An expansion of youth sports programs nationwide and the potential for future training opportunities for Afghan athletes and coaches are among the benefits of a developing partnership between the national Olympic committees of the United States and Afghanistan, and other U.S. sports associations, officials said.

And the Gulf state of Qatar — an obscure patch of sand in 1971 — is emerging as an international sports giant with a relentless appetite for headline-grabbing events, including hosting an updated edition of table tennis-as-political icebreaker.

...a team of four international Chinese sports personalities, including Yao Ming... took part in an image branding film for China that was telecast by CNN and shown in Times Square in New York."We would like our athletes to shine, to draw more eyeballs and help us in our marketing," Lu says.