STEAR Roundtable: A Conversation about the Qatar World Cup 2022 and Sports Diplomacy

One of STEAR’s pillars is to strengthen mutual understanding between Asia and Europe through our events. The STEAR Dialogue is our event series format which invites high level speakers under the broad umbrella of international relations across Eurasia to engage with our youth audience in an interactive format.

This event will focus on diverse themes including sports diplomacy, the place of politics in sports, and the socio-political factors surrounding the Qatar World Cup. It will be a chance for participants to flex their communication skills and skills of persuasion.

This event will also be an opportunity for our audience to get to know academics and experts in this field on a deeper level by asking them.

We have two speakers:

Marco Sansoni is the Founder & President of the XID GROUP and former Spectators Service Manager at FIFA. A thought leader in fan-centric and guest-centric engagement, Marco has global experience within complex sport environments, from Local Organising Committees to international federations and sport marketing agencies. He has lead successful projects in five Continents in the last two decades, including five FIFA World Cups, four Olympic & Paralympic Games, Asian and Pan-American Games, among others. His insights on politics in sports and the events of Qatar22 from a business and professional standpoint will be fascinating.

Maximilian Seltmann is a research associate at the Institute of European Sport Development and Leisure Studies in Cologne, and a programme coordinator on the Institutes MA on International Sport Development and Politics. He aims to research the world of sports from a political perspective to design solutions for the future. He will give us an invaluable academic perspective on sports diplomacy and Qatar22.

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