Sport, morality and money
There
is an incredibly interesting article in today’s Guardian newspaper concerning
Azerbaijan and their continued devotion to trying to stage world sporting
events, Black Gold. Next year Azerbaijan will stage the inaugural European Games. This is a bit of
a feeder event of limited significance probably invented to fill a void in the
sporting calendar and generate more income and sponsorship for the various governing
bodies. There will, presumably be the
usual frenzy of TV revenues and advertising to go with it. Azerbaijan has also
recently been confirmed as a host venue for the 2020 European football championships.
Tellingly they have also found their way into the Formula One season and will
host the European Grand Prix in Baku in 2016. Along the way, since the post-independence oil
fuelled boom, there has been multiple failed Olympic bids. The article then
goes on to document the ruling elite’s attitude to Human Rights, press freedom
and political opposition. This article is an excellent demonstration of a
growing trend mistakenly linking sport and morality.
Consider the Russian state and their recent sporting manoeuvres. The inaugural Russian Grand Prix took place in October, in Putin’s brand new shiny playground the resort city of Sochi. It was, it must be said, a rather quiet affair, perhaps even verging on boring.
It was inevitable that Formula 1 would eventually arrive in Russia. As a sport it is entertaining and skilful, as well as dangerous but it also represents the expensive extravagant world that the big spending Russians love. There is absolutely no subtlety to Formula 1. It is unashamedly a giant waste of both money and natural resources, it seeks out homes in dictatorships unconcerned by democratic funding restraints and normal rules of taxation.
After the race we had the comedic prospect of watching Bernie Ecclestone’s levels of self-importance challenged as he followed an even more self-important short man, President Putin, around his newly constructed track. Every couple of years Ecclestone threatens the European old guard of historic tracks with the removal of their races. Ever higher fees are set by Ecclestone and the historic tracks are deprived income from the huge global TV rights. Instead, those go directly to Mr Ecclestone's coffers, leaving the race tracks facing vast losses. Even Silverstone seems to waver on the brink of being expelled, leaving the UK with the prospect of no race of its own. With the exception of the Ferrari team, all top teams are headquartered in England. However, Ecclestone doesn't live in the same world as history. His Formula 1 is in bed with the big spending, tax free, oil rich autocratic power houses of the new world.
A bit like President Putin. A match made in heaven, or rather Sochi. Formula 1 was suffering from the tragic events of the week before, when French Marussia driver Jules Bianchi hit a stationary recovery vehicle on the run off area in Suzuka. A 5.8km run round the Olympic constructions was all that was required. Consequently Lewis Hamilton drove round and won, but effort-of-the afternoon went to his team mate, Nico Rosberg, who, having made a complete hash of the start, fought his way back to finish second. Nobody got particularly over excited.
There was, however, a notable absence of the moralising that accompanied the Winter Olympics held in the same city back in February. Where the defenders of Gay rights protested that the Olympic movement, in all its pristine morality, should have nothing to do with such a regime of human rights violations and suppression. Since then the Russian state has reportedly agitated the partitioning of a sovereign nation and possibly provided a weapons infrastructure which shot down an entire passenger plane of innocent people. Yet despite this, no one protested this time round. Perhaps we have now reached a point where no one expects sport to be the leaving breathing expression of morality that we once naively expected it to be. Perhaps sporting events on a global scale just simply cost too much for democratic countries to fund. Farewell Chariots of Fire; hello Dictator-dollars. Or is it just Formula One?
It would seem not. The current dramas over the Qatari’s hosting the FIFA World cup centre around unsuitability; it’s too hot, there is no footballing heritage, the host cities are not yet constructed let alone the stadiums. Furthermore there are the Human Rights issues; Qatar is not an equal society, slave labour are being killed in large numbers on the world cup construction sites, there is no freedom of press, no democracy and no evidence of a fair bidding process. The Human Rights issues are now only a mask for football’s internal wailing and gnashing of teeth. So perhaps FIFA and football itself are now also beyond redemption.
This would seem unlikely as even the high minded Olympic movement has skied into its very own moral maze. Back in October the snow loving, achingly democratic and perfect-in-every-way, Norwegians decided, in a national referendum, to drop out of the race to host the Winter Olympics in 2022, Norway Drops Out. This in itself is one of the most significant moments in Olympic history. The simple and straightforward answer is that the nation felt it simply cost too much. And they are right, Sochi cost £50m (pounds not roubles though, let us be clear). What this leaves the Olympic movement with is a race for the 2022 games between Almaty in Kazakhstan and Beijing, China. Both states with perfect dictatorship profiles for hosting modern sporting mega-events. This went strangely rather unreported amongst the hand wringing and disapproval aimed at the Qataris and FIFA.
