Recently, nations in the Middle East have witnessed the utilization of sports as a political tool, especially football. Egypt, Syria, Iraq, Kuwait, Turkey, and Palestine have witnessed this trend frequently. The trend manifests itself in accordance with specific indicators relating to varying phenomena. Sports is used as a mechanism to bolster the legitimacy of ruling regimes, foster national unity, ignite political sectarianism, escalate social conflicts, encourage resistance against settler colonialism, naturalize athletes, impact regional relations, and raise a country’s status on the global stage.
The relevant literature indicates that sport represents, in some cases, a means of diverting a population’s attention away from significant issues affecting their standard of living. However, this is only part of the picture given the ongoing changes within the region. The politicization of sports in the Middle East can be outlined as follows:
Questionable Legitimacy
1. Bolstering the legitimacy of political regimes: Some Middle Eastern regimes utilize sports as a means of strengthening their political legitimacy and increasing the competence of their governments by backing sports and sponsoring athletes in various spectator sports, particularly football. Syrian sports have been negatively impacted since the beginning of the civil war in 2011 in light of the refusal of some foreign embassies to grant entry visas to Syrian teams and athletes participating in international sporting events.
During the 2016 Rio Olympics, Syrian athletes participated in the athletics, swimming, weight lifting and table tennis competitions. The purpose of their participation was to boost the Assad regime’s legitimacy and ease the pain of the Syrian internal armed conflict. Statements from Syrian athletes reflected their awareness of how difficult it was for them to attain medals, as well as how these athletes prioritized the honor of participation and of raising the Syrian flag in defiance of terrorism. More significantly, their participation can be viewed as an attempt by the Assad regime to save its face, and augment its questionable legitimacy in the eyes of the international community.
National Awareness
2. Fostering national unity: From the first match, the participation of the Egyptian national football team in the African Cup of Nations, from mid-January to February 5, 2017 in Gabon was transformed into an occasion for igniting and strengthening a sense of national belonging. Football was returned to the forefront of the public’s mind in Egypt, strengthening ties between the state and its citizens, especially amongst the youth. The Ministry of Youth and Sports provided giant screens for citizens to watch the matches. The performance of the national team was widely celebrated, despite their defeat in the final.
After the revolutionary fervor that ran through the Arab world in 2011, some political movements used sports as a tool to end internal conflict and promote a spirit of reconciliation. In mid-2015, the Libyan organization H2O held football matches in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, where players from different cities and regions in Libya met to compete. The slogan used during the event was, “On the Pitch for Peace.” Signs were visible throughout the event calling for unity and an end to divisions among the citizenry of the nation.
Sectarian Politicization
3. Igniting political sectarianism: Two Kurdish football clubs, Erbil Sports Club and Zakho Football Club, announced their withdrawal from the Iraqi Premier League after a match between Erbil and Al-Najaf Football Club. Anti-Kurdish chants rang from the Shiite-majority city of Najaf when the crowd rushed onto the pitch at the end of the game. Al-Najaf fans chanted, “Erbil is ISIS territory”, expressing a clearly sectarian sentiment. This sectarian sentiment was reaffirmed by club’s president Khodair al-Awadi to Agence France-Presse, when he stated that the chants of the Al-Najaf fans were due to the toxic political climate. The president of Zakho stated that such incidents have repeatedly occurred when Kurdish teams play, and that the situation was no longer acceptable. “This is not sport” he stated, “it has transformed into a political problem.”
Within this context, there are widespread fears that current conditions will hamper Iraq’s efforts to combat the 14-year FIFA (the International Federation of Association Football) ban, which excludes Iraq from hosting international football games due to the political and security crisis throughout the country. There has been news of a visit by a FIFA delegation to assess the possibility of lifting the ban. FIFA had previously partially lifted the ban and allowed Iraq to host matches at the Franso Hariri Stadium in Erbil, but quickly reinstated the ban after witnessing violence during a 2014 World Cup qualifying match between Iraq and Jordan.
4. Escalating social conflicts: The Iraqi governorate of Baghdad has been suffering from a case of hooliganism in sports, reflecting the weakness of governmental police forces and the lack of special security forces. The dismantling of stadium security and the lack of coordination between the Iraqi Ministry of Interior and the different sports associations, has contributed to the spread of chaos. Countering this situation requires decisive steps, such as providing large security forces suitable to the respective crowd size and the nature of the area in which the sporting event is taking place, as well as taking into consideration the ranking of the teams within the Iraqi Premier League to define the significance of the match.
