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.
Joy and Changing the Narrative: The Surprising Example of Sports Diplomacy Storytelling Within FIFA 2026’s Group of Death
The massive global storytelling platform of FIFA World Cup 2026 provides an opportunity for the Iraqi men’s national team to reset global narratives, informed by lessons from the FFF’s sports diplomacy work with the Lionesses of Mesopotamia.
Resumption of Rivalries: Women's Football in France a Year After the World Cup
Yesterday the world’s most dominant football club returned to square-off against its biggest rival in a grinding match, delayed by a power outage but finally won at the nail-biting end on penalties. The footballeuses of Olympique Lyonnais (OL) Féminin clenched their ninth Coupe de France title, eeking past Paris Saint-Germain Féminine as the rain streamed down in Auxerre, and earning their 30th championship trophy, according to L’Équipe’s statisticians. But has the pandemic pause negatively impacted women’s football in France, stunting the momentum of last summer’s FIFA World Cup?
"This Storm Is What We Call Progress"
In more normal times, we’d be in the midst of the 2020 European Championship, but instead this week the Football Scholars’ Forum continued our Summer Series dissecting David Goldblatt’s new tome, The Age of Football: Soccer and the 21st Century, with yours truly as moderator for the chapter on European football.
#WorldGotGame
If you haven’t followed the FIBA World Cup in China this month, you’ve missed out on some great games. That’s because competition has tightened significantly, somethingI France captain Nicolas Batum articulated to me at the start of Les Bleus’ training camp.
How Do They Make Les Bleues?
A lot has changed since the early 2000s when the first wave of female footballers emerged from Clairefontaine, among them legendary icons Laura Georges, Louisa Nécib (Cadamuro), Camille Abily, and Amandine Henry. So: what does the Pôle France Féminin du football look like today?
Women’s World Cup Countdown
We’re finally here, one week before the FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks off in France. And all eyes are on Les Bleues to see if they can continue the magical journey begun last summer by their male counterparts in Russia.
World Cup Kickoff: The Irony of Looking Backward to Celebrate the Future
I’m back from a sports week in France ahead of the World Cup and am struck by the irony of nostalgia for the past—in this case, 1998—which very much celebrated the future.