Diplomats in Tracksuits 

How do the likes of Roger Federer, Laurence Fischer, or Craig Foster harness their skill, name, and love of sport to create a real impact in communities all around the world? How do they take their desire to make a difference and translate that into real world impact?  

Sports Diplomacy is the key to becoming an ambassador for progress across a wide range of economic, social, and human rights causes. It is a term that marries sporting idealism to real, positive outcomes, projects and people all over the world. It is a mantra to describe the games all athletes must play off the pitch in the turbulent twenty-first century. Sports diplomats are a new breed of educated, conscientious, and driven sports people; an emerging team of global sports emissaries, advocates and champions.  

Whether you are taking control of your own brand, representing social and political movements on and off the field of play, or seeking a career in international affairs once your career finishes, Sports Diplomacy is vital. It is a new method that helps extraordinary sports people learn new skills, upscale projects, or form sustainable partnerships with like-minded people in government, universities, or business all over the world. .  

How to change the world through sport 

The only things separating a diplomat from an international sportsperson are the clothes they wear, the fields they play on, and the length of their career.  

Both perform in exotic locales, with each contest involving rules, tactics, and plays. The media and spectators watch the drama unfold and pick over the result long after time is up. Both diplomats and athletes represent their country, are patriotic, and — in both vocations — winning and success are rewarded with the chance to compete against the best in the world. To serve your state is considered an honour and both will give everything to win for their country.  

Yet why is it that so many sportspeople, despite their skillset and drive to succeed, fail to make a social, political, or diplomatic impact during and after their career? Only a few sportspeople successfully make the transition from sport to business, politics or media. Fewer still become a fully fledged sports diplomat or an ambassador for their sport, cause, or community.  

Becoming a Diplomat in a Tracksuit is easier said than done. If you intend to change the world, where do you start? How can sport be effectively employed to amplify your message? And how might your off-the-field activities be restricted by regulatory, social, and political structures?  

Not only did Sports Diplomacy Alliance coin the term ‘Diplomat in a Tracksuit’, our team also comes from sporting backgrounds. That means we always put the needs, best wishes and objectives of the athlete first.  

We understand the incredible story of how the Côte d’Ivoire football team stopped a civil war in 2005. We know how female footballers are changing the gender landscape through football. And, we know how to turn you from a champion sports person into an authentic, heroic Sports Diplomat.  

The aim of the Sports Diplomacy game is simple:  to deliver meaningful projects that create impact.