By: Dionísio Babo Soares
Sport has long been recognized as a powerful instrument for transcending political and cultural boundaries, fostering diplomacy, promoting national pride, and facilitating intercultural exchange. The Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) Games, particularly the 2025 event hosted in Timor-Leste, serve as a compelling case study of this dynamic.
Established in 2006, the CPLP Games bring together Portuguese-speaking nations to celebrate their shared linguistic and cultural heritage through sport, creating a platform that strengthens diplomatic ties and collective identity across diverse geopolitical contexts. For Timor-Leste, a nation that achieved independence in 2002 following centuries of Portuguese colonization and Indonesian occupation, hosting the 2025 Games represents a pivotal moment. It underscores the country’s emergence as a confident participant in international affairs and its dedication to the CPLP’s mission of fostering cooperation among Lusophone states.
In this paper, the author explores the multifaceted role of the CPLP Games in Timor-Leste, drawing on the theoretical frameworks of soft power, public diplomacy, and nation branding to assess their impact on the nation’s integration into the Lusophone community and its broader positioning within the global arena.
The concept of soft power, introduced by Joseph Nye as a nation’s ability to shape preferences through attraction rather than coercion, provides a foundational lens for understanding the diplomatic potential of the 2025 CPLP Games. Recent scholarship by Lee and Kim (2023) enriches this framework by examining how digital diplomacy and virtual sports events during the COVID-19 pandemic transformed soft power strategies. They argue that nations adapted to global disruptions by using online platforms to sustain cultural influence, which resonates with the CPLP Games’ emphasis on shared heritage in an increasingly interconnected world.
For Timor-Leste, hosting the Games offers a chance to project an image of resilience, cultural vibrancy, and national pride, aligning with Nye’s theory. By showcasing its ability to unite athletes and spectators from countries such as Brazil, Portugal, Angola, Moçambique, São Tomé e Príncipe, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea Equatorial, and Timor-Leste, it reinforces a collective Lusophone identity rooted in linguistic and historical ties. This is particularly significant for a young nation seeking to redefine its global image beyond its post-conflict narrative. The Games enable Timor-Leste to highlight its recovery and stability, countering perceptions of fragility often associated with its turbulent history. Moreover, the event’s focus on cultural exchange through opening ceremonies, traditional performances, and sporting competitions amplifies its soft power by appealing to regional and international audiences.
Drawing on Lee and Kim’s insights, Timor-Leste could further enhance this effect by incorporating digital broadcasts or virtual engagement initiatives. This would ensure the Games reach a global audience and cement their role as a cultural hub within the CPLP.
Building on the soft power framework, public diplomacy offers another critical perspective for analyzing the CPLP Games’ significance. Defined as a nation’s efforts to engage foreign publics to support foreign policy objectives, public diplomacy finds a potent vehicle in sports diplomacy. This subset leverages athletes, events, and shared experiences to build dialogue and cultivate favorable impressions across borders. Zhang and Park (2024) emphasize the rising influence of athlete influencers in this domain, noting how their ability to connect with diverse audiences transcends political divides. In the context of the 2025 Games, athletes from CPLP nations serve as cultural ambassadors, embodying the values of unity and mutual respect that underpin the organization’s ethos. For Timor-Leste, the Games provide a platform to deepen diplomatic relations with member states like Brazil and Portugal, whose economic and political influence within the CPLP can support Timor-Leste’s broader aspirations, such as pursuing ASEAN membership. The event fosters people-to-people connections, whether through athletes competing in football matches, officials negotiating logistical cooperation, or spectators sharing cultural experiences, that extend beyond the Games themselves. These interactions align with Murray and Pigman’s (2014) characterization of sports diplomacy as a “low-cost, high-impact” strategy for small states, offering Timor-Leste an efficient means to expand its diplomatic reach. Additionally, the Games engage younger generations, a demographic the United Nations identifies as key to driving cultural and social change. Timor-Leste could amplify this effect by hosting workshops, youth exchanges, or side events, creating lasting networks that bolster its position in regional and global dialogues on trade, security, and sustainable development.
The notion of nation branding complements these frameworks, focusing on how Timor-Leste can craft and project a positive international image through the 2025 Games. Nation branding involves shaping perceptions to enhance a country’s reputation, attract investment, and boost tourism, an area where sports events have proven particularly effective.
Smith and Jones (2025) argue that the rise of hybrid events, blending physical and virtual components, has revolutionized nation branding in the post-pandemic era by expanding global reach. For Timor-Leste, hosting the CPLP Games is an opportunity to demonstrate its organizational capacity, showcase its rich cultural tapestry, and signal its developmental progress. This effort seeks to reposition Timor-Leste from a post-conflict state to a stable, forward-looking nation with a unique identity shaped by Austronesian, Melanesian, and Portuguese influences.
