The Performativity of State Non-Recognition in Sports: The Case of Spain over Kosovo

Abstract

This article focuses on the use of sport by the Spanish Government to perform its non-recognition of Kosovo’s statehood. Our main goal is to analyse the practices and narratives through which Spain’s public authorities have carried out this policy in the sporting arena. Likewise, we set two specific objectives: to examine the administrative measures adopted by the Spanish government when a Kosovan team has participated in an event hosted in Spain; and to describe the policies and discourses regarding the display of Kosovo’s national symbols in these competitions. The study is based on a qualitative approach of five major tournaments that have taken place (or due to) in Spain between 2018 and 2019. The documentation has been mainly gathered through desk-research. The three major data sources have been media press releases, Spanish Government’s communiqués and sporting federation’s statements. We underline that the policies adopted by the Spanish authorities respond to a systematic strategy to give no room for a potential understanding of Kosovo as a sovereign state. Likewise, we highlight that Madrid’s attitude towards the Balkan country must be understood keeping in mind its own internal politics, specifically the nationalist claims from Catalonia and the Basque Country.

Naming and Lower Cases as Diplomatic Tools in Sport? The Case of ‘SPAIN v. kosovo’ During Qatar 2022 World Cup Qualifiers

“…In this sense, the policies applied from Madrid over Pristina (Kosovo's capital) have moved from boycotting Kosovo's participation and denying the issue of visa for Kosovar athletes to the symbolic invisibilization of Kosovo's flag, anthem and emblem in several competitions organized on Spanish soil (Gutiérrez-Chico & González-Fuente, 2021). The prohibition of using Kosovo's name in official tournaments was also an important element of Spanish sports diplomacy.…”

“…Likewise, during the 2018 World Karate Championships, the Kosovar team was banned from competing under the name of its country. Instead, its karateka had to perform wearing the letters KKF (Kosovo Karate Federation) in the karate-gi while the acronym WKF5 (World Karate Federation 5) was depicted in the scoreboards (Gutiérrez-Chico & González-Fuente, 2021).…”