Take a glance at the serious news right now, and you’ll see a growing revolution spreading across the Arab world. The governments of Tunisia and Egypt have already crumbled and, emboldened by those early successes, there have been protests breaking out across the rest of North Africa and the Middle East. These political uprisings might all seem like a far cry from the world of sports, but, should the revolutionary fever spread, its implications could quickly spread to the back pages of the newspapers.
Many of the authoritarian regimes that are in the cross-hairs of the protesters have long been friends of our Western democracies. Though they did not share our free and democratic values, they instead offered stability and relative peace in the region, so their existences were not just tolerated, but endorsed. There are some big benefits of dealing with such governments, assuming you are happy to suspend your morals for a bit.
In recent years, the Gulf States have captured some pretty big sporting jewels. Bahrain and the UAE now both hold annual Formula 1 races, and Qatar infamously won the right to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Though the first two nations provide some framework for electing certain positions within the government, those countries are monarchies, and unlike in countries like the U.K. or Spain, the royal families wield considerable power.
When it comes to putting on a show, the Olympics in Beijing in 2008 were a great example of what absolute power can achieve. Plagued by the problems of having to continually justify its spending and actions to the British people, I doubt that London will come close to its predecessor in 2012.
When FIFA selected Russia and Qatar to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, respectively, it made this point clear. Not only did it select the least democratic countries from among the bidding nations, but the bid team strongly criticized the freedom of the press in one of those rejected nations, England. Ironically, though, while Russian TV might be expected to fulfill its censorship obligations, in choosing Qatar, FIFA has probably picked one of the strongest supporters of a free media. The tiny gulf state is home to Al-Jazeera, the independent news channel that broke the mold of Arab TV and dragged it into the 21st century. Though it has a long history of financial support from the nation’s Emir, the fact that it has continually angered all sides is testament to its commitment to being balanced.
It is too early to tell how many Middle Eastern countries will be affected by the current revolutionary spirit and how deep these sentiments will run, but there have already been protests in Algeria, Yemen, Iran and even Bahrain. While most people would likely expect the Gulf States to be reasonably safe, should more governments fall, all bets might be off. What seemed like wealthy, stable and tightly controlled countries—perfect places to hold global sporting events—may become anything but.
Even if there were a painless transition to democracy, there would be no guarantees that the people would be quite as supportive of the dreams and ambitions of their former rulers. When you are a king, it is your God-given right to blow your fantastic riches on whatever you want; when you are a politician, it is much harder to justify to your electorate why their country should be throwing so much money away building soccer stadiums or racetracks.
The 2022 World Cup is a great example of this, because so much money is required to develop and build venues capable of holding matches during the scorching Qatari summer. When the final game has been played, the population will be left with numerous white elephant stadiums far in excess of the capacity needed for the sport in such a tiny country.
It may seem like an abstract comparison, but one can see the same double standards in sports organizations as in the rush by Western governments to praise the fledgling democracies that are taking over the countries that were so recently ruled by allies. It is impossible to separate major organized sports from politics, especially when these tournaments are used to strengthen a ruler’s position or placate his people, or even simply act as another trophy in his dubiously acquired treasure chest. When FIFA complains and punishes government intervention in a nation’s football association, we should in response question FIFA’s political leanings and influence.
Maybe we need a revolution.
Tom Taylor is certainly exercising his freedom of the press. Chat about the serious news at [email protected].