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October 14, 2022
The NFL and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) have announced plans to create new opportunities through sports diplomacy. The plans range from players and coaches engaging youth abroad to teams mentoring emerging women in sport.
Sports diplomacy is used to “bring people, nations, and communities closer together via a shared love of physical pursuits.” The State Department’s Sports Diplomacy Division — housed in the ECA — was established after 9/11 and has since expanded to include all regions, thousands of participants and the full spectrum of sports.
“We believe that if we can sweat it out together on the field or court, then we can see eye-to-eye with one another. When leveraged thoughtfully and strategically, we know that sports can be a platform to champion foreign policy priorities—inclusion, youth empowerment, gender equality, health & wellness, conflict resolution and entrepreneurism,” states the Division’s website.
For the first installment of this new partnership, the NFL and the Green Bay Packers will take part in the espnW Global Sports Mentoring Program (GSMP), the Department’s premier exchange for women in sport. espnW GSMP launched in 2012 on the 40th anniversary of the historic Title IX legislation. Since then, female sports leaders across the world have graduated from the program and returned home to launch NGOs, affect public policy and legislation and transform communities by providing access and opportunity to girls. By 2013, the success of espnW GSMP became so renowned that the Public Diplomacy Council named it one of the top ten diplomatic achievements in the world.
The NFL and Green Bay will serve as a first-time mentor organization for Morocco’s Fouzia Madhouni. Madhouni is the first female professional African player of American football and the Founder of We Can Morocco. Her organization empowers women and girls through leadership courses and football while also engaging with men to discuss the role they play in advancing gender equality.
Madhouni’s efforts to advance American football in Morocco as a rising female coach were recognized by the NFL a year after she founded her organization in 2021. “I am doing this for three people, my mom, the girls in the academy and the younger version of me,” Madhouni said in an interview with NFL 360. “I am going to make that girl proud.”
She will work with representatives from the three partners to create an action plan to implement in Morocco to empower women and girls through sports. Madhouni will be mentored by Taryn Hutt, Vice President of Club Marketing at the NFL, Nicole Ledvina, Vice President of Human Resources at the Green Bay Packers and Chris Cohorst, Human Resources Manager at the Green Bay Packers.
Another element of the partnership will see NFL players and coaches participate in the State Department’s Sports Envoy Program starting in early 2023. The program sends US athletes, coaches and administrators abroad to engage youth and underrepresented communities on the field and in society on values such as democracy, diversity, inclusion and civic engagement. The effort will be held in coordination with the NFL and global US embassies and consulates.
The NFL joins numerous other professional and amateur sports leagues and organizations in supporting the United States’ sports diplomacy efforts, including MLS, MLB, NASCAR, NBA, WNBA, NHL, NWSL, Special Olympics, WTA and many more.
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