Although the game of soccer is known by many names around the world—football, fútbol, Fußball, voetbal—the sport is a universal language. Throughout the past century, governments have used soccer to further their diplomatic aims through a range of actions including boycotts, carefully orchestrated displays at matches, and more. In turn, soccer organizations have leveraged their power over membership and tournament decisions to play a role in international relations.
In Soccer Diplomacy, an international group of experts analyzes the relationship between soccer and diplomacy. Together, they investigate topics such as the use of soccer as a tool of nation-state–based diplomacy, soccer as a non-state actor, and the relationship between soccer and diplomatic actors in subnational, national, and transnational contexts. They also examine the sport as a conduit for representation, communication, and negotiation.
Drawing on a wealth of historical examples, the contributors demonstrate that governments must frequently address soccer as part of their diplomatic affairs. They argue that this single sport—more than the Olympics, other regional multisport competitions, or even any other sport—reveals much about international relations, how states attempt to influence foreign views, and regional power dynamics.
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1. Introduction
2. Playing on the Same Team: What International and Sport Historians Can Learn from Each Other, by Sarah B. Snyder
3. Creating Football Diplomacy in the French Third Republic, 1914-1939, by Paul Dietschy
4. Football, Diplomacy, and International Relations during Francoism, 1937-1975, by Juan Antonio Simón
5. ‘The Finest Ambassadors’: American-Icelandic Football Exchange, 1955-1956, by George N. Kioussis
6. ‘Because We Have Nothing’: The 1962 World Cup and Cold War Politics in Chile, by Brenda Elsey
7. ‘Football More Important Than Berlin’: East German Football versus NATO, 1960-1964, by Heather L. Dichter
8. Sheilas, Wogs, and Poofters in a War Zone: The ‘Socceroos’ and the 1967 Friendly Nations Tournament in Vietnam, by Erik Nielsen
9. Entrenching Apartheid Football and Failed Sports Diplomacy: Recalcitrance, Reform, and Retreat, 1951-1977, by Chris Bolsmann
10. High Jack: Soccer and Sport Diplomacy in the Caribbean, 1961-2018, by Roy Mc Cree
11. The World Cup Is Ours! The Myth of Brazilianness in Lula’s Diplomatic Rhetoric, 2007-2014, by Euclides de Freitas Couto and Alan Castellano Valente
12. Conclusion: ‘Good Kicking’ Is Not Only ‘Good Politics’ but Also ‘Good Diplomacy’, by Peter J. Beck
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Heather L. Dichter is associate professor of sport management and sport history at De Montfort University and a member of DMU’s International Centre for Sports History and Culture. She is the coeditor of Olympic Reform Ten Years Later.