Targeting the Police
5. Acts of terrorism: In countries where vast segments of society display their interest in football, the police forces securing sporting events have been targeted. Turkish Interior Minister, Süleyman Soylu, stated that armed Kurds were responsible for the attack on anti-riot police in Turkey in December 10, 2016. The police were targeted outside of the Vodafone Arena football stadium in Istanbul after a match between Beşiktaş and Bursaspor. The explosion, carried out via a car bombing, resulted in 38 fatalities, including 30 police officers, and 155 injured. As per a statement made by Turkish Deputy Prime Minister, Numan Kurtulmuş, it is obvious that the aim of the operation was to harm as many victims as possible.
Settler Clubs
6. Resistance against settler colonialism: On October 13, 2016, the Palestinian Football Association, led by Jibril Rajoub, renewed its calls to FIFA to ban six football clubs based in Israeli settlements from playing. The rationale was that these clubs, backed by the Israel Football Association, were engaging in sporting activities on illegally occupied Palestinian territory. In the most recent FIFA conferences, the Palestinian Football Association came up with a proposal to suspend Israel from FIFA, due to violations carried out against Palestinian athletes, particularly concerning restricting the freedom of movement of players and coaches. The Palestinians withdrew their proposal at the last minute when they received assurances from FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, that their complaints would be addressed.
Naturalization of Athletes
7. Methods for limiting the increase of naturalized athletes: The president of the International Association of Athletics Federations, Sebastian Coe, declared to the press on February 7, 2017, that the association would freeze the rules associated with changing nationalities among athletes. His rationale was that the system had become prone to violations, and that the rules for changing national allegiance were no longer effective, especially in Africa.
Coe added that athletics are based on national teams, and that such teams are now liable to manipulation. According to him, the current rules do not provide sufficient protection to athletes, and many sports associations receive reports about athletes’ availability as being ‘for hire’. He further stated that athletics, unlike football, allows athletes to change their nationalities even after they have already represented another nation in an international competition.
8. Impacting regional relations: The impact of sports is not confined to domestic issues, but extends to intra-regional relations. Supporters of the Tunisian football team, Espérance Sportive de Tunis, lifted posters exclaiming, “you have the money, while we have the men” during their team’s match against the Qatari team, Lekhwiya SC. This angered portions of both the public and the country’s elite. Accordingly, Tunisian diplomats offered an official apology to Qatar.
During his tenure as President of the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Kafashian, stated on January 12, 2016, that sports and politics should not mix. To him, this was especially important given the crisis between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Saudi football teams demanded to face Iranian teams on neutral ground in the Asian Champions League. Saudi clubs have complained in recent years against the harassment they suffer during visits to Iran. The harassment starts at their arrival and continues until their departure, unlike the amicable reception received by Iranian teams in Saudi Arabia.
9. Disputes with international associations: Some members of the Kuwaiti National Assembly criticized members of the executive branch over the international sports ban issued against Kuwait. Minister of Information and Minister of State for Youth Affairs, Salman al-Homoud, tendered his resignation on February 7, 2017, two days before the National Assembly would convene to deliver a vote of no confidence against him. The reason for his resignation was the sports ban issued from both the International Olympic Committee and FIFA, in retribution for political interference in sports in Kuwait since 2015. Such interference requires that Kuwait modify its sports-related laws.
Yet, instead of reducing government interference, in mid-2016 the Kuwaiti authorities dissolved local sporting committees, including the Kuwaiti Olympic Committee and Football Association. The government appointed temporary committees in their place, which were not recognized by the relevant international sporting bodies. On December 23, 2016, Kuwait’s Public Authority for Sport requested that the international sporting bodies lift the ban, and that the situation with domestic sporting committees be resolved by the government to convince international bodies to follow suit. The ban prevented Kuwaiti participation in the 2016 Olympics in Brazil, as well as the qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup to be held in Russia.
Confronting Criticism
10. Raising a country’s status on the global stage: Sports are a vital tool in boosting a country’s soft power. An achievement Qatar sought to accomplish through its bid to host the 2022 World Cup. Doha is attempting to host a massive international sporting event in the hopes of improving its image and regaining global credibility. This is particularly true after heated international criticisms through various media and human rights organizations decrying violations against foreign workers in Qatar. These laborers have been working to rapidly improve Qatar’s infrastructure and construct stadiums in preparation for the World Cup.
A Reflective Mirror
In summary, the general trend within sports, football in particular, can serve as an indicator of future events both domestically and internationally. These trends manifest in attempts to boost the ruling regime’s legitimacy, restore peace and unity after civil wars, strengthen the sense of national belonging, improve a country’s international image, and other uses as mentioned previously.
