 "Rewind 2024: From BCCI-PCB drama to Russians competing as neutrals in Olympics, how sports was dominated by politics")
Sport should ideally be kept free from politics, or so the saying goes. The focus should purely be on an athlete or a team’s achievements on the field of play, or on a court, table, board or wherever else it is played. As ideal as it sounds, though, that is hardly ever the case.
Politics, after all, plays a crucial role and has a direct influence in the everyday lives of individuals all over the world, making it virtually impossible to stop it from permeating into sports as well as various forms of entertainment including films, television shows, books, etc.
Also Read | From Djokovic winning Olympic gold to Spain's Euro triumph, top sporting moments in 2024
Some of the most iconic moments in sport, after all, were politically charged – from Jesse Owens, a Black American athlete, winning four gold medals in front of German dictator Adolf Hitler in the 1936 Berlin Olympics as well as the ‘Black Power Salute’ in the 1968 Games in Mexico City.
Politics is also what led to the US-led boycott off the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, with the USSR retaliating four years later by boycotting the 1984 Games in Los Angeles. It is what led to discussions China’s human rights record as well as sensitive issues such as Tibet and Taiwan during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. As well as Qatar’s alleged exploitation of migrant workers, many of whom had died working in scorching conditions while building stadiums for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Also Read | Imane Khelif gender row, Vinesh Phogat's heartbreak and other major sporting controversies in 2024
Given how action-packed the year 2024 was in terms of major sporting events – from the 33rd Summer Olympics in Paris to the men’s and women’s T20 World Cups, UEFA Euro, Copa America and more – it is only natural for politics to have had an influence on several of those events.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsWith the year set to come to an end in less than 48 hours’ time, we take a look at how politics dominated sports in 2024:
Indo-Pak cross-border tensions holds Champions Trophy hostage
It was a near repeat of the series of events that transpired ahead of the Asia Cup last year, in which Pakistan had been awarded hosting rights for the continental event only for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to refuse to send the Indian team to their neighbouring country due to security concerns as well as political tensions. Due to India’s reluctance, the tournament was ultimately conducted in a ‘Hybrid Model’.
The BCCI came up with a similar response for the 2025 Champions Trophy – which was set to be the first global cricketing tournament taking place in Pakistan since the 1996 World Cup. Only this time, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) retaliated against the Indian board and even threatened to boycott the event entirely if matches were held at venues other than Lahore, Karachi and Rawalpindi – the venues that it had originally listed for the tournament.
As a result of the BCCI-PCB dispute over the Champions Trophy, the ICC missed the deadline for the launch event that was scheduled to take place in Lahore exactly 100 days before the start of the tournament. The issue, however, was finally resolved in an ICC meeting earlier this month, in which the Mohsin Naqvi-led PCB finally accepted the 'Hybrid Model' wherein India would play their matches in Dubai , including the semi-final and final, if they made it that far.
Israeli-Palestinian conflict leads to ugly scenes in football and other sports
The 7 October attacks orchestrated by Hamas in southern Israel last year led to the Benjamin Netanyahu-led Israeli government retaliating with a full-blown offensive on the militant organisation in the Gaza Strip, leading to a conflict that continues to rage today and has spread to other nations such as Lebanon.
Pro-Palestinian movements took centre-stage across the world in 2024, at a time when Tel Aviv’s heavy bombardment of Gaza led to the loss of tens of thousands of Palestinian lives. At the Paris Olympics, while Palestinian athletes were widely cheered during the opening ceremony as well as various events, members of the Israeli contingent had to be placed under heavy security during their stay in France.
Paris Saint-Germain fans just unfurled this giant banner before tonight's PSG-Atlético Madrid match:
— Eye on Palestine (@EyeonPalestine) November 6, 2024
"Free Palestine. War on the field but peace in the world." pic.twitter.com/gBXDbxYRKj
The conflict had also spilled over to recent football events , with a huge “Free Palestine” banner being unfurled at Parc des Princes in Paris ahead of a UEFA Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico Madrid. The second-tier UEFA Europa League witnessed even uglier scenes in Amsterdam, where supporters of Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv were attacked after their team’s fixture against Dutch club Ajax.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu had ordered rescue planes to fly the fans involved in the clashes out of the country as the incident drew condemnation from around the world, including from Dutch PM Dick Schoof.
Russians, Belarusians forced to compete as neutrals in Olympics
The Russia-Ukraine war has been raging on ever since Moscow launched an invasion in February 2022, leading to Russian athletes being banned from a majority of sporting events. Due to their country’s direct support of Kremlin’s offensive, the ban was later extended to Belarusian athletes as well.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had been faced with the tricky task of taking a call on participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the Paris Olympics.
While several nations including Ukraine had called for a complete ban on all these from these two countries, the IOC eventually decided to allow some of them to compete in the Games as 'neutral athletes' – so long as they did not have any links to the military or actively supported the war.
Also Read | Russian athletes navigate hostile environment as 'neutrals' at Paris Olympics
UEFA, the governing body for football across Europe, had taken a stricter stand and had barred Russia completely from competing in Euro 2024. Belarus was allowed to complete in the Qualifying despite Germany’s objection, but failed to advance for the finals after finishing fourth in their group.
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
