When it began in 2004, the CSL was closer to a hobby than the top-tier professional league it made itself out to be. Back then, 12 teams, composed of mostly domestic footballers, played half-hearted games in front of near-empty stadiums. Match fixing and bribery were so common that many scores were set before the ball was rolled onto the pitch.

The initiative, which was launched by the William Sisters, Serena and Venus, during their recent visit, is set to go from school to school, inspiring girls to take the front row in sports and develop an indomitable and tenacious spirit that will help them challenge and conquer stereotypes and other traditional impediments to their success.

High costs have caused friction for several hosts of Formula One, which has expanded aggressively from its traditional European domain with seven races now in the Asia-Pacific region. Promoters argue that the longer-term benefits in terms of increased tourism and improved nation-branding outweigh the direct financial losses.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade has confirmed it paid $85,000 towards the All Whites' trip to China for a friendly football match. The decision to put taxpayers' money towards a sporting trip was slammed by former foreign affairs minister Winston Peters, who said he was "astonished" MFAT was dabbling in sport.

When it comes to table tennis, the United States is not exactly a world power. At the elite level, immigrant talent has long been welcomed. The entire American team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics was born in China. But an immigration case involving an Iranian table tennis player has raised question about exactly what status an international athlete must achieve before being granted preferential entry into the United States.

At the 2012 KAIS-KF International Conference on Opening New Horizons for Public Diplomacy and Culture in the 21st Century, Ban said: "The United Nations will encourage and support the formation of the first-ever united Korean teams in South Korea.

The legacy of ping-pong diplomacy has given the veteran player enduring enthusiasm for his sport as well as a range of activities aimed at strengthening China-US relations... Braithwaite continues to serve as a board member of the Sino-American Friendship Association, a nonprofit organization that promotes Chinese culture and China-US ties.