The most influential moments in global sports diplomacy today rarely happen in stadiums.
They happen when a mayor decides how a city will welcome the world, when an investor chooses which league will scale globally, and when an algorithm determines which athletes and teams millions of people will see in their feeds.
This is what power in sport looks like now: dispersed, networked, and often invisible. Cities, capital, and code are creating new arenas for international engagement—and over the next decade, the U.S. will sit at the center of that transformation. Between 2026 and 2034, North America will host the FIFA World Cup, Military World Games, LA Olympics, FIFA Women’s World Cup, and Salt Lake Winter Games. Behind these iconic events are governors and mayors, private investors, and technology platforms quietly rewriting the rules of modern sports diplomacy.
Cities: Where Diplomacy Takes the Field
Decisions about where the world’s biggest sporting events are held are no longer made solely by international federations or national capitals, but in city halls.
Host cities now negotiate directly with international sports bodies and manage complex relationships with multinational sponsors, broadcasters, and global stakeholders. Sports organizations assess whether a city can move millions, secure public spaces, finance infrastructure, and deliver under scrutiny. A nation may offer political backing, but it is a city’s capacity—and credibility—that ultimately determines whether the world shows up.
As Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas observed at Meridian International Center’s January 2026 Sports Diplomacy Forum, “Sports are one of those largely apolitical opportunities where we can share the brand of our community and our country. You get to show not just the physical experience of a city, but its people, its culture, and its spirit.” That insight captures why cities have become frontline diplomatic actors.
Local leaders preparing for the next wave of global events are using sport to accelerate long-term urban priorities. Los Angeles, for example, has committed to hosting the 2028 Games almost entirely in existing venues. These decisions reflect a broader shift: major sporting events are no longer just spectacles; they are tools for sustainable urban development.
Capital: When Investment Becomes the Competitive Edge
Private capital has opened entirely new channels for international engagement through sport. Institutional investors, private equity firms, and sovereign wealth funds have invested billions in clubs, leagues, media rights, and infrastructure, creating dense networks that span continents. Investment decisions now determine which leagues grow, which athletes gain visibility, and which regions emerge as centers of the global game.
When American firms like Arctos Sports Partners take stakes in European clubs, or sovereign wealth funds invest in leagues and platforms, they create sustained engagement that complements traditional diplomacy and fosters relationships that endure well beyond summits.
American investors bring operational expertise and global brand development, exporting professionalism while respecting local traditions. Over time, these investments create networks of coaches, executives, sponsors, and media partners that bind countries together through shared economic success.
As Jason Wright, Managing Partner and Head of Investments at Project Level, put it at Meridian’s forum: “Women’s sports are like the small caps of investing: the demographics and commercial momentum are there, and if we bring real capital, data, and professional infrastructure to the women’s game, it becomes a 30-year growth story—not a flash in the pan.” That long-term view is precisely what turns capital into a diplomatic asset.
Code: Platforms, Data, and Algorithms Rewrite the Game
One of the most pervasive—and effective—drivers of sports diplomacy today is technology. Streaming platforms and social media have transformed local competitions into global events, fueling soccer’s growth in the U.S., pickleball’s expansion in the Middle East, and the UFC’s surge across Southeast Asia.
Digital platforms are also creating unprecedented cultural exchange. Manchester City, for example, estimates that roughly 99 percent of its supporters live outside the United Kingdom. Fans worldwide follow the same clubs and participate in the same online communities. These transnational networks expose audiences to new cities, cultures, and perspectives—often more effectively than formal diplomacy.
Data and artificial intelligence are further reshaping how athletes train, how leagues operate, and how fans engage. Algorithms now influence which athletes become global figures and which competitions capture attention. This is digital diplomacy at scale—often invisible, but immensely powerful.
Where Influence Now Lives
As FIFA President Gianni Infantino recently put it, soccer “unites countries, it unites the world.” What has changed is not the power of sport to unite, but the mechanisms by which it does so.
The next decade places the U.S. in a singular position. As a host of the world’s largest sporting events, a leading source of investment capital, and a hub for global technology platforms, it sits at the intersection of the three forces shaping modern sports diplomacy. The world will be watching how American cities manage complexity, how American markets deploy capital, and how American platforms connect global audiences.
That is where influence now lives—and where American leadership will be measured.
[Representational image, by Mario Klassen marioklassen, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons]
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.
Deborah Lehr is currently serving as Interim Chief Executive Officer of Meridian and is the Chief Executive Officer of Basilinna. She has worked across Asia, the United States, the Middle East, and Europe, with a focus on business advisory, sustainability, finance, and culture. After her firm was acquired, Deborah launched a new public affairs firm for the global PR firm, Edelman, where she doubled both the revenues and staff in three years. Basilinna relaunched in 2023. She also serves as the Executive Director of the Paulson Institute, created by former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson. In addition, Deborah is the founder and Chairman of the Antiquities Coalition, which fights against the illicit trade in antiquities.
Earlier in her career, Deborah worked on Wall Street at the New York Stock Exchange and Merrill Lynch, as well serving in the U.S. Government as a Director at the National Security Council and a Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative. Her dedicated efforts in fighting the illicit trade in antiquities have earned her global recognition. Deborah is on the Board of Meridian, the National Geographic, the World Monuments Fund, the Middle East Institute, and the International Advisory Boards of Sesame Workshop and Aliph. She is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
