ABSTRACT
This chapter surveys connections between sport and diplomacy – regional and international – in the modern Middle East, with a focus on the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It examines various areas in which sport and diplomacy have intersected, focusing on diplomatic relationships between states within the Middle East as well as between Middle Eastern states and states around the world. It looks at regional or lower-level sport events and their connections to the global ‘mega-events’ – the World Cup and the Olympic Games. It highlights successful sport engagements as well as the challenges that states and non-state actors face when engaging in sport as public diplomacy. The chapter also suggests that states outside the European and American power centres, including those in the Middle East, face greater challenges and the possibility that sport engagement may not lead to diplomatic achievements or successful nation- branding.
