Conflict in the Middle East poses important questions for global sport
Need for risk assessment and mitigation in the sport industry is growing
Ahead of F1’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in 2022, Yemeni Houthis launched a drone and missile attack on a Saudi Aramco facility close to the track.
The attack was part of a conflict at the time involving the two countries, raising all manner of issues about how to stage sports events during times of conflict.
F1 drivers were so concerned about the incident that they held an emergency meeting at which some expressed a desire to withdraw from the event.
In 2018, prior to the men’s FIFA World Cup in Russia, Nike withdrew its supply of football boots to Iranian players, fearing that Donald Trump’s administration might penalise the company following the imposition of trade sanctions by the US on Iran.
Geopolitical tensions do impact upon businesses and industries, even in sport.
Hence, a recent escalation of events in the Middle East has thrust sport into the spotlight once more, the case of football player Anwar El Ghazi and German club Mainz illustrating the costs and complexities of issues many sports now face.
We shouldn’t expect sport to be immune from global turbulence or military conflict.
Though Yemen and Saudi Arabia have stepped back from their conflict with each other, Houthi firing of missiles in the Red Sea poses some degree of risk for several of the kingdom’s showcase infrastructural projects now being created along its western shores.
Similarly, Saudi Aramco was a target in 2022 but now it is a firmly established member of the global sport ecosystem, having signed several commercial deals (especially in motorsport).
Some might therefore see an attack on Armaco as being an attack on sport, which raises important questions about how some countries engage with sport for political purposes.
There is nothing to suggest that Saudi Arabia is about to come under attack, though for countries of the Gulf region there will still be some nervousness about the current conflict’s escalation.
After all, they have spent lavishly on creating sport infrastructure, hosting events, and acquiring assets. Nearby conflict inevitably poses potential threats, necessitating that mitigative measures are put in place.
One of these is diplomacy, something which Qatar typically pursues, often through sport.
It is hoped that a fast, diplomatic solution to conflict in the Middle East can be found. But whatever happens next, sport cannot resist the effects of this conflict and must prepare itself for the risks it faces.