The event opened the door for other U.S. sports and cultural exchanges, too. “In the past, wrestling has played an important role in diplomacy,” Bender said. “This looks like a setback for sure. But it doesn’t necessarily impact our relationship with the Iranian wrestling federation.”

The match also represented something else: a case study in the globalization of European soccer, with a decidedly Chinese flavor. Both teams were acquired in 2016 by Chinese investors for a total exceeding $1 billion, a capstone to a flurry of Chinese purchases of European soccer clubs over the past two years. [...] China’s big soccer play is of a piece with Chinese President Xi Jinping’s “Chinese Dream” idea of attaining national greatness

Serena Hotels in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted the Invitational Golf Championship at the Islamabad Club Golf Course on Saturday. The Tournament was held under the Serena Hotels Sports Diplomacy Initiative and played on the Shot Gun format. [...] Sartaj Aziz said “Sports diplomacy is part of cultural diplomacy which allows people and communities to work together for a greater cause “and also recalled the “mountaineering expedition sent together to various countries promoting message of peace and public diplomacy”.

The second annual Conch Republic Cup/Key West Cuba Race Week set for Jan. 22-to Feb. 3 is the only triangle race to Cuba [...] “We include buoy racing in Havana which allows Cuban racers to take part,” said Karen Angle, the event’s executive director. “Also, there is built-in down time to allow the participants to enjoy Cuba in this ‘Cultural Exchange Through Sport.’”

Football for Peace (FFP) is a diplomatic sports movement that aims at using the power of sports to harness its potential to unite, and create greater understanding between people, communities and governments. Football for Peace aims at achieving integration of people from diverse background through creating awareness, working at every level from government to community. 

As Heather Dichter pointed out in her 2014 H-Diplo essay, a conundrum of sport diplomacy, perhaps its signal paradox, is the extent to which nations have used sport as a proving ground on the world stage. [...] Current American and global politics and their illumination on the playing field demonstrate the extent to which actors within and sometimes without a country deepen understanding of how politics and sport work in the international arena. 

Ambassador of Pakistan to France Moin ul Haque talking to Mayor of Paris 8, Jeanne d' Hauteserre on Tuesday said that people to people contacts will improve as Pakistan and France work for strengthening their cooperation in the area of culture, sports and education.