Then the question is going to come up, people said this is sport and not politics, but everyone knows the sport is part of any public diplomacy program that any country takes these days, especially like the Olympics - the UK is going to benefit from the Olympics to promote the culture, the politics, what have you.

The Empowering Women and Girls Through Sports Initiative builds on Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s vision of “smart power,” which embraces the use of a full range of diplomatic tools – in this case, the game of soccer – to bring people together and foster understanding.

President Ma Ying-jeou returns to Taiwan today after concluding his first Africa visit to three diplomatic allies, where he downgraded his state visits

Evan Lysacek, the 2010 Olympic gold medalist in men’s figure skating was recently named as a sports envoy for the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs department. He just concluded a whirlwind visit to Stockholm, Sweden, and Minsk, Belarus.

President Ma Ying-jeou has successfully added a new dimension to his state visit to African allies with “sport diplomacy” that will further cement bilateral relationships..While in The Gambia, President Ma faced down another sports challenge...leading Taiwan past The Gambia 4-3 in a soccer penalty kick shootout at a local junior high school built with financial aid from Taiwan.

Secretary Clinton also had a chance to hold a series of bilateral meetings with her counterparts, including Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird. During their meeting, Secretary Clinton and Foreign Minister Baird underscored that they share a lot in common -- except for whom they are supporting in the upcoming NHL playoffs.

Forty years ago this month, Maryland began its engagement with China by becoming the site of an iconic exchange in sports diplomacy, a groundbreaking ping-pong match between China and the U.S...The University of Maryland's role in the celebrated milestone of "ping pong diplomacy" signaled the state's early emergence as a pioneer in the promotion of burgeoning U.S.-China ties.

Shared identity is unsustainable without incorporating culture and sports under the European umbrella, and football might prove to be one of the highest hurdles to jump on the road to Europeanization.