Exactly who proscribed that sporting endeavour was to be the ethically pure preserve of liberal democracy? The ancient Greeks, Eric Liddle, Pierre de Coubertan? These are false memories. Sport has always been a tool to demonstrate national superiority. The East German doping programmes of the 70s and 80s were instigated at the instruction of the national government with the objective of demonstrating supremacy over their western rivals. In 1936 the Olympic Games in Berlin were a show piece for the Third Reich. In 1948 London stepped in to host the Olympics when no one else could, demonstrating their resilience, determination and perceived superiority. Sport is little more than an outlet for the modern arms race. The hosting of mega-events is a demonstration of power, this has always been the case. The sooner we divorce morality from sport the better for sport.
The games will go to the highest bidder: best get used to it.
Consider the Russian state and their recent sporting manoeuvres. The inaugural Russian Grand Prix took place in October, in Putin’s brand new shiny playground the resort city of Sochi. It was, it must be said, a rather quiet affair, perhaps even verging on boring.
It was inevitable that Formula 1 would eventually arrive in Russia. As a sport it is entertaining and skilful, as well as dangerous but it also represents the expensive extravagant world that the big spending Russians love. There is absolutely no subtlety to Formula 1. It is unashamedly a giant waste of both money and natural resources, it seeks out homes in dictatorships unconcerned by democratic funding restraints and normal rules of taxation.
After the race we had the comedic prospect of watching Bernie Ecclestone’s levels of self-importance challenged as he followed an even more self-important short man, President Putin, around his newly constructed track. Every couple of years Ecclestone threatens the European old guard of historic tracks with the removal of their races. Ever higher fees are set by Ecclestone and the historic tracks are deprived income from the huge global TV rights. Instead, those go directly to Mr Ecclestone's coffers, leaving the race tracks facing vast losses. Even Silverstone seems to waver on the brink of being expelled, leaving the UK with the prospect of no race of its own. With the exception of the Ferrari team, all top teams are headquartered in England. However, Ecclestone doesn't live in the same world as history. His Formula 1 is in bed with the big spending, tax free, oil rich autocratic power houses of the new world.
A bit like President Putin. A match made in heaven, or rather Sochi. Formula 1 was suffering from the tragic events of the week before, when French Marussia driver Jules Bianchi hit a stationary recovery vehicle on the run off area in Suzuka. A 5.8km run round the Olympic constructions was all that was required. Consequently Lewis Hamilton drove round and won, but effort-of-the afternoon went to his team mate, Nico Rosberg, who, having made a complete hash of the start, fought his way back to finish second. Nobody got particularly over excited.
There was, however, a notable absence of the moralising that accompanied the Winter Olympics held in the same city back in February. Where the defenders of Gay rights protested that the Olympic movement, in all its pristine morality, should have nothing to do with such a regime of human rights violations and suppression. Since then the Russian state has reportedly agitated the partitioning of a sovereign nation and possibly provided a weapons infrastructure which shot down an entire passenger plane of innocent people. Yet despite this, no one protested this time round. Perhaps we have now reached a point where no one expects sport to be the leaving breathing expression of morality that we once naively expected it to be. Perhaps sporting events on a global scale just simply cost too much for democratic countries to fund. Farewell Chariots of Fire; hello Dictator-dollars. Or is it just Formula One?
It would seem not. The current dramas over the Qatari’s hosting the FIFA World cup centre around unsuitability; it’s too hot, there is no footballing heritage, the host cities are not yet constructed let alone the stadiums. Furthermore there are the Human Rights issues; Qatar is not an equal society, slave labour are being killed in large numbers on the world cup construction sites, there is no freedom of press, no democracy and no evidence of a fair bidding process. The Human Rights issues are now only a mask for football’s internal wailing and gnashing of teeth. So perhaps FIFA and football itself are now also beyond redemption.
This would seem unlikely as even the high minded Olympic movement has skied into its very own moral maze. Back in October the snow loving, achingly democratic and perfect-in-every-way, Norwegians decided, in a national referendum, to drop out of the race to host the Winter Olympics in 2022, Norway Drops Out. This in itself is one of the most significant moments in Olympic history. The simple and straightforward answer is that the nation felt it simply cost too much. And they are right, Sochi cost £50m (pounds not roubles though, let us be clear). What this leaves the Olympic movement with is a race for the 2022 games between Almaty in Kazakhstan and Beijing, China. Both states with perfect dictatorship profiles for hosting modern sporting mega-events. This went strangely rather unreported amongst the hand wringing and disapproval aimed at the Qataris and FIFA.
Exactly who proscribed that sporting endeavour was to be the ethically pure preserve of liberal democracy? The ancient Greeks, Eric Liddle, Pierre de Coubertan? These are false memories. Sport has always been a tool to demonstrate national superiority. The East German doping programmes of the 70s and 80s were instigated at the instruction of the national government with the objective of demonstrating supremacy over their western rivals. In 1936 the Olympic Games in Berlin were a show piece for the Third Reich. In 1948 London stepped in to host the Olympics when no one else could, demonstrating their resilience, determination and perceived superiority. Sport is little more than an outlet for the modern arms race. The hosting of mega-events is a demonstration of power, this has always been the case. The sooner we divorce morality from sport the better for sport.
The games will go to the highest bidder: best get used to it.