“We Have Everything and We Have Nothing”
A history of international sport in Catalonia
The month of October has been a turbulent one thus far in Catalonia, a semi-autonomous region located in the northeast corner of Spain. A referendum on whether or not to secede from Spain on 1 October was promptly declared illegal by the national government, who then attempted to suppress the vote of the Catalan people through a “cautious and fair” campaign of state-sponsored terrorism. Yesterday, Catalan political leader Carles Puigdemont, in a much anticipated speech, failed to unilaterally declare independence as was expected, instead asking for open dialogue with the federal government in Madrid. Madrid, in turn, signaled their willingness to engage in good faith by attempting to strip Catalonia of what autonomy it currently has.
But there is at least one Catalonian official who has not shown any signs of being intimidated by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s heavy-handed regime. In an interview with the London Evening Standard, Gerald Estava, the President of the Union of Catalan Sports Federations, stated that preparations were underway for Catalonia to participate in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo as an independent nation. As Estava said,
The most important goal that we have now is to be members of the international federations, to be members of the Olympic committee, and to participate in the Olympics, participate in the World and European Championships. And at least be adults in the sports world, you know? We are ready for doing this. […] If the independence will be declared in our parliament, we will start at the same moment asking the international federations and the international Olympic committee to be full members.
Though the Catalan flag has yet to be part of the Olympic Games’ Parade of Nations, its own march to autonomous representation began over a century ago. The Olympic Committee of Catalonia was originally formed in 1913, with the goal of participating in the 1916 Olympics Games in Berlin. Unfortunately for Catalonia, Archduke Ferdinand’s car took a wrong turn in the streets of Sarajevo, resulting in a war and ultimately the cancellation of the Games.
After the war, the Olympic Committee of Catalonia changed its name to the Sports Confederation of Catalonia, and in 1923 received the Olympic Cup, the highest award that can be given by the International Olympic Committee. But the rise of Primo de Rivera and subsequently Francisco Franco meant that the Catalan sporting movement was all but extinguished for much of the midcentury.
Post-Franco, Catalan teams across sport more regularly participated in international friendly competitions. The Sport Federation Union of Catalonia, abolished during the Spanish Civil War, was reestablished in 1985. But it was the 1986 selection of Barcelona as host of the 1992 Games that truly re-galvanized the international sporting movement in Catalonia. On 23 April 1989, thousands took to the streets marching in support of the reformation of the Olympic Committee of Catalonia, which was officially established a month later on 29 May under the leadership of Miquel Arbos.
Official recognition by the international sporting federations has gone more slowly than many have hoped, though the campaign has not entirely stalled. The International Korfball Federation was the first to admit Catalonia in 1997, followed by the International Federation of Bowling and World Darts Federation in 2008 and 2011 respectively, among a handful other organizations of similar prominence. Most recently, the International Quidditch Association granted Catalonia membership in 2015, after which they proceeded to beat Team Spain in the ensuing IQA European Games.
A 2014 referendum on Catalan independence accelerated the incrementalist sporting movement, and caused an overhaul of the mission of the movement as the leaders saw it. As the president of the Olympic Committee of Catalonia wrote in an impassioned open letter responding to the referendum [via Google Translate],
We have everything and we have nothing. This is Catalan sport.
Everything because we have a sporting tradition, organizations that make it palpable, technicians with proven experience, renowned athletes, world champions and Olympians, facilities and enviable geography and climate. And also laws and public bodies with exclusive powers.
Nothing because we are in the Spanish State, it fails financially and turns our skills into wet paper. […] There is neither recognition nor respect for our reality. […]
But everything has a limit. We voted and gave a clear mandate to the Government of the Generalitat to make Catalonia a new independent state (24 new states in Europe since 1900 show that it is nothing unusual), and it is clear that Catalan sport also has a parallel mandate. Get ready for the new stage. To build on the necessary structures and help to make the path of international recognition more straightforward, of the right to decide how we want to organize ourselves and the financing we lack. Three objectives that are, at the same time, the three great benefits of independence, with incalculable positive repercussions for the Catalan sport.
There is a long-established entity that should allow us to work together to achieve the three major goals. It is the Olympic Committee of Catalonia (COC), established in 1989. It is necessary to reactivate it with the conviction that the Olympic dream is viable. Sports federations and sportsmen willing to make a country have the floor. No other event, to this day, is as useful as the Olympic Games to publicize Catalonia in the world.
It is the time of the COC, to make the dream possible: to see the Catalan athletes participating in the Games, and incidentally, the World and European Championships, with the exceptionality and normality that we deserve for many years.
The pursuit of international recognition for their athletes is not an altruistic effort on the part of the state. This recognition would signify a changing perception of Catalonia on the international stage. Attempting to join international sporting federations is a common tactic on the part of new states attempting to assert their independence. Kosovo, for example, did much the same after it broke away from Serbia, while Serbia simultaneously attempted to block it from joining these organizations where possible. But Olympic precedent also shows that Catalonia doesn’t necessarily need to achieve full political independence to be able to achieve self-representation in international sport. Places like Guam, Palestine, Taiwan, and Puerto Rico represent themselves at the Games, which lends an air of legitimacy and agency to these places that they may not always possess in more purely political circles.
Domestically, international sport can help forge a more concrete national identity, as well as solidify the power of the ruling party. As Lloyd Ward, former head of the United States Olympic Committee, said on the matter during the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, “Winning medals is a platform for us. it provides us the foundation, the basis, the significance to influence society. We influence society by winning medals an hearts and minds.” For other countries, just competing in the Games could offer similar outcomes.
Were Catalonia to be recognized by the IOC and the other most powerful sporting federations, it would almost immediately be a force among European countries. It is the wealthiest area of Spain with the second largest population, and has the athletic infrastructure consummate with those facts. Many of the basketball players that engineered Spain’s most successful era are Catalan; the Gasol brothers, Juan Carlos Navarro, Raul Lopez, and Ricky Rubio all hail from the area. Additionally, it’s the seat of FC Barcelona, one of Europe’s most storied football clubs.
That said, precedent suggests that Catalan athletes may have options in regard to who to represent on the world stage. In Northern Ireland, for instance, athletes for most sports are allowed to choose whether to represent the Republic of Ireland, as most do, or Team GB. So it may be that Catalan athletes will be able to choose whether to represent Catalonia or Spain in those situations, too.
