This conflict continues to this day. However, there has been a movement to host famous sports competitions there. In 2015, the first European Games was held in Baku, with massive investment by the Azerbaijan government. Azerbaijan is interested in football games, too, hosting the UEFA Europa League final in 2019 and the UEFA Euro 2020. The Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix has been successfully held every summer since 2017 at the Baku City Circuit. Aliyev's plan worked. If you type the word “Azerbaijan” in search engines during these competitions, you can't find certain keywords, such as “war” and “dictatorship”.

Saudi Arabia and LIV Golf

(Source) Daily Sabah, www.dailysabah.com	(Source) PGA TOUR, www.pgatour.com

Human rights issues in Saudi Arabia are getting worse every day. Especially with the murder of anti-government journalist Jamāl Khāshuqjī, the relationship with the United States has been completely disrupted. Therefore, Saudi leaders are investing heavily in the sports business to restore the country’s tarnished image. Last year, following the acquisition of the Premier League Club Newcastle United F.C. and hosting the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia once again came up with another sports washing strategy: golf.

In 2022, with the advance of the LIV Golf Series, there was a significant change in golf tours worldwide. To attract more attention from many people, it is proceeding with a 54-hole stroke play instead of the traditional 72-hole system. The Roman numeral 54 is LIV, hence, the origin of its name. Broadcasting graphics are showing new ways, too. More interestingly, LIV Golf offers an enormous invitation fee to some famous players and encourages them to participate in the new tour. Dustin Johnson, the former world ranking number one player, participated in LIV Golf with a $150 million[1] contract. Phil Mickelson was guaranteed $200 million[2], more than double the prize money he earned through his career on the PGA Tour for 20 years. However, after the participation of LIV Golf, KPMG, Heineken, and Workday, which have been sponsoring him for a long time, terminated their sponsorship contracts. Tiger Woods was known to be offered a contract of about $700 million[3], but he rejected it and strongly criticized LIV Golf, saying it is disrupting the golf tour ecosystem worldwide. PGA Tour has decided to ban players that participated in LIV Golf permanently, and in response, LIV Golf and several of its players have sued Tiger Woods and the PGA Tour. The prize money is also extraordinary. The total prize money of each competition is $20 million[4], and the final competition of this season will be held with $55 million in prize money. This is more than double The PLAYERS Championship’s prize money of $25 million[5], which is the most on the PGA Tour. However, despite offering large amounts of money, most players are reluctant to participate. Since the negative image of this competition is so severe, it has not been able to find a TV broadcaster, so the competition is being streamed on YouTube. It is also a problem to host the event without any sponsors.

Kim Youngwoo  kyeryoong@gmail.com

<저작권자 © 홍익대영자신문사, 무단 전재 및 재배포 금지>