"Sportswashing" has become a nouveau term du jour thanks to Greg Norman's LIV Golf and the lens now being applied to the Qatar World Cup.
It refers to the concept of a country or brand trying to hide its dirty deeds through the sponsorship of sporting events, and hoping some of the clean and wholesome deeds on the field will apply some bleach to the product paying the big bucks.
But don't think for a minute there is any difference between a Saudi petrochemical company sponsoring the International Cricket Council and an Australian company sponsoring local sport — it's all about putting your name on the uniform and hoarding boards, be it advertising or public relations.
