Sport and Digital Diplomacy A Vision For The Future

While football, basketball, tennis or Olympic fans are consuming sport on their mobile devices or streaming live content, sport administrators and athletes have to adapt to modern times and communicate using social media channels, posting images from key sporting moments to engage with fans, sponsors and the general public. On the other hand diplomats need to keep an eye on what world leaders are posting on social media as it can have a big impact on their everyday work.

I was fortunate enough to participate in November 2018 in a Sport and Digital Diplomacy colloquium organised by SOAS University of London and the University of Oxford as part of the ‘Sports Diplomacy: A Vision For The Future’. I wish the event could have lasted days and not hours! There were so many interesting conversations around Sport Diplomacy in the Digital Age. I’d like to share with you some key messages and takeaways from athletes, sport administrators, academics, diplomats, and sport practitioners. Also, I would like to suggest who to follow if you are interested on the Sport and Diplomacy topic, good blogs to read and books I would recommend.

MEGA SPORTING EVENTS & WORLD LEADERS

Mega sporting events can be a political tool and sport is increasingly used by politicians and nations for diplomatic purposes. World Leaders attending mega sporting events are a good example of sport diplomacy Ambassadors in action: representation, communication and negotiation.

In Oxford, H.E. Hassan Al Thawadi said sport had the power to positively change people’s lives: “Nothing brings people together and breaks down social barriers like sport”, and football in particular: “People’s passion for sport in particular football transcends linguistic and socio-cultural differences.”

DIGITAL DIPLOMACY & AMBASSADORS

Digital Diplomacy is a crucial component of Sports Diplomacy and therefore needs to be managed. In Al Thawadi’s view, every fan attending a major sporting event is an Ambassador for their country. What those fans post on social media, could be the only experience other fans living hundreds of miles away will have of the event itself. Therefore, Digital Diplomacy plays a big role. According to Al Thawadi, “Social media also allows us to have two-way conversations, which I see as a positive when it comes to shaping the fan experience in 2022.”

ADMIRABLE ATHLETES AND FUTURE

Athletes are often overlooked but have a huge influence in Sport and Diplomacy. “If you want to be admired, you need to be admirable…” and Special Olympics does a great work putting their athletes first. Congratulations Special Olympics!

One topic that needs further research is the “dark side” of Digital. Like fake news is something major sporting event organisers need to manage. I recommend you read “Countering Online Propaganda & Extremism: The Dark Side of DigitalDiplomacy” co-edited by @CBjola and @JPamment.

To summarise, Digital Diplomacy is now an important area within Sport and Diplomacy. It is also a growing area in academic research with Oxford Digital Diplomacy Research Group (#DigDiploROx) at Oxford University leading the way. Major event organisers like H.E. Hassan Al Thawadi from the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy have a clear vision for their event, in his case the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qatar, and believes it can transform the Qatari society. Controlling a message online globally about your sport event could be a challenge; therefore, further research is needed in this area.

If you are a student, athlete, sport administrator, academic or diplomat interested in Sport and Diplomacy, I recommend you read the ‘Sport and Diplomacy: Games within games’ the book edited by Dr. Simon Rofe, at the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy (CISD) at SOAS University of London, a Diplomatic Studies research centre with an specialisation in Sport and Diplomacy.

For more information on this event, I recommend you read Lindsay Sarah Krasnoff’s blog article: www.lindsaysarahkrasnoff.com; the article by the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy: www.sc.qa; or the news on the Gulf Times: www.gulf-times.com. For future related conversations follow: Digital Sports Diplomacy and @soas_cisd.