most common tools include successful performance in sport, sports exchanges, sports development aid, hosting sports events, and participation in international competition—in case of small and microstates or those with limited international recognition. Other methods include intensive sports investments or having globally known athletes, although in this case, the level of state’s influence is limited. Below each of them will be described shortly.
The importance of the results athletes achieve in international sport is often raised in considerations on shaping the state’s international image. Sports victories traditionally have been used by many countries to build their prestige. This aspect connects to the issue of sportive nationalism, defined as “the use of elite athletes by governments to demonstrate national fitness and vitality for the purpose of enhancing national prestige.”85 Even though traditionally, this way of the political use of sports was associated with propaganda, it can also be assessed as a tool of public diplomacy regardless of whether democratic or nondemocratic states are concerned.
Sports victories are sometimes perceived as an indicator of the success of state authorities or the general abundance of a state. Countries that are successful in the Olympic Games or FIFA World Cup are usually best scored in nation-brand rankings in the field of culture.86 Michał Kobierecki and Piotr Strożek also observed the positive association between the results achieved on the Olympic Games and the image of a state.87 Sport provides an arena for competition, in which a country can win international prestige using other means than expansionist nationalism,88 and at the same time, it can present its national identity. The use of sports victories in building a positive image of a state as a mechanism corresponds with the use of sport as a tool of national consolidation. Sports victory is in such cases similar as successfully hosting a sports event, as a “parade of national achievements.”89
Sports victories depend on many factors, and governments have viable possibilities to shape the majority of them.90 Therefore, a high sports level can provide proof of states’ vitality and power. The world’s media report sports victories, so they are a source of international publicity and present such countries in a good light. Excellent sports performance also includes a high level of sport in a country, in the form of, for example, a strong football league. Contemporary football clubs are global brands with large numbers of fans worldwide, so since they do not act in isolation from their country of origin,91 they also contribute to building positive associations with such states. It refers to individual athletes as well, who can be described as global sports celebrities. Their sports achievements and sometimes even private life generate worldwide interest, which, as a result, boosts their homeland’s publicity as well.
Sports achievements is a versatile means of affecting the way the international public perceives a state. The problem lies in the state’s capabilities of boosting the number of sports victories since various states have a different amount of necessary assets. It, on the other hand, is connected to the level of hard power. With regard to the globally known athletes, states with a high level of sport are more likely to raise such champions, although it is not entirely under their control. Interestingly, global recognition of athletes can also be considered as an individual method of image-building sports diplomacy.
Sports exchanges comprise another method of image-building sports diplomacy. They involve arranging international contacts of athletes, coaches, sports experts, and officials. Their goal is to build a more positive perception of a state among the society of another country. Sports exchanges were also used as a method of sports diplomacy perceived as a tool for shaping interstate relations. In this context, they can be classified both as an example of sports diplomacy directed at shaping international relations and at building an image of a state, since the contacts between the people engaged in such exchange lead to building mutual sympathy, rejecting stereotypes, and presenting values of respective countries. It might lead to doubt concerning the difference between the two types of sports diplomacy. It refers to the determination of the objective and directness of influence. Exchanges typical for shaping an image of a country have an overall goal of enhancing the way a country is perceived outside, what in the future may bring such country more international friends. On the other hand, sports diplomacy as a tool of shaping relations with other states is connected with particular, often more, interim and visible goals such as rapprochement between estranged countries. It must be noted though that the boundary between these two types of sports diplomacy is sometimes blurred and certain cases might have the qualities of both of them, and the assessment to which category particular case fits might have a normative character.
Providing sports development aid, to some extent, is similar to sports exchanges. In general, development aid is regarded as a typical method of public diplomacy. Rhonda Zaharna classified it within the second tier relationship-building initiatives (whereas exchanges were identified within the first tier). They are based on the assumption that aid symbolizes ties between two entities and develops relationships between the personnel of the sponsor and their counterparts among the people from the country that accepts assistance as they are both engaged in the project.92 In this context, it is similar to sports exchanges. Therefore those two methods have been described jointly. Sports development aid includes providing support in the field of sport or through sport. It encompasses providing training, donating equipment, or funding construction of sports venues.
Hosting sports events is one of the most often investigated types of the use of sport in shaping international prestige and the desired image of a state. It is often perceived as an example of employing public diplomacy and soft power.93 According to Joseph Nye, sports events fall within the second concentric circle of public diplomacy alongside everyday communication and building lasting relations with individuals in other countries, which is connected with strategic communication. It includes developing a set of simple themes concerning a particular state.94 Their usefulness stems from the fact that they are an example of a special event.95 It is also emphasized that sports events affect the perception of places in which they are held very strongly compared to other cultural events. The most important sports events in the analyzed context, according to Simon Anholt, are the Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup, Tour de France, and New York Marathon.96
If sports events and their role in shaping the international image of a state are considered, particular attention is paid to sports mega-events. They last a relatively short time, but their social dimension exceeds their time perspective significantly. At the same time, they offer entertainment and emotions for the mass of spectators.97 They can be distinguished by the fact that they generate tourism, media attention, prestige, and have an economic impact on local communities.98 Their social effects include a contribution to the development of infrastructure of a city or a country, enhancement of local pride, or creation of a subculture of belonging and cohesiveness.99 In the context of this research, the most important is their significance concerning image building. They are believed to provide a rare opportunity to present the image of a state in global media, thus providing international visibility.100 As a result, the initiatives to host sports mega-events are often undertaken by countries that have something to prove in the international arena101 as they allow to present to the world a particular picture. Organizing them and bidding for them often become vital factors of developing local and national strategies.102
The Olympic Games is one of the most important types of sports mega-events. According to Xin Zhong et al. they give a chance to shape a competitive identity that occurs once for a generation.103 Many regard it as one of the best marketing tools available to states and cities for various reasons. A few years before the Olympics companies begin to promote their ties with the event, while a few months before the opening ceremony reporters from around the world begin to publish articles about the states that host them. Further attention is generated by the Olympic flame relay, which starts a few weeks before the event. The opening ceremony is an exposition of the host’s culture watched by at least three billion people.
