The Washington, D.C.-based organization has since evolved into a sports diplomacy outfit, encouraging cultural exchanges and donating skateboards and gear to Cuban youth.

Last year the Superbowl had an estimated audience of 111.5 million viewers. But world over there is an audience for sport, just different sports. This post we’re going to look at the biggest sporting events in the world, at least by television audience size.  One, because it’s fun. And two, because public diplomacy is always in search of audiences, and these sporting events are unquestionably some of the biggest.  

President Obama’s initiative to begin normalizing relations with Cuba provides optimum conditions for CubaSkate, a D.C./L.A. based NGO which delivers skateboards to Cuban youth and promotes dialogue between the two countries with blessing from the Cuban government. 

An avalanche of criticism of FC Bayern Muenchen, a leading soccer brand and Germany's most successful club, for playing a commercially driven friendly against Saudi Arabia's FC Al Hilal amid a crackdown on dissent in the kingdom ... highlights the increasing risk autocratic Gulf states run in employing the sport to polish tarnished images and project soft power.

In a world in which diplomacy has expanded from government-to-government contacts into public and cultural diplomacy, and in which nations are ranked as much for their performance in high-profile international tournaments as on other attributes, autocratic abuse of sports and its impact on football, including performance, is nowhere more prevalent than in the Middle East and North Africa. 

The U.S. Department of State and Major League Baseball are entering a new era of “diamond diplomacy” in the Western Hemisphere. In a renewed partnership with Major League Baseball, current professional baseball players will accompany Olympic softball stars to Colombia and Panama to serve as Sports Envoys. The U.S. Department of State recognizes the unique ability of America’s national pastime to connect with youth throughout the Western Hemisphere, as baseball enjoys an especially ardent following in Central and South America.

In a world in which diplomacy has expanded from government-to-government contacts into public and cultural diplomacy and in which nations are ranked as much on their performance in high-profile international tournaments as on other attributes, autocratic abuse of sports and its impact on soccer, including performance, is nowhere more prevalent than in the Middle East and North Africa.