Sportwashing accusations dismissed as ‘absurd’ by football fans who want global game
Westerners like to talk about sportswashing, but why would Middle East countries want to wash if they feel clean? The Mailbox is here.
Send your views on this – and less-heavy subjects – to theeditor@football365.com
Sportswashing works
Walking up Bruce Grove in Tottenham yesterday evening, I saw a child, maybe 9 or 10, wearing what I assume* was an Al-Nassr top with “Ronaldo 7” on the back. Not sure why that would depress me as much as or more than any more of the bullshit that’s happening with petro-states taking over football, but it does.
Sportswashing works.
Dara O’Reilly, London
* I didn’t recognise the kit: yellow and blue? Is that what they wear?
Sportswashing? Why would they bother when they feel clean?
First off fair play to F365 for posting my mail. I didn’t think ye would.
Second I want to be very clear here because some people couldn’t grasp the point I was making. I’m going to gloss over all the accusations of misogyny, fascism, homophobia etc (Lebron James would have struggled to make that leap) Not once did I defend their presence in football or even comment on it.
I’m highlighting the fact that the whole situation is NOT to get the approval of the common football fan. That they don’t care about you. That they have their own values which they….value. It’s not about you. Basically that the term “sports washing” is incorrectly being applied. And that they find your values just as disgusting as you find theirs. Again that’s not advocating for either.
And while it may hurt your feelings there is a correlation between authoritarianism and an ordered society. That’s not advocating for it nor is it as banal as the ‘Nazis had the trains on time’. It was in relation to another mailer’s point about it being a very “safe” country.
Still waiting a lucid reply as to what they would get that they don’t currently have from convincing Alan the Geordie bricklayer that they are a decent bunch at the end of the day.
For the record I’m not a fan of nation states, corporate entities, investment funds or oligarchs. It’s ruined football. Along with Sky and the TV deals.
If you are going to reply, please don’t consult the big book of cliches this time. 😁
Gerard Eire (nice to see free speech alive and well on F365)
Maybe Saudi Arabia just want good footballers and they can afford them?
All these increasing conspiracy theories stemming from the Saudi league about the middle East “end game”, “need for power” are really amusing and typical.
As an Indian, I don’t have a monkey in either circus. But let me float some alternative and am sure unpopular (here) notions :
1. Maybe this isn’t a plot by those evil Saudis to take over the world and/or kill the soul of football. Maybe they just want to bring the joys of football to their shores for their people to enjoy. It’s in your head that they have set off to make the world a worse place.
2. Just because European nations built their leagues and footballing legacy through a slow and ground-up process over a century or two doesn’t mean everyone has to. In fact, I would even argue that in today’s day it’s not possible to build it up that way. They have the money to build the infra and attract the talent and why should I hold it against them.. which brings me to my next point….
3. Why do you scoff at Middle East money as if it’s dirtier than your European money. In fact it’s less so considering its coming (largely) from their natural resources, and not through a colonial legacy. Their nations may have issues (and yours of course don’t) but that doesn’t mean every penny they spend is to fund evil.
4. I don’t see you guys complaining when European clubs prize away all of South America’s brightest and exciting talents to European shores. Now you may argue that those players move to Europe to play in a better competition. But how did that come about – because there was (is) a time when European clubs could pay money that SA leagues couldn’t and so your leagues became the preferred destination at the cost of theirs.
5. From some of your perspective it may be the end of football if there is a competition where Saudi clubs with an assemble of star players play European clubs. But for most people outside of Europe it would be a fun little exhibition.
6. Similarly, from your perspective (and fairly so) it may pain you to see your local footballing pyramids suffer due to outside money flowing in. For most people it is a delight to see the best footballers come together in the same team and league and be able to play delightful football.
In a nutshell – football is no longer a European (or for that matter South American but I don’t see them crib) sport to be enjoyed by the rest of the world on telly while being called plastic fans. You gave us a taste of it, and now we have made it or are gonna make it as much our own.
Akshay V (have you ever experienced the joys of your country’s club signing a 42 year old Roberto Carlos as its marquee player?)
…I find it ironic that us, the western people are complaining about the Middle East who have now started to buy football clubs and have an issue with this but are okay other western nationalities i.e. American to buy football considering the fact that they are much worse in terms of their modern history in comparison to the Middle East.
The Premier League and Sky’s initial TV deal in the 90’s started this and as time went on, others noticed how much money in football is worth.
The Saudis are merely copying what the American’s have been doing in sport so to suggest it’s sports washing is absurd and bigoted view of that side of the world because we as the west were unable to stamp our supposedly correct way of thinking/living on to them and they showed us by hosting one of the best tournament since Mexico 1970 and had one of the greatest finals of all time.
The game of football changed when fans also voted for the creation of the EPL and the SKY deal so it’s not point now complaining about it and since the middle east has banded together to some extent as they figured out that they held power through resources, good on them, it’s their right to use it which ever way they want and for the fans to say that the football is for the common man, they should look at themselves and realise that football has always been a business to extract as much money from people and this will remain, i.e. only fools part away from their hard earned money.
Adam Sab
Sickened by Manchester United and co
Brilliant article from Ian Watson on the state of football. Unfortunately I am not a match going fan I’m a utd fan who is Irish and from Dublin but I love the club I may not be from Manchester but utd is all I’ve known most my life I’m 38 years of age and have been supporting utd for as long as I can remember probably 32 or 33 years. To see my utd being run by a state whether it be Qatar are whoever I dont think I can stomach it I know Ineos are no saints but to sell your soul to Qatar for what a few shiny new players nah not for me. The soul of football has been in A&E for a long time when the 2 main organisations FIFA and uefa are in charge but we are heading for annihilation. As Vinnie LFC says whats the end game here ? And unusual as it is to agree with an LFC supporter he is spot on.
Kenneth Dublin