SOAS Research Online

Abstract

The article’s aim is to illustrate the intersection of Sport Diplomacy and Sport for Development approaches. The value of exploring this relationship is to realise the potential contribution of sport diplomacy to the practitioners and policy makers within the sportscape, including those addressing Sport for Development SfD, in providing the skills and tools to critically reflect on their own practices and more effectively operate in the diplomatic realm. Sport diplomacy provides a set of navigation skills to enhance practitioner’s abilities to operate across the sportscape. The practice of sport diplomacy aggregates different stakeholders and their non-aligned goals into contextually defined and aligned purposes. It recognises simultaneous relationships across several realms, and provides a principal explanatory tool for previously unrealized discourses across a network of networks. The article’s analysis demonstrates the coexistence of complimentary and conflictual interests and practices: challenges arise, as well as opportunities for future alignments and complimentary practices.