Introduction

After hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2022, Saudi Arabia generated $2.3-4.1 billion in revenue, attracted over 5 billion viewers, and 1 million tourists who visited Qatar during the tournament (Bibolov et al., 2024). Due to its lucrative success, Saudi Arabia is set to once more host the legendary sports tournament again in 2034 (Dunbar, 2024). 

However, underneath Saudi Arabia’s glamorous reputation as the hidden jewel of the Middle East are millions of Ethiopian immigrants who are exploited to sustain its status as an international sports attraction. Recent civil conflicts within Ethiopia have displaced as many as 20 million people and disrupted Ethiopia’s agriculture industry, a primary source of employment for many (Center for Preventive Action, 2023). This has driven many Ethiopians to seek better economic opportunities in Saudi Arabia, often unaware of the dangers that waited for them there.

Yet the 1,438 km journey to Saudi Arabia is no easy one, fraught with exploitation, trafficking, and sexual violence (Rupiah, 2023). Once the migrants make it to the border, they are confronted by hostile patrol forces, which, according to the Human Rights Watch (2023), have reportedly killed Ethiopian refugees attempting to cross from Yemen. Even if they miraculously survive these dangers, Ethiopian migrants are then subjected to grueling working conditions.

To obscure these realities, the Saudi Arabian government has invested heavily in funding high-profile sports events to carefully tailor a positive international reputation and welcoming image to all nationalities. Such diplomatic strategies have drawn criticism from activists worldwide, who claim that the government is complicit in a dangerous practice called sportswashing.

The Phenomenon of Sportswashing

Sportswashing, a term first coined by human rights campaigner Gulnara Akhundovare, refers to the practice of using sports to enhance a nation state’s international reputation (Irwin, n.d.). Sportswashing is a form of soft power, where countries use non-military and economic means to “achieve specific foreign policy goals by states, state actors, and non-state actors” (Murray, 2012). 

According to Grix and Brannagan (2024), sportswashing occurs in three different waves. The first wave occurs when a country starts investing foreign capital into athletic programs in the first wave to defend itself from negative media coverage. Next, they will face scrutiny from the same foreign news outlets who reported on the issues, who will question the values of the foreign investors and their clients in the second wave. The third wave refers to when the surge of negative media dies down along with public interest, leading to the normalization of their unethical behaviors. 

Currently, Saudi Arabia is entrenched in the first wave. For instance, the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) recently acquired an 80 percent stake in Newcastle United, a prominent English Premier League football club, for approximately US$400 million (Kainz, 2023). Additionally, the country has entered an exclusive 10-year contract with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), acquired a business merger between Saudi-backed LIV Golf and the PGA Tour, and is now set to host the 2034 World Cup (Kainz, 2023; James, 2024).

Despite hosting these high-profile events for several years, Saudi Arabia’s true intentions and ethical approaches have been repeatedly questioned (Wertheim, 2023). In May 2024, human rights activists published a document titled, “A People’s Vision for Reform in Saudi Arabia”, outlining demands for migrant rights reform. Instead of responding directly to the demands, the Saudi government intensified its efforts to secure hosting rights to both the 2034 Men’s and 2035 Women’s World Cup (Francavilla, n.d.). 

In an interview, Crown Prince Adbulazizeven dismissed concerns, stating “There’s no proof of [these allegations],” and asserting that “there [are] a lot of issues with a lot of countries” beyond Saudi Arabia. Although he was repeatedly questioned about the validity and intentions behind these large investments, he continued to deny the allegations; instead, he opened an invitation for “everyone [to come to] Saudi Arabia to see it for what it is.”

The Plight Faced by Ethiopian Refugees in Saudi Arabia

Ethiopian refugees have sought work in Saudi Arabia for work since the early 1990s, often fleeing civil war and economic hardships (Human Rights Watch, 2021).  

Yet, most of these migrant workers only recognize this opportunity as a one-way ticket after they arrive in Saudi Arabia. Specifically, many of them become victims to extreme exploitation due to weak labor laws and regulations. For instance, many of them enter on tourist visas or through other irregular means, making them informal workers.This status severely reduces their access to legal protections and resources that could potentially mitigate their vulnerability. 

Under the Kafala system, which is a sponsorship-based employment arrangement in which contractors bring in foreign labor and bind them to a contract for a period (Bouri, 2023). Under this system, employers exercise full control over workers’ residency and work permits. Saudi employers can also accuse workers of “absconding,” a charge that immediately renders them undocumented, where they then can be arrested, imprisoned and deported (Human Rights Watch, 2021). 

