All Things Sports

Hi guys, welcome back to All Things Sports: The Role of Policy Part 2. Previously we had gone over the argument of government involvement and when the government should get involved which is where I will pick up. The argument of government involvement must also be extended to the management of large sporting events, such as the World Cup or the Super Bowl. That is because the effect of such an event transcended sport alone. The economic, cultural, and political impact of hosting a big sporting event that is successful can not be understated. For example, Qatar was allowed to host the 2022 Fifa Men’s World Cup and there was a lot wrong with the tournament. Yet history is going to immortalize it because of how successful and entertaining it was. It is going to go down in history as the tournament where Lionel Messi finally got the elusive World Cup. Sport was essentially used to cover up an entire country’s record of human rights violations, labor exploitation, corruption, and other atrocious deeds. These impacts can also be felt economically, culturally, and in other issue areas of society. Overall, sport’s intriguing nature, combined with the allure of big games, makes it so that government and policy has to get involved. There has to be policy and how to host the tournament, what rules there are at the tournament, etc. The overlap between sport and society is visible yet again, and thus, policy is necessary. 

The final role of policy in sports has to do with regulation and oversight of sports itself. This has to do with the evolution of sport itself and how as sports, especially the major ones such as soccer and tennis, have gotten larger, the need to oversee and regulate them has risen as well. As the demand rose, the supply rose with it. Across the world, there has been the establishment of sports federations, organizations, and other governing groups that have been recognized as the official governing body of that sport in that region. However, most of these organizations are either 501 c-3 nonprofit organizations, like the International Olympic Committee,  or they are private organizations, like the NFL. These organizations need oversight and regulation in order to prevent corruption and other abuses. Here it is helpful to examine the NFL and its owners, specifically former Washington Commanders Owner Dan Snyder to see why such regulation is necessary through policy. Dan Snyder is mired in scandal on top of being an abusive and, forgive me for being crude, a horrible owner of the franchise. The list is so long it would require a separate essay for discussion. Yet, because of the lack of regulation through policy and government, he was allowed to remain as the owner of his NFL franchise, the Washington Commanders, way past his expiration date. There are other issues such as doping, regulations, participation, all of which need governmental regulation and policy in order to function effectively. An examination of participation policies enacted by the US Soccer Federation, a nonprofit organization, can indicate why the policy is needed. The federation has a famous “pay to play” policy where playing in organized soccer events requires money. Even if someone is recruited, they still have to pay money to play. This creates an access barrier that discourages participation as a whole and this is where policy is needed. 

In summation, the role of policy in sports can be defined as the area where the issues of sport overlap with the issues of government and society as a whole and where sport can not be left to its own devices. The need for such policies is evident in the modern world and as sport continues to evolve, the policies will need to as well.