For more than a month, visitors from countries like Iraq, Cape Verde, Morocco and Scotland helped turn downtown into a melting pot of soccer fandom. Social media posts revealed the experience changed people’s views of the U.S. as politically divided or unsafe.
Sarah Sibley, president of the nonprofit WorldBoston, said people found connection through sport.
"I think it really helped people all around the world but also locally really see what those connections are building and how hopefully those are building long-term international relationships," Sibley observed.
Sibley called it citizen diplomacy and it works to complement the more formal work taking place. Sibley added that whether volunteering at an event or just offering directions, the people of Boston were representing the United States.
Scottish soccer fans, also known as the Tartan Army, engaged in their own form of diplomacy. In addition to filling the streets of Boston with the sound of bagpipes and drinking bars dry of beer, the club donated $15,000 to Massachusetts Child, a charity providing essential items for public school students. And locals gave a passionate welcome to team Haiti.
Joe Haynes, CEO of WorldBoston, recalled a party-like public viewing of the England-Ghana game in the rain. Haynes said the events helped further Boston's position in the sports diplomacy space.
"This was just so overwhelmingly opposing teams with their arms around each other watching the game. Everybody obviously cares about the score but at the end of the day, it was about the people that were next to you," Haynes emphasized.
Haynes noted other cultural institutions like the Boston Red Sox are also doing their part for sports diplomacy. July 21 is the annual Mexican Celebration at Fenway Park, one of more than a dozen cultural events during the season. Haynes called it another great opportunity to put politics and partisanship aside.
