US sporting soft power rules, but for how long?
Country tops new ranking at a time when its image and reputation overseas are diminishing
The United States has taken first position in SKEMA Publika’s first annual sport and soft power ranking, ahead of the United Kingdom in second place and France in third. Among other notable ranking positions, China is fourth, Russia appears in eleventh place, while Saudi Arabia is placed sixteenth.
Soft power is commonly defined as, “the ability to obtain preferred outcomes by attraction rather than coercion or payment”. At the state level, it is the ability of a country to get what it wants through cultural and political attraction.
Over the last decade, the battle for soft power supremacy for sport has intensified, with numerous countries now investing in sport and soft power programmes, as they seek to build economic, political, and socio-cultural influence around the world.
SKEMA Publika’s ranking was compiled over the last twelve months, using a methodology that involved sixty experts globally, assessing fifty-five countries using ten criteria. Among the criteria used were domestic sport industry size, event staging, governing body membership, and social media influence.
The full ranking is:
An accompanying report is available via the SKEMA Publika website.
The United States is the soft power giant of global sport, in almost every respect.
The country’s domestic sport industry remains the biggest and most mature in the world, driven by many of the biggest businesses and most valuable sports franchises in the world.
With the likes of NBA basketball, American players and teams are among the most potent and engaging anywhere in the world.
At events such as the Olympics, the US continues to dominate most of its rivals, though its Paralympic performances are somewhat less impressive.
As a host, the country continues to be a reliable host of everything from Formula 1 to the annual Superbowl.
While apparel producers such as Nike keep its sport convergent with the latest trends in fashion, music, contemporary culture and new technology.
In social media, as well as latest developments in broadcasting models and content creation, the US remains an industry leader.
All of which are allied to the government’s increasing commitment to more actively engage the country’s sports assets for soft power purposes, which means that it was the overwhelming winner in our ranking.
This is a country historically whose image, reputation and attractiveness have been embellished globally through the strength of its sport.
However, with Donald Trump now back in presidential office and pursuing an inwardly focused MAGA agenda, the country faces some challenges ahead.
Sport could have an increasingly important role to play if the Trump administration continues to disengage from international institutions and conventions.
Conversely, the country’s sport may find itself being diminished, as people across the world instead disengage from the US.
For the time being, the US sits atop the SKEMA Publika ranking, the question is for how long.