With all the geopolitical confusion in the world today, the possibility of political rivalries affecting the sports arena is a legitimate concern. People often say that sports are a way of bringing people together, but history has shown that this can also become impossible if political tensions boil over too strongly.
So how are current political rivalries affecting the sports world, if at all? And are they enough of a concern that we should be worried about major events being disrupted? Can we safely plan for events knowing that they might be canceled?
Disruption of major events for Russian athletes
Because of Russia’s being pushed out of several major sporting events, there has been a big shakeup of the international system. The first body to ban Russia from competition was the International Olympic Committee. Each constituent sports federation was then tasked with deciding whether or not to permit Russian athletes, and if so under what terms. This then evolved into a complicated and often contradictory set of rule-making that has still not been streamlined into a single plan.
FIFA and UEFA were quick to follow, and the situation soon became even more complicated because Russia had provided funding to many of these federations and their respective competitions. Sports bodies had to scramble to rearrange their funding priorities, often with difficulty.
Both attending and following sports become complicated with the occurrence of these problems. Betting is something that has been increasing in popularity recently. You can find the best sports betting apps online. One would hope that the favorites to win a given competition would be able to play, but sometimes this is out of our control.
Could it happen again?
There is a well-known history of banning particular athletes from sports for political reasons. Perhaps the most famous is the case of South Africa, where the country’s athletes were banned from all manner of international sports contests for years because of international opposition to the Apartheid regime.
In this case, sports actually became a mechanism for helping the country’s system fall. Cricket players in particular became a source of disruption because they wanted their rightful place back in the sporting world.
Another famous example is Israel. Because many Middle Eastern countries do not allow Israeli athletes in their sporting competitions, Israel has often been forced to look elsewhere for regional contests to take part in. It has sometimes found itself in geographically odd places, such as European championships because these are the only regions that will allow Israeli athletes to take part.
Who might be next?
There are quite a few political rivalries that could result in athletes being banned from competing in and/or with each other’s countries. Tension has been rising between India and Pakistan. These two countries have not had bilateral cricket games since 2012, although their teams do play against each other in larger competitions. This unfortunately means that Pakistan – which boasts one of the best cricket teams in the world – cannot play in the IPL.
Since last year, there has also been talk of banning Palestinian athletes from major sporting competitions because of provocations that led to the war with Israel. Although opinions about this are mixed, it has been put on the table for discussion ahead of the Olympics.
There have also been individual instances of teams being banned for doping and other indiscretions, but this is outside the realm of politics. Political situations might have an influence on governing bodies’ decisions to ban teams, but these problems are not in and of themselves political. The North Koreans, Russians, and previously the East German sporting teams have several times been subject to these bans.
How likely is this to affect India?
Indian athletes have seen some controversy over the years, particularly because of its political rivalry with Pakistan. But it has never seen itself banned from an Olympics or an entire team qualified for international competition.
People are actually putting their money on Indian athletes more and more. The best sports betting apps allow people to wager on their favorite athletes or teams and potentially win big from it.
Sports for peace
Sports should be something that brings people together. Despite the problems the world is experiencing these days, sports federations should look beyond them and allow their athletes to get together anyway. This could be the road to peace.
