Peace, sports diplomacy and corporate social responsibility: a case study of Football Club Barcelona Peace Tour 2013

Abstract

The aim of this article was to analyse the initiative FC Barcelona Peace Tour 2013, in Israel and Palestine. This research is based on lengthy interviews with people associated with the initiative and the use of primary sources, both institutional and journalistic. Secondary sources have also been used, such as journalistic accounts of the initiative. The article thus examines the nature of FC Barcelona Peace Tour 2013, which it defines as an exercise in sports diplomacy, inspired by civil society and articulated through the club. The article concludes that FC Barcelona has been able to act as a mediator between two opposed communities due to the universal values linked to its brand and its nature as a ‘civil religion’. This notwithstanding, the political problems that arose during the planning of the initiative highlight the geopolitical complexity of the Middle East and, by extension, the limits of sports diplomacy.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. See Sugden and Bairner, eds., Sport in Divided Societies; Sugden, ‘Anyone for football for peace?’, 405–15; Schulenkorf and Sugden, ‘Sport for Development and Peace in Divided Societies’, 235–56.

2. See Lea-Howarth, ‘Sport and Conflict’; Merkel, ‘The Politics of Sport Diplomacy and Reunification in Divided Korea’, 289–311; Sugden, ‘Critical Left-realism and Sport Interventions in Divided Societies’, 258–72; Rookwood and Palmer, ‘Invasion Games in War-torn Nations’, 184–200; Donnelly and others, ‘Sport for Development and Peace’, 589–601; Cárdenas, Exploring the Use of Sports for Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution.

3. See Whitfield, Amity in the Middle East.

4. Sugden, ‘Teaching and Playing Sport for Conflict Resolution and Co-existence in Israel’, 226; Schulenkorf and Sugden, ‘Sport for Development and Peace in Divided Societies’, 238.

5. Ginesta and Ordeix, ‘El fútbol profesional y su responsabilidad social corporativa en Cataluña (2006–2010)’, 186. See also Gil-Lafuente, ‘Marketing Management in a Socially Complex Club: Barcelona FC’, 186–207; Xifra, ‘Soccer, Civil Religion, and Public Relations’, 192–98.

6. Castells, Comunicación y poder.

7. Ginesta and San Eugenio, ‘The Use of Football as a Country Branding Strategy’, 2.

8. EFE, ‘Messi and Barça, the Most Media-conscious in the World’, Sport, 18 August 2011, http://www.sport.es.

9. See Rowe, ‘Sport and the Reproduction of the Global’, 281–94; Rowe, ‘The Stuff of Dreams, or the Dream Stuffed?’.

10. Rowe, ‘The Stuff of Dreams, or the Dream Stuffed?’, 3.

11. Xifra, ‘Soccer, Civil Religion, and Public Relations’, 192–98.

12. Ibid., 194.

13. Salvador, Futbol, metàfora d’una guerra freda, 380.

14. Xifra, ‘Soccer, Civil Religion, and Public Relations’, 195.

15. Murray, ‘The Two Halves of Sports-diplomacy’, 576. For an illustration of the concept of sports diplomacy, the State Department of the United States Government operates an interesting sports diplomacy initiative through its Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. For information on this, visit: http://eca.state.gov/programs-initiatives/sports-diplomacy

16. Cull, ‘Public Diplomacy: Taxonomies and Histories’, 31–54.

17. Badia, Josep Suñol i Garriga.

18. F. Aguilar, ‘Más que dos “clínics”’. Mundo Deportivo, 4 August 2013, 4.

19. Sugden, ‘Teaching and Playing Sport for Conflict Resolution and Co-existence in Israel’, 221.

20. Smith, Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict.

21. See Gelvin, The Israel-Palestine Conflict; Dowty, ‘Despair is Not Enough’, 5–29; Halper, An Israeli in Palestine; Morris, One State, Two States; Mullin, ‘Islamist Challenges to the “Liberal peace” Discourse’, 525–46.

22. Sugden, ‘Critical Left-realism and Sport Interventions in Divided Societies’, 268–69.

23. Ibid., 268.

24. Ibid., 269.

25. Ibid., 269.

26. Ibid., 269.

27. Usall, Futbol per la llibertat.

28. Ibid., 158.

29. Giulianotti, ‘Sport, Peacemaking and Conflict Resolution’, 207–28.

30. Sugden, ‘Teaching and Playing Sport for Conflict Resolution and Co-existence in Israel’, 237–38.

31. Castells, ‘The New Public Sphere’, 91.

32. Cull, ‘Public Diplomacy: Taxonomies and Histories’, 31.

33. Ndlovu, ‘Sports as Cultural Diplomacy’, 144–53.

34. Chehabi, ‘Sport Diplomacy between the United States and Iran’, 100–01.

35. Murray, ‘The Two Halves of Sports-diplomacy’, 576.

36. See Castells, ‘The New Public Sphere’, 91; Cull, ‘Public Diplomacy: Taxonomies and Histories’, 31; Murray, ‘The Two Halves of Sports-diplomacy’, 576.

