Will EURO2024 struggle to keep war protests out of football? 8 out of 10 fans oppose using the tournament as a political platform for Ukraine and Gaza

Abstract

ABSTRACT Eighty percent of football fans involved in the present study do not want EURO2024 to be deployed as a platform for protest against the extensively covered conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. The majority accept that, as one of 2024’s global sports spectacles, EURO2024, like the Paris Olympics, will be watched by billions and command the attention of the global media. They also understand how sport has catalysed geopolitical change, for example, playing a role in isolating apartheid-era South Africa. Yet a majority believe EURO2024 is a sporting event and, as such, should not be weaponized by social and political events. This commentary is based on a self-contained project involving 1010 fans conducted during April–May 2024, though it continues themes the authors have explored in the recent past, their central question being: has sport been prominently politicized since Colin Kaepernick’s gesture in 2016? Since then, many of the world’s governing organizations have relaxed their traditional positions on political and socio-cultural issues and, in some cases, have approved of athletes taking the knee as a symbol of their commitment to inclusivity. Individual athletes have displayed their values, but fans are not convinced of their sincerity. They also question governing organizations’ genuineness. Many are sceptical enough to believe football’s corporate sponsors are the chief beneficiaries of protest. Fans agree football can be a potent platform on which to mount social and political missions. They just do not want it to happen during EURO2024.