Kuala lumpur: Veteran Malaysian journalist and editor Haresh Deol has joined four global sports diplomacy experts to publish the Routledge Handbook of Sports Diplomacy, the first book to explore the full breadth and depth of the emerging discipline of sports diplomacy.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the co-founder and editor of Kuala Lumpur-based news website Twentytwo13 co-edited the handbook alongside Dr J. Simon Rofe, Dr Lindsay Krasnoff, Dr Thierry Zintz, and Dr Richard Parrish. The five editors also contributed chapters to the publication.

Haresh in a statement described his involvement in the project as an honour, noting that the handbook comprises 32 chapters across 412 pages. 'Simon, Lindsay, Thierry and Richard are huge names in the sports diplomacy realm. To be mentioned alongside them is already an honour,' he said.

He also authored a chapter titled 'Commonwealth Games Losing Glory: The Fallacy of Sports Diplomacy?', which highlights the relevance of the Commonwealth Games from both political and sporting perspectives in the current era.

Rofe, a leading scholar in sports diplomacy, led the team in compiling articles on the subject, with Haresh and the other editors reaching out to academicians and sports diplomacy experts worldwide to contribute their insights after the project began in 2023.

The handbook also examines the role of a growing range of key actors in sports diplomacy, including states, athletes, international organisations, non-governmental organisations, and governing bodies of sport at the national, regional, and international levels.

It also features detailed case studies to provide a deeper understanding of sports diplomacy in practice, including chapters on the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.