Episode 3: Sports Diplomacy with Simon Rofe

In our third  episode, we speak to Dr Simon Rofe, a university lecturer who pioneered the field of sport diplomacy and teaches its only existing course at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in the United Kingdom. Simon talks about the role that athletes and sports fans play in representing their countries and how sporting events can be used as a platform for communities and leaders to come together at the same time and space when regular political channels may be fractured. We hear about cricket diplomacy between India and Pakistan; projects addressing communicable diseases in sub-Saharan Africa and how sports played into Qatar’s National Vision 2030 Vision.

*Disclaimer: the episode was recorded before the start of 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup and refers to it in the future.

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