FIFA And The IOC Are Living In A Dream World; Often It’s A Nightmare
Both the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) claim their games are a force for peace. If only it were so.
History shows that the governing bodies behind the world's largest international sporting events often fall far short of those claims because, if anything, their competitions frequently expose conflicts among athletes, fans, and governments.
The recently concluded FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico was the latest example.
The World Cup and the Olympic Games have a long history of serving as platforms for protest groups seeking to publicize political, social, and human rights grievances.
During this year's World Cup, there were demonstrations calling for Israel to be stripped of its FIFA membership. There were also anti-American demonstrations protesting U.S. immigration policies and the presence of ICE personnel at stadiums in the United States and Canada. In Mexico, various demonstrations focused on labor and civil rights issues, including protests involving Hyundai over its reported relationship with a South American mining company, as well as protests over the country's missing persons crisis. Some demonstrations in the United States and Mexico turned violent.
Compared with the Olympic Games, however, the protests at the recent World Cup were relatively limited. The Olympics have long been a stage for political controversy, athlete protests, and recurring allegations of cheating by competitors and, in some cases, their governing bodies.
Russia and its ally, Belarus, were barred from the 2026 Winter Olympic Games following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The IOC said the invasion violated the Olympic Truce, which calls for nations to refrain from armed conflict beginning one week before the Olympic Games until one week after the conclusion of the Paralympic Games. Ridiculous, in my opinion. Is it acceptable for nations to resort to war at other times?
In addition, Russian athletes were prohibited from competing under the Russian flag at several Olympic Games because of a state-sponsored doping program. Instead, they were allowed to compete as Individual Neutral Athletes. As Russian Olympic officials pointed out, however, everyone still knows they are Russians, regardless of the flag under which they compete.
Individual athletes have also demonstrated that the Olympics' claim of bringing people together has its limits. Muslim and Arab athletes have declined to compete against Israeli athletes at multiple Olympic Games, including in 2004, 2016, 2021, and 2024, and similar situations could arise at the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. Tensions between Ukrainian and Russian competitors could also remain a factor.
Many governments likewise reject the IOC's position that politics has no place in the Olympic Games. Boycotts have a long history in Olympic competition. Perhaps the most famous occurred in 1980, when more than 60 nations, led by President Jimmy Carter, boycotted the Moscow Summer Olympics following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The Soviet Union responded by leading an Eastern Bloc boycott of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
Because of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, which began after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that killed more than 1,200 people and resulted in more than 240 hostages being taken, as well as the recent conflict involving Israel, Iran, and the United States, the possibility of boycotts by some nations opposing U.S. or Israeli actions cannot be dismissed. Security experts also continue to view major international sporting events as potential targets for terrorism.
When crafting public relations programs for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, PR professionals should keep in mind that, until the athletic competitions begin, the weeks leading up to an Olympic Games often generate significant negative media coverage. History offers many examples.
For that reason, agencies representing Olympic sponsors and other stakeholders should include robust "what if" scenarios in every communications plan. Without contingency planning, Olympic communications strategies are incomplete.
The headline of this essay is, "FIFA And The IOC Are Living In A Dream World; Often It's A Nightmare." History shows that, when it comes to the Olympic Games, the nightmare can become reality, as happened when the then-American Olympic Committee supported holding the 1936 Summer and Winter Games in Nazi Germany, giving Adolf Hitler an unprecedented global platform. PR practitioners should keep that history in mind when developing communications programs.
It's also important for PR professionals assigned to the 2028 Olympic Games, and to international sporting events before then, to remember why clients spend millions of dollars to earn the designation of "official sponsor." It is a business decision intended to increase product sales, strengthen brand reputation, and generate goodwill. The sporting competition is secondary. PR programs should never lose sight of that objective.
