Andrew, Laura and Fred say athletes are often the least powerful players in these scenarios. Andrew: I don't think it's going to have much of an impact on what mother countrys thought was the best they could do under the circumstances. Lored: If there had been a point at which you were playing for, and especially captaining wales, and there had been ture in a country whose human rights record was, for whatever reason, less than optimal, would you have considered not going? Andrew: For me, that comes from this weird, kind of, almost counter intuitive idea that sports and politics don't mix. There's as much politics in sport as there is
The 2022 Winter Olympics have just opened in Beijing. Not for the first time in Olympic history, the Games will begin amid controversy over the host nation. China is regularly criticised over its record on human rights, most recently over its systematic oppression of the Uyghurs, a Muslim minority. Nations such as the US, Canada, Australia and the UK are undertaking a diplomatic boycott of the event, but do boycotts in sports work? Joining us to discuss it is Laura McAllister, Professor of Public Policy at Cardiff University. Laura is Board Director at the Football Association of Wales Trust, Deputy Chair of UEFA's Women's Football Committee and former captain of the national women’s football team of Wales. Joining Laura is Fred Frommer, sports historian, author and writer, who regularly focuses on the intersection of sports and politics for publications including The Washington Post and The New York Times. Hosting the discussion is Andrew Mueller, journalist and foreign affairs specialist, whose own book, Carn, looks at the history of a game dear to his heart: Australian Rules football.
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