Last Friday the Lowy Institute released a new Policy Brief from Research Director Anthony Bubalo which urges the Australian Government, business and community groups to use Australia's hosting of the Asian Cup in 2015 to strengthen Australia's broader engagement with Asia. In this video, Anthony discusses the themes of his paper:
[vimeo:61495220]
The concept of 'football diplomacy' was first analysed by Anthony in his 2005 Policy Brief and was the subject of a November 2012 conference. Football diplomacy has gained greater currency within the Australian Government, but according to Anthony, examples of it remain scant and 'episodic' (1:38). To realise the opportunities of Australia hosting the 2015 Asian Cup, Anthony calls for a relaunch of football diplomacy, recommending:
- A Football Asia Council be formed to coordinate various stakeholders to build a program of football diplomacy activities around the Asian Cup (2:33).
- The development of a one-stop digital and social media platform to support networking and engagement activities (2:49).
- Targeted support from Government and the Football Federation for football diplomacy activities, including through Australia's diplomatic and trade network in Asia (3:22).