Sports Diplomacy and North America

As all eyes turn towards North America as it hosts FIFA World Cup 2026, the natural question becomes how does sports diplomacy play a round among the co-hosts, as well as the teams, fans, and media involved around the world’s biggest football festival.

This was the conversation starter for the Council on Foreign Relations’ recent State and Local Officials webinar, “Sports Diplomacy and North America,” in which I discuss with CFR Senior Fellow Edward Alden all things sports diplomacy.

Some of my key points:

• Sports diplomacy is like a Swiss Army Knife for sporting and international relations — it can be used  as a tool in various ways

• Sports diplomacy is all about the art of opportunity

• The sports diplomacy of welcoming the world to your community offers unique opportunities to engage and contribute something of value, to help reframe narratives and tell your story, as well as build human capcity

Thank you CFR for the opportunity to talk shop!