Conflict Resolution Strategies Adopted by Sports Governing Bodies in South Africa and Zimbabwe
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Abstract
Sports diplomacy is increasingly recognised as a soft-power mechanism for fostering dialogue, cooperation, and conflict resolution between states. Despite its documented effectiveness in other regions, its structured application by sport’s governing bodies in Southern Africa remains limited. This study examined the relationship between sports diplomacy and perceived conflict resolution between South Africa and Zimbabwe, focusing on sports communication, negotiation meetings, bilateral sports competitions, image management, and policy implementation. A quantitative descriptive survey design was adopted. Data were collected from 116 sports administrators, managers, and executives drawn from thirty (30) sports federations in South Africa and Zimbabwe using a researcher-developed questionnaire with a reliability coefficient of 0.81. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, independent-samples t tests, and simple and multiple regression analyses at the 0.05 level of significance. Supplementary country comparisons showed that Zimbabwean respondents reported significantly higher sports negotiation and image-management scores than South African respondents, while no significant country differences were found in sports communication, bilateral sports competitions, or policy implementation. Multiple regression analysis revealed a strong overall relationship between the sports diplomacy dimensions and perceived conflict resolution (R = .705; R² = .498), indicating that the dimensions jointly explained 49.8% of the variance in respondents’ perceived conflict-resolution scores. Individual regression analyses showed significant positive relationships between perceived conflict resolution and sports communication (F = 8.627, p = .004), sports negotiation meetings (F = 57.473, p < .001), bilateral sports competitions (F = 48.722, p < .001), image management (F = 86.802, p < .001), and policy implementation (F = 34.601, p < .001). Multiple regression results showed that sports communication (β = −.266, p = .011), bilateral sports competitions (β = .255, p = .012), image management (β = .311, p = .013), and policy implementation (β = .216, p = .042) were significant independent predictors of perceived conflict resolution, while sports negotiation meetings did not make a statistically significant independent contribution (β = .208, p = .070). The study concludes that sports diplomacy dimensions are significantly associated with perceived conflict resolution between South Africa and Zimbabwe, although their independent contributions and country-level patterns differ. Institutionalising sports diplomacy within regional and national frameworks is therefore recommended.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Tinomuda Daphne Gora, Franz Ufuomanefe Atare, Bukola O. Ochei (Author)
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