Following a dizzying sequence of events, including the Saudi execution of Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr together with 46 others, the storming of the Saudi Embassy and the breakdown of diplomatic relations, Saudi Arabia and Iran have expanded their fight to the soccer pitch. Several Saudi clubs […] issued statements [...] demanding that they play Asian championship matches against Iranian squads at neutral venues.

Mark Bromilow says he needs a strong nerve as he sets about building a cultural bridge between Australia and Brazil. [...] Ahead of next year's Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Australia has targeted Brazil for the major cultural festival aimed at promoting links and collaboration between the two largest nations and economies in the southern hemisphere.

The announcement of a Turkish military base in Qatar was accompanied by the powerful symbolism of a  friendly match played by the national soccer teams of  Turkey and Qatar in Doha. The match, which the Turks won 2-1, provided a sports diplomacy momentum to the ongoing political and security rapprochement between the two countries, while at the same time confirming Turkey’s support for Qatar[.] 

In the small, isolated town of Timbiquí, located on the banks of one of the many winding rivers in Colombia’s Pacific region, there isn’t much for kids to do. [...] To try to counter this, USAID’s Afro-Colombian and Indigenous Program (ACIP), in partnership with Fundación Tiempo de Juego, is implementing a powerful tool: the soccer ball. 

Creating dialogue and raising more public awareness: this is the goal that we set ourselves with the launch of the Peace and Sport Watch in April 2015. [...] Peace and Sport Watch in partnership with Agence France Presse, a digital platform aimed at fostering the development of the peace through sport movement and offering its stakeholders a neutral, relevant and daily digest of the latest news.

For half a century after Cuba’s revolution in 1959, the island’s sports fans knew little of professional leagues beyond their shores. But today, thanks to the internet’s belated arrival and a wave of Cuban players defecting and starring in MLB, in-depth knowledge of American baseball is a badge of honor for baseball-loving Cubans—that is, nearly all the men and plenty of the women, too.

Entitled "Preparing Athletes for 2016 Rio Olympics", the Forum aims to offer a valuable opportunity for local and overseas experts to exchange views on trainingstrategies and application of science and technology in providing support to athletes.