China announced Monday an ambitious plan to overhaul the nation's soccer management hoping to achieve World Cup recognition, a move observers believe will boost China's soft power.

The notoriously hermetic and isolated country of North Korea closed its borders to tourists last fall due to concerns about the threat of Ebola. Remarkably, it has recently decided to reopen them in order to hold a sporting event: the Pyongyang Marathon. 

The U.S. and Cuban presidents announced last December a restoration of diplomatic relations after more than half century. The skaters are hoping their efforts help things get off to a flying start.

A just published study highlights how commerce and glitz are reinforcing support for autocracy by international sports associations and undermining the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) newly found resolve to hold potential host cities to human rights standards to which world soccer body FIFA pays lip service.