AS THE European football championships continue in Germany, new research has revealed that “sportswashing” — the practice of using sporting events or teams to improve a country's reputation — is still highly effective, despite increased awareness of the issue among fans.

Dr Vitaly Kazakov of the School of Environment, Education and Development at the University of Manchester is currently undertaking a research project in Iceland, the nation with the same population as Stoke-on-Trent which surprised everyone by beating England and reaching the semi-finals at Euro 2016.

He has conducted in-depth interviews with a range of football stakeholders there including fans, sport and international affairs journalists, sports club administrators and academics.