37. A. Bassas, ‘Un design al Mur de les Lamentacions’. Ara, 5 August 2013, 33.

38. Rosell, ‘A Global Club that is Proud of its Identity’, 24–7.

39. Murray, ‘Moving beyond the Ping-Pong Table’, 11–6.

40. The contact person at the club has been the former Head of Communication, Ketty Calatayud.

41. Priority has been given to analysing the journalistic discourse generated immediately following the visit of FC Barcelona to Israel and Palestine. Through an examination of the media repercussion of the event (a review of all the mainstream Spanish press coverage of the tour provided by FC Barcelona), the aim is to complement and contrast the information obtained from primary sources. The research has not extended to a systematic analysis of the media presence of FC Barcelona as a result of the club’s visit to the Middle East.

42. See Gil-Lafuente, ‘Marketing Management in a Socially Complex Club: Barcelona FC’, 186–207; Hamil, Walters, and Watson, ‘The Model of Governance at FC Barcelona’, 475–504; Ginesta and Ordeix, ‘El fútbol profesional y su responsabilidad social corporativa en Cataluña (2006–2010)’, 177–94.

43. See Badia, Josep Suñol i Garriga.

44. Ginesta and San Eugenio, ‘The Use of Football as a Country Branding Strategy’, 8.

45. For more information, see: http://foundation.fcbarcelona.com/ and Ginesta and Ordeix, ‘El fútbol profesional y su responsabilidad social corporativa en Cataluña (2006–2010)’, 177–94.

46. Amongst other initiatives, on 29 November 2005 the club organized a benefit match for peace in the Middle East. The match was played in Barcelona between FC Barcelona and a ‘Peace Team’ made up of Israeli and Palestinian players. On 21 July 2011, Carles Villarubí, the vice-president of the club, received Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian National Authority. On 13 January 2013, six young people from the Middle East (two Israelis, one Lebanese and three Palestinians) belonging to YaLa (Young Leaders Movement) attended a first-team training session at FC Barcelona’s training ground at Sant Joan Despí (Barcelona). Source: F.C. Barcelona Press Office.

47. F. Perearnau, ‘Segundo paso hacia el “Partido por la Paz”’. Mundo Deportivo, 4 August 2013, 8.

48. F. Perearnau, ‘Barça sin fronteras’. Mundo Deportivo, 4 August 2013, 2.

49. Ginesta and San Eugenio, ‘The Use of Football as a Country Branding Strategy’, doi: 10.1177/2167479513486886.

50. F. Correas, ‘10 milions pels amistosos de pretemporada’. El 9 Esportiu, 4 August 2013, 6.

51. A. Bassas, ‘Un design al Mur de les Lamentacions’. Ara, 5 August 2013, 33.

52. Cull, ‘Public Diplomacy: Taxonomies and Histories’, 34.

53. This is a literal reproduction of the institutional declaration by Sandro Rosell, President of FC Barcelona, in Israel on 4 August 2013. Source: F.C. Barcelona Press Office.

54. The organization of the match between FC Barcelona and a combined Palestinian-Israeli team came up against resistance from the PNA’s policy of non-cooperation with the State of Israel. This policy is illustrated by the justification given by General Jibril Rajub, head of the Palestinian Football Association, to journalists covering this issue: ‘We do not want to give the occupiers of our land an opportunity to carry out an activity in Palestine that appears normal and which hides the atrocities committed against our people’ (Cabré, 2013: 36).

55. J. Miguel, ‘El Barça convierte su “clínic” en Palestina en un gesto por la paz’. Sport, 4 August 2013, 14.

56. F. Perearnau, ‘En casa de Mahmoud Abbas’. Mundo Deportivo,4 August 2013, 4.

57. J. Domènech, ‘Barça de paz’. El Periódico de Catalunya,5 August 2013, 16.

58. Usall, Futbol per la llibertat.

59. A. Alba, ‘Huella en Tierra Santa’. El Periódico de Catalunya, August 5, 2013, 16.

60. J. Domènech, Barça de paz’. El Periódico de Catalunya, August 5, 2013, 16.

61. Sugden, ‘Teaching and Playing Sport for Conflict Resolution and Co-existence in Israel’, 237–38.

62. Sugden, ‘Critical Left-realism and Sport Interventions in Divided Societies’, 268–69.

63. Cull, ‘Public Diplomacy: Taxonomies and Histories’, 31–54.

64. See Rowe, ‘Sport and the Reproduction of the Global’, 281–94.

65. Ginesta and San Eugenio, ‘The Use of Football as a Country Branding Strategy’, doi: 10.1177/2167479513486886.

66. For more information see: http://fundacio.fcbarcelona.cat/projectes/detall/fitxa/futbol-net

67. Xifra, ‘Soccer, Civil Religion, and Public Relations’, 195.

68. G. Capdevila, ‘Guerra i pau’. El 9 Esportiu, 5 August 2013, 3.