Sports Diplomacy

     Politics and sports or sports diplomacy is the use of sport as a means to influence diplomatic, social, and political relations. Sports diplomacy may transcend cultural differences and bring people together. The use of sports and politics has had both positive and negative implications over history. Sports competitions or activities have had the intention to bring about change in certain cases. Nationalistic fervour is sometimes linked to victories or losses to some sport on sports fields.

    While the Olympics is often the biggest political example of using sports for diplomatic means, cricket and association football, as well as other sports in the global arena, have also been used in this regard. In the case of Apartheid, sport was used to isolate South Africa and bring about a major overhaul in the country's social structure. While ethnicity, race, social class and more can cause division, sports is also said to help blend differences. Additionally, numerous athletes have sought political office such as Imran Khan and George Weah, some of them unsuccessfully, on either the national level or the sub-national current. Some matches have also had national diplomatic incidents.

Association football

    In regards to football in Europe, it has been suggested that football has been historically able to simultaneously maintain the differences that give each European country their own sense of identity as well as strengthen the bonds that bind them together as one body. Further, football stadiums in Europe have acted as both places of refuge as well as sites of terrorist attacks and political uprisings. According to Benoit, during the period of the Second World War, European Football underwent a massive transformation. With a coinciding sharp rise in popularity at a time of high political intensity football became politicized. Therefore, Benoit argues that football began to embody three main characteristics during and after this period, becoming: 1) an agent of international relations in the sense that the foreign policies of European nations became supposedly articulated in football; 2) a source of political propaganda via using football to expose the state; 3) a tool to pacify constituents. Consequently, all of these factors have contributed to the emergence of football and its stadiums as a means of political expression, a basis of recent collective memory, and its emergence as a highly politicized game.

    While many clubs do not have a fixed political identity, some clubs are known to have clear leanings. According to Supporters of the English club Sunderland AFC predominantly lean to the political left and often sing "The Red Flag" during games. While Sunderland fans are generally regarded as left wing, the hooligan firm Seaburn Casuals was known for having far-right associations.

    One of the biggest and oldest football rivalries is the Old Firm rivalry between the Scottish clubs Celtic and Rangers from Glasgow. The competition between the two clubs had roots in more than just a simple sporting rivalry. It has as much to do with Northern Ireland as Scotland and this can be seen in the flags, cultural symbols, and emblems of both clubs. It was infused with a series of complex disputes, sometimes centred on religion (Catholic and Protestant), Northern Ireland-related politics (Loyalist and Republican), national identity (British or Irish Scots), and social ideology (Conservatism and Socialism). The majority of Rangers and Celtic supporters do not get involved in sectarianism, but serious incidents do occur with a tendency for the actions of a minority to dominate the headlines. The Old Firm rivalry fuelled many assaults on Derby days, and some deaths in the past have been directly related to the aftermath of Old Firm matches. An activist group that monitors sectarian activity in Glasgow has reported that on Old Firm weekends, violent attacks increase ninefold over normal levels. An increase in domestic abuse can also be attributed to Old Firm fixtures.