NEW YORK — Diplomats, sports officials and researchers have intensified efforts to use the 2026 FIFA World Cup as a platform for international dialogue, even as researchers and rights advocates flagged persistent political tensions surrounding the tournament, according to organizations tracking the event.
The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) convened the World Cup Diplomacy Summit 2026 at United Nations headquarters in New York on June 4-5, bringing together senior policymakers, diplomats, sports stakeholders, private sector leaders, academics and experts to explore the role of sport as a catalyst for diplomacy, sustainable development and international cooperation ahead of the tournament. The gathering produced the groundwork for a forthcoming Sport Diplomacy White Paper, according to UNITAR and participating organizations including Peace and Sport and the International Boxing Association.
Peace and Sport, a Monaco-based nongovernmental organization, said its representatives contributed to the White Paper by focusing on grassroots sport diplomacy and community resilience. Didier Drogba, the organization's vice president, told the summit that peace is not simply the absence of war, and that it is instead created through dialogue, respect, coexistence and human connection, adding that sport has a unique ability to help build that culture of peace.
The International Boxing Association also took part, with its director of international relations, Alisa Shcherbachenya, joining a panel on grassroots participation and pathways for future athletes and leaders, the organization said.
Separately, researchers at the Center for Strategic and International Studies said this year's 48-nation field includes four pairs of countries with active political or territorial disputes — Iran versus the United States, Iran versus Saudi Arabia, Iran versus Qatar, and Morocco versus Algeria — the highest raw number of such matchups in World Cup history, though the group noted the proportion of adversarial pairings has held roughly flat at about 0.3 percent of all possible matchups since 1930.
At a December event hosted by the Atlantic Council, White House World Cup Task Force executive director Andrew Giuliani said the co-hosting arrangement among the United States, Mexico and Canada showed that three countries with different politics, beliefs and ideas were able to band together. CONCACAF president Victor Montagliani said football remains one of the most reliable, neutral spaces, where nations that may disagree politically still meet on the pitch.
Not all assessments have been positive. A TRT World Research Centre analysis alleged that Iran's national team faced restrictions on lodging within U.S. borders during the tournament, requiring the squad to commute from Mexico for matches — a claim TRT attributed to its own reporting that has not been independently corroborated by other outlets reviewed for this report.
UNITAR said the completed White Paper on sport diplomacy is expected to be released following further consultation with summit participants.
