Australia’s “Sports Diplomacy Strategy 2032+” released on 28 February, is a third revision of the government’s attempt at strengthening our national relevance on the world stage.
In the lead up to hosting the Summer Olympics in 2032, the strategy recognises sports as an important source of national power in Australia's foreign policy, and gives Australian sporting organisations access to the advice and expertise they need for success on the international stage.
A further aim is to leverage Australian sporting excellence to showcase credibility as a country, and move the needle up the clout ranks within our global society.
Yet Geopolitik is as fluid as ever, with an interconnected 8.2 billion humans to occupy; and while Australia is one of the largest countries on the map, having less than 30 million people gives it a comparative numbers disadvantage.
Sport’s global muscle
To explain the relevance of Australia’s desire to act upon a sports diplomacy strategy, one needs only look at how our human physical endeavours have enamoured, galvanised and politicised us throughout history.
Sport is often seen as an extension of political aims - especially by sporting bodies such as FIFA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
Those that disagree will cite that hosting a major global sporting event is a net positive for those nations lucky enough to be awarded the honour - a chance to showcase their country and culture and bring in billions of dollars in tourism revenue.
That can often backfire, with countries hemorrhaging into debt with overcosts and a legacy of unused sports stadiums that don’t meet demand.
There’s also the principle of political neutrality - invoked by many Sports Governing Bodies to justify their inaction in response to political issues in the world of sport - which often causes a backlash from people around the world.
Nations regarded as not fully democratic see these world events as tools to acquire prestige, while the West points to concerns about the way it governs its people.
History repeats
Powerful economic incentives are rife in the global bids to host and dominate sporting events with the most eyeballs, while accusations of corruption, human rights abuses and “sports washing” fall on deaf ears.
When Germany hosted the 1936 Summer Olympic Games, its war machine was already so well developed it couldn’t be hidden - but it didn’t need to be.
It was seen by the world as a way to reconcile Germany back into Europe amidst perceived hostile nationalist, communist and socialist movements post-WWI.
Yet for Hitler, who inherited the Games during his tenure at the helm, he saw hosting such an event as more opportunistic - using the global sporting event as a tool to showcase Germany’s new might, and at the same time, a shroud to divert attention away from its military build-up and oppression of "enemies of the state".
Fast forward to 2008, China hosted the Beijing Games and a spotlight was shone on its mistreatment of its Muslim Uighur community in the far west provinces.
Then in 2014, within days of concluding its Sochi Winter Olympics, Russia annexed Crimea, a Ukrainian territory.
More recently, the war in Ukraine and the FIFA World Cup hosting in Qatar have tested the political neutrality of both FIFA and the IOC.
The consequences of this stance have led to FIFA overlooking human rights issues in Qatar and the IOC ignoring human rights concerns in host states. This has awarded Russia and China recent versions of the Winter Olympics.
From an outside perspective, it looks like these governing bodies DO weaponise globally dominant sporting events to shed light on the majority of concerns about a country’s policies.
It could be the reason Australia - which has ample space, money and infrastructure already in place - fails to lock in some of the biggest sporting tickets.
Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!
There are a lot of positive things going for Australia in terms of lifestyle, security and opportunity - yet the “lucky” country has so far not secured the biggest sporting event in the world: The Men’s World Cup.
Apart from the Olympics, which Australia will host for the third time in Brisbane 2032, it has come up short many times for Tier 1 sporting events across football, boxing, basketball and racing, and even individual events such as international athletics competitions that see little value in repeat business Down Under.
And while hosting the Women’s Football World Cup was critically praised as the most successful in history in 2023, it was still far off being considered in the latest round of host countries' announcements for upcoming tournaments.
Upgraded sports diplomacy strategy
The government recognises its need to change tact if it wants a bigger seat at the table. It says it is focusing on harnessing a decade-worth of talent leading up to the Brisbane Games.
“The Australian Government and Australia's sporting organisations both face a more complex and consequential international environment than at any time in living memory,” Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said.
“Developed with input from Australia's sport sector, Australia's Sports Diplomacy Strategy 2032+ establishes the framework for close collaboration between the Australian Government and the sport sector, emphasising that sports diplomacy is a team effort that works best when we work together.
“The strategy sets out a refreshed vision and new goals for Australia's sports diplomacy to ensure we capitalise on the increased international interest in Australian sporting excellence during the “green and gold decade” of major sporting events hosted on Australian soil leading up to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
