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Sport mega-events function as contested arenas where states negotiate legitimacy, identity, and power through a mediated spectacle. Using the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar as a focal point, this chapter interrogates sportswashing as a multidimensional soft-power strategy deployed by authoritarian regimes to project modernity, deflect human-rights criticism, and consolidate domestic rule. A comparative content analysis of German and Qatari press coverage reveals stark divergences in framing, tone, and visual rhetoric: Qatari outlets accentuated infrastructure achievements and national pride, whereas German media highlighted labor exploitation, corruption, and LGBTQ+ discrimination. The chapter situates these findings within broader debates on mediatization, global governance, civil-society resistance, and the future of sports journalism, arguing that decentralized digital networks increasingly undermine hegemonic narratives and catalyze transnational accountability. It offers an integrative conceptual framework and practical recommendations aimed at aligning global sporting spectacles with universal human-rights standards and democratic accountability.

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Lessons from Qatar: Criticism of Sportswashing and the Consequences for Sports Policy and Sports Journalism

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年

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  • Christof Seeger,
  • Jörg-Uwe Nieland

摘要

Sport mega-events function as contested arenas where states negotiate legitimacy, identity, and power through a mediated spectacle. Using the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar as a focal point, this chapter interrogates sportswashing as a multidimensional soft-power strategy deployed by authoritarian regimes to project modernity, deflect human-rights criticism, and consolidate domestic rule. A comparative content analysis of German and Qatari press coverage reveals stark divergences in framing, tone, and visual rhetoric: Qatari outlets accentuated infrastructure achievements and national pride, whereas German media highlighted labor exploitation, corruption, and LGBTQ+ discrimination. The chapter situates these findings within broader debates on mediatization, global governance, civil-society resistance, and the future of sports journalism, arguing that decentralized digital networks increasingly undermine hegemonic narratives and catalyze transnational accountability. It offers an integrative conceptual framework and practical recommendations aimed at aligning global sporting spectacles with universal human-rights standards and democratic accountability.