International football games like the FIFA World Cup can no longer be separated from international politics. Increasingly, viewers will have to watch as gaffes from a trained footballer or even goal celebrations are interpreted through different political lenses.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup kicked off in Qatar on 20 November, with the host country playing against Ecuador. Though it may have calmed down, at the start of the tournament, the surrounding discourse arguably superseded the football games. The global community saw the posturing, punditry and protestations that occurred during the ongoing tournament, but it is far from the first time that sports has been a theatre of ongoing diplomatic and political conflicts.
Democratic administrations and dictatorial regimes have, historically, been accused of ‘sports-washing’—using the fervour and patriotic sentiment associated with sports to try and launder their image. Previous World Cup tournaments, such as in Benito Mussolini’s Italy (1934) and Juan Peron’s Argentina (1978), were held under dictatorial regimes...
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