sportswashing
Reputation through athletics
Sportswashing is using sports—hosting major events, sponsoring teams, or buying clubs—to improve a tarnished reputation, typically by a nation or corporation with a poor human rights record.
The strategy uses the positive associations of athletics to distract from or legitimize wrongdoing: Critics accused the regime of sportswashing by hosting the World Cup.
The term combines "sports" with "whitewashing."
Rapid rotation around axis
- PR stuntStaged event seeking coverage
- rebrandingRevising corporate identity
- deflectionChange in trajectory
- misdirectionIntentional focus manipulation
distraction · narrative control · media manipulation · soft power · propaganda · disinformation · astroturfing · facade
Inalienable personal freedoms
- exploitationSelfish use of others
- corruptionDishonest abuse of power
- oppressionUnjust exercise of power
- accountabilityObligation for one's actions
transparency · hypocrisy · double standards · complicity · moral compromise · blood money · ethics violation · censorship
Organized economic protest
- protestPublic expression of disapproval
- activismDirect effort for reform
- backlashStrong negative reaction
- criticismJudgment of faults
public outrage · social justice · whistleblower · investigative journalism · sanctions · divestment · athlete activism · hashtag campaign
Gulf kingdom, largest Arabian state
- QatarGulf peninsula emirate
- UAEGulf state abbreviation
- RussiaEurasian federation, largest country
- ChinaEast Asian superpower
Azerbaijan · Bahrain · oligarch · authoritarian regime · Gulf states · petrostates · PSG · Formula One
Premier international football tournament
- OlympicsGlobal athletic contest
- Grand PrixPremier motorsport competition
- golf tournamentOrganized competitive play on courses
- boxing matchScheduled combat between pugilists
exhibition match · tennis tournament · cycling race · FIFA · UEFA · IOC
spin
Rapid rotation around axis
- PR stuntStaged event seeking coverage
- rebrandingRevising corporate identity
- deflectionChange in trajectory
misdirection · distraction · narrative control · media manipulation · soft power · propaganda · disinformation · astroturfing · facade · smokescreen
human rights
Inalienable personal freedoms
- exploitationSelfish use of others
- corruptionDishonest abuse of power
- oppressionUnjust exercise of power
accountability · transparency · hypocrisy · double standards · complicity · moral compromise · blood money · ethics violation · censorship · atrocities
boycott
Organized economic protest
- protestPublic expression of disapproval
- activismDirect effort for reform
- backlashStrong negative reaction
criticism · public outrage · social justice · whistleblower · investigative journalism · sanctions · divestment · athlete activism · hashtag campaign · awareness campaign
Saudi Arabia
Gulf kingdom, largest Arabian state
China · Azerbaijan · Bahrain · oligarch · authoritarian regime · Gulf states · petrostates · PSG · Formula One
World Cup
Premier international football tournament
- OlympicsGlobal athletic contest
- Grand PrixPremier motorsport competition
- golf tournamentOrganized competitive play on courses
boxing match · exhibition match · tennis tournament · cycling race · FIFA · UEFA · IOC
- sports ethicsfair play, integrity, doping, honesty, respect
- sports societyathlete activism, fandom, gender equity, pay equity, player unions
sportswashingtransparency
State of being see-through
accountability · open society · rule of law · free press · anti-corruption
sport, sports, sporting, sportsman, sportsmanship, sportive, sportsmanlike, sportscaster, whitewashing