Revitalizing Urban Resilience through Civic Sports Governance: An Auto-Ethnographic Case Study of the Karachi Games 2023

Abstract

This study examines the Karachi Games 2023 as a distinctive model of urban resilience, civic regeneration, and sports-based governance in a megacity context. Set against the backdrop of Karachi’s historical sporting prominence and subsequent infrastructural and social decline, the paper explores how the revival of the Karachi Games after a fifteen-year hiatus functioned as a strategic urban policy intervention rather than merely a multi-sport event. Employing an auto-ethnographic, practitioner-led qualitative methodology, the research draws on participant observation, official municipal records, and media analysis to document the planning, execution, and outcomes of the Games. The analysis is grounded in key theoretical frameworks including collaborative governance, public–private partnerships (PPP), sport for development (SFD), sports diplomacy, and event leveraging, with insights drawn from New Public Management and social capital theory. The Karachi Games 2023 involved over 5,000 athletes competing across 42 sports disciplines over ten days, utilizing a decentralized venue model across the city’s districts. Notably, the Games were executed through a “zero public cost” financial framework, relying entirely on corporate sponsorships and philanthropy, thereby challenging conventional assumptions about public expenditure in large-scale sporting events. The initiative emphasized inclusivity, gender parity, cultural heritage sports, and diplomatic engagement, with active participation from foreign consular representatives, reinforcing sport’s role as a soft power and city-branding instrument. Findings indicate that the Karachi Games contributed to revitalizing dormant sports infrastructure, fostering social cohesion across ethnic and socio-economic divides, empowering women athletes, and reshaping Karachi’s international and domestic image. The study concludes that the Karachi Games 2023 offer a replicable, fiscally sustainable, and community-centered model for urban sport governance in developing cities, with significant implications for public policy, civic engagement, and sustainable urban development in Pakistan and comparable contexts.