Taking Inspiration from a Sports Diplomat’s Playbook
Earlier this summer I had the privilege of giving a keynote address at the Business Travel News Entertainment, Media & Sports Summit in New York on how to take inspiration from a sports diplomat’s playbook to better navigate our challenge era of geopolitical, economic, and social upheaval. Here are a few glimpses into that talk and the discussion around it.
Global travel has become more complex in an era defined by geopolitical conflict, economic upheaval, technical disruption, and shifting expectations. Professionals today face challenges ranging from sudden visa changes and security concerns to altered travel advisories and potential risks based on digital profiles. But what if we could navigate these turbulent waters in a way that enables us to add value to our interactions and engagements?
We can, with a little inspiration from sports diplomats who spin and span the world in their daily work. A sports diplomat’s guiding principles can offer a powerful playbook for any individual or organization engaging internationally.
But, what is Sports Diplomacy?
At its core, sports diplomacy is what I call a “people project” – it’s a means to convene conversations and facilitate connections in and around the sporting arena. While governments engage in sports diplomacy, today a majority of sports diplomacy is conducted by non-state actors like athletes, coaches, media, and sponsors. These individuals, who often do not wear the stereotypical diplomatic attire of top hat and pinstriped suit, intentionally harness the three acts of diplomacy in their work that are central to sports diplomacy: communication, representation, and negotiation…and they do so through cultural, technical, and/or knowledge exchange.
Thus, a sports diplomat’s playbook evolves around these functions.
A sports diplomat is perhaps one of the ultimate global communicators of our era. I think of the ways that Taiwan's Ambassador at Large for Sports, Po Chun ‘Sophiyah’ Liu uses her story to build bridges and advocate for change while representing her country—and baseball—in international dialogues.
A sports diplomat also represents, both at an organizational level as well as at the human level.
A sports diplomat also negotiates, a sustained dialogue to work towards common objectives. Even seemingly small interactions, especially at the local level, can profoundly influence minds. This was poignantly illustrated with an example from a female South American sports journalist, and how, by wearing her “sports diplomat hat” she was able to negotiate for access to a source.
My keynote unpacked specific aspects of a sports diplomat’s playbook and provided a few starter “plays” that attendees could apply within their businesses, organizations, and teams. It also addressed a few of the snafus that exist and how to navigate around them.
But it was the questions posed and responses to the talk that truly marked me. “I had not thought about it that way, but as you were speaking, I could see the similarities” one audience member shared with me over coffee. “Really engaging,” another attendee wrote to me afterwards.
Until the event, I, too, had not realized the extent to which some aspects of sports diplomacy work could translate well beyond the sporting or diplomatic world. Or the extent of curiosity that exists around “sports diplomacy” – from what that means and how it impacts someone who is not a sports or diplomatic stakeholder to how different audiences can engage. The questions around sports diplomacy’s opportunities and challenges, particularly vis-à-vis FIFA 2026 and LA2028, were salient.
👉 While “sports diplomacy” may come across as “elite” to some, it’s far more accessible today than many people realize…and many within the global sports world (and the media and entertainment industries that cover them) are likely already engaged in some type of sports diplomacy.