Australia should put more money into football diplomacy

 　　CANBERRA, March 8 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government should put more money into football diplomacy¹ as Australia prepares for the 2015 Asian Cup and use the Asian Cup to strengthen Australia's ties with Asia, an Australian think tank said in a latest report on Friday.

　　In 2015 Australia will host the Asian Football Confederation's Asian Cup, bringing together the top 16 national teams in Asia. It is expected to attract 45,000 visitors and has a potential television reach of 2.5 billion viewers. The tournament will provide opportunities for government, business and community groups to strengthen their engagement with Asia.

　　In its report, Football Diplomacy Redux, the Lowy Institute for International Policy outlines key stakeholders should form a Football Asia Council to pool scarce resources and to provide support for networking opportunities.

　　According to the report, the Council should oversee³ the creation of a digital hub as a one-stop shop for information about both the Asian Cup and the various football diplomacy networking opportunities around it, along with an associated social media platform.

　　The report also urged the government and the Football Federation² of Australia should provide targeted support to those groups already planning football diplomacy activities around the Asian Cup.

　　In the report, the institute recommends that the federal government allocates⁴ additional resources to Austrade for it to manage business networking events.

　　"The Asian Cup will present a significant opportunity for Australia to promote its image and national branding, as well as its goods and services, and strengthen networks in the region," the report said.

　　Football diplomacy was referred to in both a 2007 parliamentary inquiry⁵ on Australia's public diplomacy and the federal government 's Australia in the Asian Century White Paper.

　　It involves the use of common interest in football to create networks. The networks can be used for diplomacy, forming political and business connections, and promoting products and tourism.

1 diplomacy   

n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕

参考例句：

• The talks have now gone into a stage of quiet diplomacy.会谈现在已经进入了“温和外交”阶段。
• This was done through the skill in diplomacy. 这是通过外交手腕才做到的。

2 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

3 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

4 allocates   

分配，分派( allocate的第三人称单数 )； 把…拨给

参考例句：

• The state allocates huge funds for the development of aid-agriculture industries. 国家拨出大批资金，发展支农工业。
• The value that then I create value allocates part to discuss. 于是我把价值创造的价值分配分别开来论述。

5 inquiry   

n.打听，询问，调查，查问

参考例句：

• Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
• The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。