Sportswashing refers to the use of sport to redirect public attention away from unethical conduct. The intended effect is to improve the reputation of the offending entity, by using the immense popularity of sport to 'wash' away poor publicity. The most high-profile instances of sportswashing are carried out by authoritarian states that have committed human rights abuses but commercial businesses also engage in the practice (Irwin, 2022).
Despite claiming their maiden Champions League crown, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) have been accused of the concept.
If you could divorce the game from its context, it was mesmerising. PSG were brilliant and although Inter were awful, at least some of that awfulness was provoked by the relentless energy of PSG. The five-goal margin was the widest in any European Cup or Champions League final and it’s hard to believe any final has been anywhere near so one-sided (at least until the next day’s CONCACAF* Champions Cup final, won by the same 5-0 scoreline).
*The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football.
Four times before, there had been a four-goal margin in the Champions League final. There was Real Madrid’s fabled 7-3 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt at Hampden Park in 1960; the game that so inspired the future Manchester United manager, Sir Alex Ferguson. Part of the fascination there was that Frankfurt were also an exceptional side. They had beaten Scottish side, Rangers, 12-4 on aggregate in the semi and they were good enough to take the lead – even if their second and third goals came as part of a four-goal flurry between the 71st and 75th minute.
Bayern Munich beat Atlético Madrid 4-0 in 1974 but that was in a replay. When AC Milan beat Barcelona 4-0 in 1994, it was a shock and a huge tactical victory for Fabio Capello over Johan Cruyf. Until the fourth went in, there was still a sense that Barcelona might come back. AC Milan’s 4-0 win over Steaua Bucharest in 1989 was perhaps the closest to Saturday; they were emphatic winners and Arrigo Sacchi (AC Milan manager) said it was the closest any of his sides came to achieving his ideal of football.
Even when Barcelona outplayed Manchester United in 2011, United had enough resilience to restrict them to three, even to force an improbable equaliser. It wasn't the capitulation of Inter.
Barcelona must have watched Saturday’s final with disbelief; how had they lost the semi-final to that Inter? How had they allowed themselves again and again to be undone at set plays and on the counter?
The sense is that Saturday will be a defining victory. This is a young PSG side. The Champions League is a notoriously difficult tournament to retain for everybody apart from Real Madrid but there’s no reason why this can’t be the first Champions League of many. After the years of the club as a celebrity circus, one which admittedly helped establish their brand, they have a rational recruitment policy and an intense and gifted manager. They are undoubtedly fun to watch.
Which is what makes sportswashing so insidious. On the pitch, PSG are what a football club should be. The fact remains that they are owned by Qatari Sports Investments (QSI) and that state support gives them an enormous advantage over other clubs financed by more traditional means. QSI invested in PSG six months after the meeting at the Élysée Palace in November 2010 – a month before Qatar won the right to host the 2022 World Cup – between the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, the French president of UEFA, Michel Platini, and Tamim al-Thani, the crown prince of Qatar – now the emir. PSG was just part of wave of Qatari investment in France, although it should be stressed that Platini maintains he had already decided to vote for Qatar.
However, rapacious the private equity funds that own some elite clubs may be, they don't have, in effect, infinite wealth of those backed by a state. Inter are one of the big three in Italy (the others being AC Milan and Juventus). They have won the European Cup/Champions League three times. For a long time, they were sustained by the wealth of the Moratti family. They aren't minnows in any sense. Yet, according to Deloitte, their annual revenue is less than half that of PSG. Among PSG’s sponsors are Qatar Airways and the Qatar Tourism Agency; state support can oil a lot of wheels.
Qatar is a country in which workers are routinely exploited, women are subject to male guardianship laws, same-sex relations are outlawed and where freedom of expression is severely restricted. It's also the country that hosted the greatest World Cup final of all time in 2022 and that owns the best team in European (and therefore world) football. Nasser al-Khelaifi, the president of PSG, is also the chair of the beIN media group, a major player in the broadcasting of football and is head of the European Clubs Association; in which role he was seated on Saturday next to the UEFA president, Aleksander Ceferin. He is enormously influential and is answerable, ultimately, to QSI, of which he is chair.
Inter have lost in two of the last three Champions League finals (the other being against Manchester City). Both defeats have been to state-owned clubs. This is modern football, the stage for geopolitical manoeuvring. It used to be easy to laugh at PSG, who had spent a fortune on ageing stars who reliably collapsed under pressure. This latest iteration looks more like a football team. It is admirable in many ways. The football is both thrilling and successful. Despite this, it's still sportswashing.
When Qatar hosted the FIFA World Cup, western media was flooded with reporting on Doha’s 'sportswashing' as a spotlight was shone on alleged human rights abuses, mistreatment of migrant workers and poor LGBTQ+ rights.
