Sports Diplomacy: More Than a Game
- WULR Team
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
An analysis of sports and its intersection with geopolitical issues
Published May 20th, 2026
Written by Tristan Carrington
Throughout the last century, international sports bodies have largely insisted that politics should remain outside sports. Sports governing bodies such as FIFA and the International Olympic Committee routinely affirm their commitment to neutrality regarding politics in sports. Despite these claims, numerous instances have occurred that suggest the opposite. From the Cold War to the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup, international bodies have shown that global sports serve as a stage for geopolitical rivalries and diplomatic relations to unfold in the public eye.
One political scientist, Stuart Murray, recounts his book in an interview with the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs. He describes the use of sports diplomacy as a way for states to leverage the athletes that represent them as “ancient civic devices for overcoming estrangement between separate groups.” In this definition, athletes function as unofficial diplomats. Their performances, actions on and off the pitch and even political commentary allow governments to project national identity and soft power abroad. Because sporting events often command massive audiences, they offer states a platform to project power beyond conventional channels and without engaging in formal diplomacy.
Perhaps the most famous example of such diplomatic relations is Ping-Pong Diplomacy. In 1971, a series of international table tennis exchanges between China and the U.S. helped restore diplomatic ties that the National Museum of American Diplomacy states had been severed since the 1949 Chinese revolution. While the matches themselves were just that, they paved the way for Nixon’s visit to Beijing the following year and the eventual mending of US-China relations, demonstrating how non-traditional modes of diplomacy can be just as effective.
These international dynamics are once again arising as the U.S. begins to prepare to host the 2026 World Cup, along with Mexico and Canada. Before even beginning, the World Cup has already faced political controversy surrounding the relationship between the FIFA President, Gianni Infantino, and the US President, Donald Trump.
On December 5th of 2025, Infantino awarded Trump the first annual “FIFA Peace Prize – Football Unites the World,” citing exceptional work in de-escalation efforts and stability. Later, ESPN notes that in an appearance at an event with Trump, Infantino was seen wearing a USA cap, yet the two instances were deemed not to qualify as lapses in political neutrality by the IOC. Despite the clearance of any wrongdoing, the optics of the event raised clear questions about whether Infantino had clearly crossed into political signaling.
After receiving the award, Trump escalated tensions with Iran rather than seeking to de-escalate, further politicizing the diplomatic environment preceding the World Cup. The development on the international stage also brought with it questions of the legitimacy of the peace prize he was awarded just months before.
Beyond the scope of soccer, the US and Israel’s involvement in Iran has complicated Iran’s approach to attending the 2026 World Cup, with Reuters reporting Iran’s Football Federation President Mehdi Taj is unsure of an Iranian response in both military and soccer contexts. At the same time, U.S. immigration policies and airspace closures have further complicated the ability of Iranian and other supporters in the Middle East to travel and attend the tournament this summer. In fact, BBC Sports reports that Iraqi coach Graham Arnold wants their “World Cup play-off decider… [to] be postponed amid the escalating US-Israeli war with Iran,” demonstrating the immediate effects that the political climate beyond soccer is already having on the tournament. Together, these events illustrate how international tournaments such as the World Cup cannot remain insulated from politics and diplomacy, especially in an age of unprecedented globalization.
These episodes of diplomacy reveal a fundamental contradiction in international sports. Despite repeated affirmations of neutrality by sports governing bodies, it is the nature of international sports to create rivalry, to create alliances and to shape global conflicts. From Ping-Pong Diplomacy to the politics of the upcoming 2026 World Cup, sports can and have served as vessels for diplomacy. Governments earn prestige through both hosting and the performance of their teams in these events, and they use these events to parallel geopolitical conflicts, inevitably affecting the game. In that sense, while the separation of sports and politics is ideal, in practice, it is harder to realize.
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