...the film is more than a string of cute cross-cultural anecdotes. The documentary was shot in 2009, the year President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was reelected amid mass suspicions of fraud. Protests spread throughout the country and were met with brutal force, particularly in Tehran.

Youth hockey players from across the US have arrived in Russia to take part in a trading program between the two nations and meet up with their idols, Ilya Kovalchuk and Pavel Datsyuk. ­The Russian stars, who are playing in the KHL during the NHL lockout, are busy both on and off the ice.

Americans love football. So do the British. They are, of course, referring to two very different sports. Thanks to sports diplomacy, though, both sides of the Atlantic are starting to pay a little more attention to what the other side of the pond is watching.

When I hear ‘sports diplomacy’ evoked in conversation I often wince, knowing that 99% of the examples do not live up to the standards of the term. Athletes and coaches who work for a team outside of their country for no purpose other than for a love of the game and personal gain do not always qualify.

APDS Blogger: Michael Duffin

When I hear ‘sports diplomacy’ evoked in conversation I often wince, knowing that 99% of the examples do not live up to the standards of the term.

Athletes and coaches who work for a team outside of their country for no purpose other than for a love of the game and personal gain do not always qualify. There is no universal definition of public diplomacy, but from my perspective there must be intention on the part of the actor to influence opinion.

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, in partnership with USA Hockey, announces that a group of American youth ice hockey players will travel as Youth Sports Envoys to Moscow, Russia, October 5 – 14, 2012.

The Iran Job is a documentary, and the job in question is for Kevin Sheppard, a basketball player from the U.S. Virgin Islands, to play point guard for an Iranian basketball team. And as the film follows Kevin through his 2008-2009 season playing for A.S. Shiraz, his experiences reveal a people and culture very different from what politicians and the media would have you believe.