After the tournament ended, attention moved elsewhere. Now, after a Champions League final involving PSG, a club backed by not one but two states, there's worryingly little discussion about 'sportswashing' surrounding the game, when it should be front and centre.
The 'Visit Rwanda' logo was displayed proudly on PSG’s training kit before the final, as Kigali seeks to promote itself as a reliable western ally and tourist destination. Yet, like Qatar before it, Rwanda is accused of using football to distract from human rights abuses at home and sponsoring a violent insurgency in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
That Kigali is looking to emulate Doha is understandable, with the latter being a 'sportswashing' trailblazer. Rwanda, in contrast, is comparatively new to the geopolitical football game. Since 2018, the Rwanda Development Board has sponsored Arsenal, adding PSG in 2019, Bayern Munich in 2023 and Atletico Madrid in 2025.
Compared to the Gulf states, Rwanda is a relative minnow. The PSG deal is reportedly worth between $8.7m-$10m [€7.6m-€8.8m], a fraction of the amount lavished by Qatar. Indeed, some have marvelled how a landlocked African state with a GDP per capita below $1 000 can afford to spend millions sponsoring western football clubs.
This shows how much Rwanda’s president, Paul Kagame, values sport. Rwanda is close to Qatar, with Qatar Airways owning 49% of Rwanda’s national airline and 60% of a new Kigali airport Doha is building and Kagame may well have noted how its ally has utilised football.
Like Qatar, Kagame is promoting his country as a sports destination, hosting the 2025 Road World Cycling Championship and exploring bringing in Formula 1.
Moreover, like Doha, Kagame has regional ambitions. Long-heralded as a development success story, especially after recovering from the horrors of the 1994 genocide, Kigali now positions itself as a powerful African actor. However, like Qatar, Rwanda is no liberal democracy, with Freedom House labelling it, 'Not Free' and accusing Kagame’s regime of suppressing political dissent.
Rwanda has also been accused by the United Nations (UN), the United Kingdom, the U.S.A. and the European Union of sponsoring the M23 rebel group in DRC. The UN has stated that over 4 000 Rwanda troops are present in eastern Congo; while UN experts have stated that the Rwandan army is in, "de facto control of M23 operations."
The rebels have allegedly taken part in multiple executions, sexual violence and other atrocities. Rwanda is further accused of illegally exporting minerals from the regions M23 controls, including vast quantities of gold.
Rwanda’s football strategy has not been untouched by this, especially after M23 captured the Congolese city of Goma in February, promoting widespread western condemnation and U.S.A. sanctions.
The offensive prompted DRC’s foreign minister to write to Arsenal, PSG and Bayern Munich to, "question the morality" of their sponsorship deals, calling them, "blood-stained." Despite some Arsenal fans protesting outside games and 70 000 PSG fans signing a petition urging an end to their deal with Kigali, the clubs remain committed to the deal.
Of course, 'sportswashing' like this is not new.
Nazi Germany famously hosted the 1936 Olympics to project a positive image to the world as did the Argentinian Junta with the World Cup in 1978 and, more recently, Vladimir Putin in 2018. Concerningly, in all three cases, the leaders went on to invade neighbouring territories, possibly emboldened to act with impunity following their perceived acceptance by the world at these events.
It's possible that Rwanda’s alleged involvement in the eastern DRC has similarly been influenced by a belief that its positive image-building in the west will limit criticism.
So far, this might be a fair assessment. Criticism remains muted. It's notable that, though some PSG fans opposed Rwanda’s sponsorship, few were urging Qatar to divest from the club, suggesting they oppose only some ‘sportswashing’ but not all.
The media, similarly, remain far less focused on sportswashing than during the 2022 World Cup, though no doubt attention will return when Saudi Arabia hosts in 2034.
Meanwhile, the 'sportswashers' will continue to invest because, despite occasional scrutiny, the broader strategy seems to be working. Even if PSG had lost on Saturday night, their backers in Qatar and Rwanda are already reaping geopolitical rewards, at the expense of fans, clubs and UEFA.
It's rather disgusting when this occurs. Everyone should wake up to the fact these countries aren't "clean." These countries should be barred from hosting prestigous events. It sends a bad message to everyone. It's basically saying that they can do whatever they want and won't face any punishments for it.
An example of a perfect punishment is between UEFA and Russia. Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine, UEFA and FIFA have barred Russia from competing in competitions organised by them. I don't understand why similar actions haven't been taken towards other countries.
Extensive research should be done to abolish sportswashing once and for all. However, unfotunately, I don't see that happening any time soon.
Reference List
Irwin, A. (2022). EXPLAINER: What is sportswashing and why should we care about it? Available from: https://www.humanrights.unsw.edu.au/students/blogs/what-is-sportswashing (Accessed: 3 June 2025).