Product details
- ISBN 9781041347408
- Dimensions: 156 x 234mm
- Publication Date: 02 Nov 2026
- Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
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Sports Diplomacy examines how nations and sporting actors—large and small—use medals, mega-events, elite athletes, global leagues, corporations, and even fans to influence international perceptions and advance strategic interests.
Introducing core concepts, issues and debates in the emerging discipline of sports diplomacy, the book moves beyond state-centric models of soft power to define sports diplomacy as a multi-actor and multi-level phenomenon, shaped by governments, international organisations, athletes, corporations, civil society, and grassroots communities. Drawing on a wide range of contemporary and historical case studies, the book explores sports diplomacy among major global powers such as the United States, China, and Russia; leading European states including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain; resource-rich Gulf states; and small states seeking global visibility. It also examines distinctive regional modalities, including South America’s football-driven diplomacy, Africa’s accelerating global repositioning through sport, and emerging arenas such as digital diplomacy, eSports, sustainability, and grassroots fan engagement.
Conceptually rigorous, empirically grounded, and with useful features in every chapter to assist teaching and learning, Sports Diplomacy is an essential textbook for any course on sports diplomacy or international relations and sport, as well as a useful reference for diplomats, policymakers, sport executives, and practitioners seeking to understand the power of sport in global affairs.
Simon Chadwick is a researcher, writer, academic, consultant, advisor, and speaker, whose work focuses on leading and managing in complex environments. His areas of expertise are in policy and strategy, international and global markets, as well as business and marketing. Chadwick has three decades of experience working in the global sport, event, and cultural industries, particularly in an Afro-Eurasian setting. He is a Professor of AfroEurasian Sport and advises several clients from across the world of sport. Simon has taught at several of the world’s most prestigious business schools, including Emlyon in France, IESE in Spain, Otto Beisheim in Germany, Tsinghua in China, COPPEAD in Brazil, Waseda in Japan, and UM6P in Morocco.
Ivan Tomić is a sports diplomacy researcher and lecturer at University North, Croatia, the University of Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Alma Mater Europaea University in Maribor, Slovenia. He teaches courses in Sports Diplomacy, Media Relations in Sport, and Sports Management, and contributes to the Croatian Football Federation’s UEFA Pro Licence programme, specialising in strategic communication for elite coaches. Previously, Tomić served as Strategic Communications Adviser to GNK Dinamo Zagreb, where he developed the club’s first comprehensive communication strategy. He advises numerous athletes, sports organisations, and professional coaches on development strategies, branding, and strategic communication. His research focuses on soft power, nation branding, the geopolitics of sport, and the international image of small states.
