Unpacking the Concept of Sportswashing in Elite Men's Professional Football in England

As a concept, ‘sportswashing’ is one of the most recent concepts to abruptly enter the political, media, and popular lexicon, similar to ‘social capital’ and ‘soft power’ before it. As a result, in many ways, it is nothing new. Sportswashing is just a rebrand of a concept that has been around for centuries. The term also has geographical resonance, mostly being reserved for use in narrative relating to influence in sport from outside the Western World. One of the highest profile examples of this is the takeover of Newcastle United Football Club by the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund (PIF) in 2021. In this chapter, we explore the concept of ‘sportswashing’ in relation to elite men’s professional football in England. In doing so, we put forward an argument of nuance in the concept, further supporting our point that it is nothing new. It is also never just one thing in isolation. To understand the concept of ‘sportswashing’ and its relevance in elite men’s professional football in England, we must also consider the wider landscape of the sport and beyond, including financial incentives, ownership motives, global exposure, and the leveraging opportunity. Any concept of ‘sportswashing’ is often bigger than the sport itself and we must be aware of the bigger picture story at play. We will return to this later in the chapter, citing examples throughout history to support our case: but first we must attempt to understand the terminology in more detail.