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Southwestern University

Hamilton embarks on State Department trip to Malaysia

Hamilton embarks on State Department trip to Malaysia
Posted: Mar 06, 2015

New head women's soccer coach Linda Hamilton will be embarking on another new journey, serving as a member of the U.S. Sports Soccer Envoy for the State Department to Malaysia March 7-14.

Hamilton will be joined by retired pro soccer player Tony Sanneh. Sanneh last played for the Western Conference Champions Los Angeles Galaxy in 2009. During the trip, the duo will be hosting numerous clinics with participants for a variety of schools in the area.

The SportsUnited division of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) uses sports-based programs to promote mutual understanding, transcending cultural hurdles to advance U.S. foreign policy.  In the wake of September 11, the State Department observed that a major segment of the world's population, specifically non-elites, were left out of its existing people-to-people programs. It was at this moment in time that ECA identified sports diplomacy as a potential groundbreaking driver in U.S. outreach.  While initially established in 2002 as an effort to better connect with young Muslims in the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia, SportsUnited has since expanded to include programs for underserved youth and their influencers in every region of the world.

 Since its founding, SportsUnited has spearheaded programs for thousands of participants from over 100 countries in a range of sports, including popular ones like basketball, soccer and baseball and less-widely-practiced ones like wrestling, snowboarding, martial arts, and disability sports. SportsUnited's initiatives promote fitness and fun and enhance participants' leadership, teamwork and drive for success. The sports taking place under SportsUnited's rubric lead to cultural exchanges and give foreign and American participants insights about each other and communicating effectively. In essence, they are people-to-people exchanges without the need of a common language.   

Since 2003, SportsUnited has worked with partners representing professional sports leagues, national governing bodies of sport, and the U.S. Olympic Committee to recruit world-class athletes and coaches as Sports Envoys in programs requested and designed by U.S. Embassies and Consulates. Working in regions or with audiences who are traditionally difficult to reach, the American athletes and coaches conduct drills, participate in community outreach activities, and engage youth in a dialogue on leadership, respect for diversity, and the values of fair play.