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SPORTS DIPLOMACY - SportsUnited
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SportsUnited - International Sports Programming Initiative

Throughout history, sports have played an important role in the social, political, and economic lives of peoples and nations. Sports are a shared cultural passion that can bring people together across the divisions of region, race and religion in athletic competition that is a powerful source of national pride and solidarity. Through international sports, we see the proliferation of messages of international understanding, cultural tolerance and mutual respect.

What is SportsUnited? It is an International Sports Programming Initiative designed to work at the grass roots level to aid non-elite youth, ages 7-17, in discovering how success in athletics can be translated into the development of life skills and achievement in the classroom. The Initiative provides the foreign participant an opportunity to establish linkages with U.S. sports professionals and exposure to American life and culture. The experience also provides Americans the opportunity to learn about foreign cultures and the challenges young people from overseas face today.

There are three parts to SportsUnited:

Sports Envoys – Working with the national sports leagues and the US Olympic Committee, athletes and coaches in various sports are chosen to serve as envoys or ambassadors of sport in overseas programs that include conducting clinics, visiting schools and speaking to youth. The American athletes and coaches conduct drills and team building activities, as well as engage the youth in a dialogue on the importance of an education, positive health practices and respect for diversity.

Sports Visitors – Nominated by our US embassies overseas, selected athletes, managers and coaches are brought to the U.S. for technical sports training, sports management, conflict resolution training and exposure to valuable US sports contacts and then are encouraged to return to conduct in-country clinics for youth with their newly learned skills.

How can you get involved? Through part three; our
Sports Grant Competition - ECA has an annual open competition under our International Sports Initiative. Public and private non-profit institutions, 501(c)(3), may submit proposals to discuss approaches designed to enhance and improve the infrastructure of youth sports programs The focus of all programs must be reaching out to non-elite youth ages 7-17. There are four themes that a proposal can address; Youth Sports Management, Training Sports Coaches, Youth with Disability and Sports and Health. The list of eligible countries changes each year. The RFP is posted at http://exchanges.state.gov/education/rfgps/menu.htm

To date the US Department of State has programmed initiatives in: baseball, basketball, football, track and field, soccer, volleyball, wrestling, archery, boxing, swimming, fencing and managing sports community centers.

Countries that have had ECA sports initiatives since 2002.
Near East Asia - Morocco, Iraq, Jordan, Algeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Tunisia, Oman, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Tunisia, Iran
South Central Asia – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Uzbekistan
East Asia Pacific – Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Korea, China, Hong Kong, Thailand
Africa - Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Senegal, Nigeria, Niger, Tanzania, Namibia, Botswana, Uganda, South Africa, Ethiopia
Western Hemisphere – Venezuela, Columbia, Mexico, Bolivia, Jamaica, Panama, Nicaragua, Argentina, Brazil, Dominican Republic
Europe – Kosovo, Spain, Russia, Turkey, Romania, Albania, Germany, Georgia, Lithuania

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