The Games’ sporting lineup, including football and futsal disciplines that are widespread across CPLP countries, serves as a cultural bridge, fostering a sense of community while highlighting Timor-Leste’s contributions to this shared heritage. Practical examples, such as upgrading sports facilities in Dili or promoting Timorese music and dance during the event, could further enhance this branding exercise.
However, Garcia and Lee (2025) caution that the success of such initiatives hinges on sustainable legacy planning, a challenge for resource-constrained nations like Timor-Leste. Investments in infrastructure, such as stadiums or training centers, must be balanced with long-term economic benefits to avoid the pitfalls of “white elephant” projects, as seen in other emerging economies hosting major events. By integrating technology such as live-streaming platforms or virtual tours of Timor-Leste’s cultural landmarks, the Games could maximize their branding impact, aligning with Smith and Jones’s findings while addressing Garcia and Lee’s concerns about sustainability.
The interplay of these frameworks reveals the 2025 CPLP Games as a multifaceted tool for Timor-Leste’s diplomatic and cultural ambitions. Through soft power, the event allows Timor-Leste to project an appealing narrative of resilience and unity, drawing on its Lusophone heritage to strengthen ties with member states and beyond. Including cultural elements such as traditional Timorese dances or Portuguese-language ceremonies reinforces this soft power by appealing to both participants and global observers, potentially amplified through digital channels as suggested by Lee and Kim (2023). From a public diplomacy standpoint, the Games create opportunities for dialogue and collaboration, positioning Timor-Leste as a proactive player within the CPLP and a bridge to Southeast Asia.
Hypothetical scenarios, such as a joint training program between the athletes or a CPLP summit held alongside the Games, illustrate how these connections could deepen. Nation branding elevates this effort by transforming Timor-Leste’s image, though it requires careful management of resources and expectations.
However, challenges persist. The principle of political neutrality in sport, championed by bodies like the International Olympic Committee, may be tested as national agendas such as Timor-Leste’s ASEAN goals or Portugal’s influence in the Lusophone world shape the event’s dynamics. Economic constraints, including Timor-Leste’s reliance on declining oil revenues and limited infrastructure, pose further risks, as Byers et al. (2020) note in their analysis of sport event legacies in emerging nations. A critical perspective must also consider potential counterarguments, such as the possibility that the Games could exacerbate domestic inequalities if resources are diverted from pressing social needs like healthcare or education.
In weaving these threads, the 2025 CPLP Games emerge as a testament to sport’s capacity to advance Timor-Leste’s diplomatic and cultural objectives. The soft power lens highlights how the event reshapes perceptions, aligning with Lee and Kim’s (2023) insights into the evolving nature of influence in a digital age. Public diplomacy underscores the Games’ role in fostering cooperation and understanding, building on Zhang and Park’s (2024) observations about athlete-driven engagement.
Nation branding positions Timor-Leste as a rising star, though Garcia and Lee (2025) remind us that sustainability is key to translating short-term gains into long-term prosperity.
Collectively, these dynamics illustrate how a small state can harness sport to amplify its voice on the global stage, offering a model for others in the CPLP and beyond. The Games reinforce Timor-Leste’s integration into the Lusophone community and enhance its geopolitical relevance, bridging Southeast Asia and the Portuguese-speaking world. Timor-Leste can maximize the Games’ impact by addressing challenges like politicization and resource limitations with strategic planning, cementing sport’s role as a catalyst for diplomacy and international relations.
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References
• Byers, T., et al. (2020). The legacy of sports events for emerging nations. PMC.
• Garcia, M., & Lee, S. (2025). Sustainable legacy planning in sports events: Lessons from emerging economies. Journal of Sport Management, 39(2), 145-162.
• Lee, H., & Kim, J. (2023). Digital diplomacy and virtual sports: Reshaping soft power in the post-pandemic era. International Journal of Sport Policy and Politics, 15(1), 23-40.
• Murray, S., & Pigman, G. A. (2014). Mapping the relationship between international sport and diplomacy. Sport in Society, 17(9), 1098-1118.
• Smith, A., & Jones, B. (2025). Nation branding through hybrid sports events: Strategies for global engagement. Sport in Society, 28(3), 412-429.
• Zhang, L., & Park, S. (2024). Athlete influencers and public diplomacy: A new frontier in sports diplomacy. Diplomacy & Statecraft, 35(2), 189-207.
