Public Diplomacy Council of America Recognizes Atlanta and Boston for Sports Diplomacy
For Release: September 24, 2026Contact: Media@PublicDiplomacy.org
By Domenick DiPasquale
The Public Diplomacy Council of America (PDCA) has chosen FIFA host cities Atlanta and Boston as recipients of its special Sports Diplomacy Award in recognition of those cities’ outstanding efforts to use the 2026 FIFA World Cup competition as an opportunity to help foreign audiences understand some of the unique elements in America's society and culture.
“We received several good nominations for the award, but Atlanta and Boston stood out because they addressed the award criteria, documented the cities’ efforts with tangible metrics, and pointed to the benefits of using sports as a way to expand understanding of the United States with foreign audiences,” said Ambassador Earl Anthony Wayne, who co-chairs PDCA’s Awards Committee.
Building on its legacy as host of the 1996 Summer Olympics, Atlanta mobilized its residents, small businesses, public safety agencies, and transit infrastructure to extend an authentic southern welcome to global visitors. The city’s all-encompassing effort included facilitative and language assistance to fans arriving at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, 2,000 volunteers donating 55,000 hours of service, and a centralized site to bring together under one roof the foreign consulates in Atlanta.
The results of Atlanta’s approach to use the World Cup as a major public diplomacy effort are clearly visible beyond the excellent publicity and economic benefits the city received from engaging with international delegations from 45 nations, as well as hosting trade and economic summits with Morocco, Spain, and Cape Verde. Atlanta systematically transformed match-day schedules into platforms for lasting international trade, diplomatic partnerships, and cultural exchanges. Ultimately, these efforts tie back to a legacy of authentic hospitality, mutual friendship, and global connections built to endure far beyond the 2026 tournament.
In Boston, a coordinated municipal, civic, and citizen-diplomacy effort sent tens of thousands of foreign visitors home with a materially different picture of America, one that has already been converted into signed international agreements. The city’s approach was guided by its Sports Diplomacy Playbook, believed to be the first dedicated city-level sports diplomacy framework in North America, and which guided the City's approach through the tournament and provides a framework through 2030.
The clearest evidence of the positive impact created by the city’s warm welcome to international visitors came from those visitors themselves in their own national media. Scotland’s legendary Tartan Army, for example, took out a full page in the Scottish newspaper The Herald to thank Boston for welcoming them “with open arms, open bars and open minds.” Such goodwill has translated into tangible action, such as Boston and Glasgow signing a letter of intent to become sister cities.
Boston and Atlanta did more than host the world for the duration of a tournament; they showed how sports diplomacy turns shared experience into trust, goodwill, and durable civic, cultural, economic, and diplomatic partnerships. The World Cup provided the stage; the relationships it created are built to outlast it.
PDCA is a nonprofit association of practitioners and scholars that promotes excellence in the professional practice, academic study, and advocacy for public diplomacy. It has adopted a values statement that outlines its vision of U.S. Government public diplomacy.
Domenick DiPasquale was a 27-year Foreign Service officer with USIA and later the State Department, specializing in Eastern Europe and Latin America. Growing up in the Bronx three miles from Yankee Stadium, he is of course a lifelong fan of the Bronx Bombers. He is Member News Editor of the Public Diplomacy Council of AmericaPDCA is a nonprofit association of practitioners and scholars that promotes excellence in the professional practice, academic study, and advocacy for public diplomacy. It has adopted a values statement that outlines its vision of U.S. Government public diplomacy.
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