Sport power: How does the USA use sport as a geopolitical weapon

“In my first term, I negotiated the return of the World Cup to America. And now, in my second term, I’ll have the honour to host the tournament”, declared Donald Trump in a recent social media post on the White House account. In addition to the FIFA World Cup in Summer 2026, the United States will also host the FIFA Club World Cup this summer, and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. 

These events are examples of the powerful American “sport power”, a form of soft power, defined by Joseph Nye as “the ability to obtain preferred outcomes by attraction rather than coercion or payment”. As we all know, Sport can be a very strong asset of influence, which has been well understood by the United States already. 

“Leagues of Legends”  

In the U.S., sport is an institution where many leagues represent a major source of revenue for the American economy. As an example, in 2023, the National Football League (NFL) generated more than 20 billion dollars. The final game of the Football season, the Super Bowl, is the most-watched sports event in the USA, with more than 100 million viewers in 2025. Take a look at one of Sarah's older articles for more info!

In addition to that, other leagues are developing fast as well. The MLS, the soccer league, is becoming more and more attractive. In recent years, clubs such as Inter Miami or Los Angeles FC recruited world-renowned players like Lionel Messi, or the French players Olivier Giroud, and Hugo Lloris (world champions in 2018). 

The NBA is another example of American soft power in sports. The brand generated more than $10 billion in the U.S. and abroad. Indeed, games are broadcasted around the world, and merch products can be found in every sports store on the planet. Prestigious teams (Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs, Detroit Pistons) even came to play a few games in Paris, as part of the NBA Paris Game. This partnership with the French capital has been promoting basketball abroad for several years now, and the games draw huge crowds!

More than an economic asset, sport is also a powerful cultural element in the U.S.. As I just explained, many people are watching games in the country. However, national top leagues are not the only events that attract attention. The National College Athletic Association (NCAA) is the organization that rules the different sports leagues. With more than 1,100 schools and 500,000 students participating in 24 sports leagues, these students' sports events are extremely popular in the U.S. The NCAA made over $1 billion in revenue in 2023, mostly from TV rights covering the March Madness (an annual basketball tournament). 

Lastly, the U.S. uses sport as an element of international success. In the history of the Olympic Games, the United States has been the most rewarded nation: over 2,760 medals in the summer Olympics! Some well-known athletes serve the American soft power: Michael Phelps (23 medals in swimming competitions), Simone Biles, and Lebron James. These athletes serve as global icons to spread American culture. But what is the role of this sport diplomacy? 

Game changers 

We all know that, during the Cold War, the USSR and the U.S. expressed their rivalry through sports. The Olympics were the moment when clashes came to light, and when both superpowers showed their influence. Examples of these occurred in the competition for medals during competitions in the 1950s and 1960s. Lukas Aubin, a French specialist in sport geopolitics, explained in his book ‘La Guerre du Sport’ (The War of Sport) that “sport was the favored place for cultural and influence fights.” This was materialized by the Soviet boycott of the Montreal (1976) and Los Angeles (1984) Olympics, when the Americans boycotted the 1980 edition in Moscow. Still, when they fought on sports fields, it was an element of propaganda for both sides. For U.S. President Gerald Ford, a “sport success could be as strong as a military success for a nation.” This was the expression of major tensions between the two countries and how sport could become an asset in geopolitics and a major tool of soft power. 

In the 21st century, this rivalry is less raging with Russia, but it is replaced by the China-U.S. clash. For Lukas Aubin, China is using the same mindset as the USSR to show its power and influence to the U.S., and has become a serious rival to the American sportive hegemony. Both are fighting for the first place in the Olympic medals table, and are committed to showing their successes to the world. The French specialist even reflects on the emergence of a “sports war”, seeing the efforts employed by China to develop future competitors. Gymnastics has become a field of competition, and China opened schools to train children to become champions, receiving a lot of criticism for the pressure that was put on students’ shoulders. All of this is to show that the rivalry between the dragon and the eagle has just started… 

Today, some countries also want to have more global influence, and they often use sport as an element of power. Indeed,  as part of his Saudi 2030 vision plan, Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman is very ambitious and wants to make Saudi Arabia a major sports power. The country will organize the Football World Cup in 2034, where Qatar already hosted it in 2022. Also, Saudi Arabia organized an F1 Grand Prix in Jeddah and recruited football stars (Ronaldo, Benzema) to make its football league a direct rival to the American MLS. This is a direct challenge to the American sports power and illustrates a geopolitical trend of the emergence of “Global South” countries to challenge the Western powers.

“Make Football Great Again”

“America will welcome the world”. These words are not those of President Trump but Gianni Infantino’s, the head of FIFA. In the last weeks, both men appeared close to each other and seem to have developed a friendship. The president of the sports institution was even present for Trump’s inauguration in January. This shows even more how Trump uses football as a leverage element in the U.S.’s international relations. 

Like his predecessors, Trump understood the power of organizing a sports event. An article from the Guardian even stated that this World Cup will be remembered as the ‘Donald Trump World Cup’, and that “this World Cup will be leveraged for the glorification of a leader to a degree not seen since Benito Mussolini dominated the 1934 World Cup in Italy”. 

Regarding international soft power, the 2026 World Cup is co-organized with Canada and Mexico, and it is in Trump’s interest to appear as a unity-maker for the continent, to show the attractiveness of the United States, and the capacity to receive hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world. Amidst polemics on visa accreditations and border restrictions, the Trump Administration (and the White House's ‘FIFA Task Force’) wants to show openness and give a positive image of the U.S.. This is the real strength for the World Cup: to appear united and send a good image to the world. In sum, it will be the opportunity to show America’s power, and for Trump to (once more) make the show.