The Sports Envoys pose with a participant from India. The U.S. Department of State’s sports diplomacy programs strive to build mutual understanding and engage youth around the world. Recently, the first ever baseball-softball envoy program in India was conducted. Teaming up with Major League Baseball Hall-of-Famer Barry Larkin and Olympian Natasha Watley, the program ran from February 12 to 18.

Larkin and Watley traveled to New Delhi and Imphal to lead baseball and softball clinics for underserved youth and their coaches. In those cities, more than 400 young people were reached— 200 at Imphal’s Khuman Lampak Sports Complex and 240 boys and girls at Jesus and Mary College and Mayteri College in New Delhi.

“These landmark envoys are the building blocks of mutual understanding,” says Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Assistant Secretary Ann Stock. “Sports help develop the academic, social, and leadership skills young people need in today’s world. And on a grander scale, sports diplomacy is working to foster international cooperation one game at a time.”

Since 2003, ECA’s sports diplomacy division, SportsUnited, has brought over 1,000 athletes from 65 countries to the U.S. to participate in Sport Visitor programs. SportsUnited has also sent approximately 250 U.S. athletes to almost 60 countries since 2005.