It is a measure of the value of sport that governments are always happy to tap into it, promoting their commitment to an area that is a proven winner with the public. This week’s launch of the International Sports Diplomacy Framework is an unashamed example of that connection. The hugely aspirational document brings together a number of loosely linked aspects of sporting policy to advance Ireland as a sporting hub and build its reputation as a “premier sporting nation”. It aims to forge new opportunities for international sporting partnerships, cultural exchanges and diaspora engagement.
But the thrust of the document focuses on international sport and how Ireland is at the forefront of drawing major events to these shores. Staging the Ryder Cup in 2027, hosting the 2028 European soccer championship finals and welcoming the American football games to Dublin later this year are held up as an example of Ireland’s growing status as a premier sporting venue. There is more than a hint of self-congratulation and exaggeration in promoting these successes and how they showcase Ireland.
While far-fetched claims about big sports events and their impact are regularly rolled out by sports bodies and governments, there is no denying that they can have a very positive effect and contribute significantly to the economy. This may come primarily through tourism but, the framework claims, benefits are also to be garnered from forging new contacts and relationships for sporting bodies and administrators.
Those gains have been self-evident for a long time and this new document merely dresses them up in new clothes. It may argue that the inclusion of the diaspora in promoting indigenous games and the establishment of a steering group involving highly respected Sports Ireland officials will help enhance Ireland’s reputation, but it is hard to get away from the belief that this lofty and vague sporting vision will be forgotten about very quickly. Sport can be uplifting, demanding and frustrating but its intangible attraction is better left in the hands of those who know it best.
