As 2019 races across the finish line more quickly than a Ford at Le Mans, its clear that sports diplomacy—recognition of what it is, the various ways that it is being used, how it is changing the sports world, and some of its caveats—is ever-more present. This is true in my own work as a scholar-practitioner, as well as how athletes, teams, and countries tell their stories or how the sports business world is impacted by sports diplomacy, for better or worse. Here’s the top ten events and stories in which sports diplomacy threaded its way through my 2019—plus one honorable mention :)