This leaves many workers dependent on their sponsors, with no legal path to securing their long-term residency (Amnesty International, 2022). Most migrant workers are then sent to work for large sporting venues such as the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Many of them face harsh conditions, working on hot summer days and under immense pressure to meet construction deadlines. Once the events become large tourist attractions, these migrant workers then become forgotten while their host country profits financially. This creates a cycle of exploitation in which these migrants continuously face exploitation which goes unnoticed due to the nature of sportswashing.

Those who work under abusive conditions are also overworked, exploited, while being at risk for deportation if they attempt to leave their employers. An alarming study found that 100 percent of 162 surveyed workers had their passports withheld; 87 percent were confined to their workplace; 76 percent had wages withheld; 73 percent suffered psychological abuse; and 61 percent endured physical abuse (Nur, 2015). Many are also often forced into detainment centers and held indefinitely if they are found to lack legal residency.

Bilal, a former detainee held in Al-Shumaisi Detention Center, shared a room with 200 other detainees in a place that only had 64 beds in total (Amnesty International, 2022). He recounts, “it is like we are not humans.” Mahmoud, another detainee who was held in two detention centers, said their daily food allowance was barely enough for one person (Amnesty International, 2022). Authorities often provided only minimal necessities, such as just half a liter of water per day, despite the scorching temperatures in the facilities.

Furthermore, there has been a significant number of migrants forced to return as part of Saudi Arabia's crackdown on undocumented migrants.By the end of 2022, more than 100,000 Ethiopian nationals had been repatriated. In 2024, at least 30,000 Ethiopian migrants were detained solely for lacking legal residency and left in overcrowded detention centers without recourse (Amnesty International, 2022).

In response to the challenges, the Ethiopian government has administered internal policies aimed at regulating labor migration. In 2017 specifically, it implemented new labor agreements with Saudi Arabia to enhance the protection for workers (Relief Web, 2019). However, it is difficult for the government to overlook all transactions. Many recruitment agencies continue to operate without governmental regulations, allowing exploitative practices to persist.

Celebration of athletic achievements should not come at the expense of the lives and dignity of those who make them possible. Addressing these issues requires a concerted effort to hold host countries accountable and push countries to continue to fight for the rights of migrant workers.

Are International Sports Fans in the Loop?

Due to the topic’s complicated nature, international sports fans might not be aware of sportswashing existing or how it even works. One University of Southern California (USC) student conducted a survey of Manchester City fans that revealed a lack of knowledge on the subject, with around 41.4 percent only having heard of the term and 51.7 percent of respondents completely unfamiliar with the phenomenon (Schwartz, 2024). 

However, about 40 percent of total participants could think of a specific sportswashing example when prompted, such as “Russia in the Olympics” and the “1936 Olympics in Berlin”. This indicates that perhaps people are more familiar with the concept than they thought and just did not know what to call it before. Later on in the survey, respondents were asked what countries they thought engaged in sportswashing and from their answers, the USC student noted that there was a shared recognition of just how widespread the issue was.

But despite raising awareness of sportswashing through public education, the USC student found that it was not sufficient to change everybody’s mind. Many fans were still likely to support large scale sports events even after they learned about the political dangers of sportswashing: while 75 percent of respondents did feel that the integrity of these events was compromised, 67 percent stated that it was only to a small extent (Schwartz, 2024). While some fans found it morally hard to reconcile their love for sports with exploitation behind these events, others struggled to completely detach from their cherished hobby and sports fan lifestyle. Thus, the ethical dilemmas surrounding sportswashing serve as a nagging reminder for young sports fans and athletes to deliberate what it really means to enjoy watching sports in today’s geopolitical landscape.

Conclusion

Sportswashing has become a critical issue as countries like Saudi Arabia leverage sporting events to mask their human rights abuses against vulnerable populations. While Saudi Arabia seeks to enhance its global image through high-profile sporting events and investments, the harsh realities faced by the Ethiopian migrant workers in the country cannot be ignored. 

The sportswashing conversation should be further expanded by critically examining the moral and ethical implications behind big league sports events. Greater awareness and media coverage are essential in driving meaningful change and reducing the exploitation of migrant workers. A better public understanding of sportswashing can also help young sports fans recognize the broader sociopolitical implications of their actions, hopefully leading to more conscious decisions on where they spend their money, travel, and support.

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