In the realm of purpose, there’s often a hyphen, followed by a second word – ‘washing’. To mean an action which isn’t authentic, that’s being done as a box ticking exercise and not aligned with core business activity.
As responsible business has evolved, so has the ‘washing’ tag. We’ve had ‘green-washing’. ‘pink-washing’. And now, ‘Sports-washing’. Which is when governments or corporations use sport to either distract from controversies or try to mend their reputations. It could be by hosting tournaments, funding sporting programmes, or buying and owning teams or leagues.
Sport is big business with passionate audiences, and usually incorporates high values and ideals – a good thing to get behind.
It’s sometimes hard to prove real intentions.
But when there’s a perception of insincerity around any entity buying into sport, the backlash can be severe, whether it’s fair or otherwise.
One example is Emirati royal Sheikh Mansour’s ownership of Manchester City football club. It’s been accused of being an attempt to launder the UAE’s reputation worldwide, distracting from corruption and a lack of women’s rights in the region. Not even the club’s subsequent success has dampened the critics.
The Saudi-government funded LIV Golf tour has become similarly divisive, splitting opinion within the world of golf down the middle. Despite promising fairer pay for players – an issue golfers have been raising for years – Saudi Arabia’s human rights record has divided both athletes and pundits on the ethics of taking part.
Sports-washing isn’t a term reserved for governments.
Businesses have been accused of it too.
General Electric have long been sponsors of the Olympic Games. Yet controversy has followed them for the duration of the partnership, with rumours of fraud and accusations of a GE subsidiary misrepresenting the value of subprime mortgage loans in the US in a way that disproportionately affected minorities.
But what is “honest” enough?
Is it fair to suggest that bodies can’t use a medium everyone loves to try to connect with the public without ill intention? It’s not a settled topic.
Some, like an anonymous writer for The Mag (admittedly an unofficial webzine for fans of Newcastle United, a club recently bought by The Saudi state’s Public Investment Fund, the same state fund behind LIV Golf) have called the term “reductive” and even racially charged, because it is a phrase that’s been often saved for the actions of Arab states.
The material benefits of a large sponsorship – such as investment in a local community – also can’t be minimised. The fact remains that, when any entity has visibility and status, attempts to gear it towards purpose will often be scrutinised.
It is still possible for companies to communicate their values through sport, and for people to support and believe in their efforts.
A good example is McDonald’s, and its twenty year involvement in grassroots football in the Home Nations. McDonald’s footballs and training bibs are a lasting image of school PE for many young people now breaking into adulthood, a testament to how long McDonalds has been committed to football within schools and local communities.
Together with its free, professionally coached Fun Football centres, the oxymoron of a fast food company sponsoring sport doesn’t seem to have harmed the business. It’s possibly because of the long-term commitment McDonald’s have demonstrated, even at a time when many other organisations were taking difficult decisions to cut sports day-care programmes during the pandemic recovery.
The sponsors of Soccer Aid – the annual star-studded televised friendly match to raise money for UNICEF – also appear to have got it right. Many of them financially match the viewers’ donations, with others, like JD Sports, selling official licensed Soccer Aid kit and part-donating general profits in the weeks leading up to the event. Fans show their love through the shirt. It’s a way to both actively invest in charitable causes and have a genuine connection with sports fans.
Sport connects people across the globe in a way few things can. Even though a business’ intentions may be questioned when they try to use that power to communicate their name and values through sport, it’s still ultimately worth doing, with considered risk management and real intentions.
Because when it works – for example, as did Sprite in the US with its ties to the hip-hop community through basketball – you can create lasting relationships with passionate fanbases, and fund real, purposeful change.
