導語：世界杯對于奧巴馬來說是個機會，既可以推動國內足球運動，更可以施展自己的外交軟實力。

This month, nearly a billion people, including millions of Americans, will tune in to the world’s most popular sporting event, the World Cup. This will be an opportunity for President Obama give a boost to the sport at home — and work a bit of soft power diplomacy abroad.

據《波士頓環球報》網站報道，本月，將會有近10億人，包括眾多美國人，收看世界最受歡迎的體育盛事——世界杯。這場盛事對于奧巴馬來說是個機會，既可以推動國內體育運動發展，更可以在海外施展自己的外交軟實力。

Obama is a soccer dad. Both of his daughters, Malia and Sasha, have played soccer, and Obama has cheered them from the sidelines. On official tour in Japan this April, Obama played soccer against a Japanese robot. In an interview with Univision Deportes, the president commented, “We did quite well in South Africa. I think we’ll do well in Brazil, although the US is in a really tough bracket.”

奧巴馬是個愛足球的父親。他的兩個女兒瑪利亞和薩沙都踢過足球，奧巴馬還會在場邊為她們加油。今年4月奧巴馬對日本進行正式訪問期間，他還與日本的機器人踢了足球。在接受Univision電視網的采訪中，奧巴馬評價道：“我們美國隊在南非確實做的很好了。雖然這次我們在死亡小組，但我覺得我們在巴西也能表現不錯?！?/p>

Political leaders have often used athletics for political and diplomatic, sometimes with good results. The World Cup in Brazil offers Obama an interesting set of choices, not without some risks.

政治領導人經常借助體育來實現自己的政治和外交目的，有時效果顯著。巴西世界杯為奧巴馬提供了諸多選擇，盡管有些頗具風險。

Even filling out a bracket, as he has with NCAA basketball tournaments, could yield benefits. He might predict, somewhat with tongue in cheek, that the US will fell mighty Germany and end up in the finals against host country Brazil. US-Brazil relations have hit a bumpy patch, especially after revelations that the National Security Agency had listened in on conversations of Brazilian leaders. The World Cup offers Obama the opportunity to engage the host country on the terrain of sports, and repair a bit of the damage — without interjecting the United States into Brazilian domestic politics.

現在的情況是，只要奧巴馬下注，就一定會有收獲，就像是當年全美大學生籃球錦標賽一樣。他略帶嘲弄地預測美國隊會打敗德國，最終在決賽中遭遇東道主巴西。美巴關系時疏時近，尤其在美國國家安全局竊聽巴西領導人事件被揭露后，兩國關系就更加撲朔迷離。世界杯讓奧巴馬可以與東道國巴西一起探討體育盛事，同時還能在保證不干預巴西內政的情況下修護兩國關系。

President Obama has already announced that Vice President Joe Biden will lead the official US delegation to the World Cup. Obama seems intent on honoring the host country with his choices. We think that he should up the game and add First Lady Michelle Obama to the group, and select a number of women soccer players such as Mia Hamm and Julie Foudy, both inductees into the National Soccer Hall of Fame, to accompany Biden and Michelle to Brazil. He would be signaling the importance of soccer in America’s athletic future, while showing that female athletes should be as highly respected as their male counterparts. The women’s US soccer team has won the World Cup twice, and soccer has become one of the most popular sports with young US women.

奧巴馬已經宣布副總統拜登將帶領美國代表團出席世界杯。奧巴馬這一舉措，我們可以看出他十分尊重巴西政府。我們認為他應該更加看重這次比賽，讓第一夫人米歇爾也加入代表隊中，并選入幾名女性球員，像是進入了美國國家足球名人堂的米婭·哈姆（Mia Hamm）和朱莉·福迪（Julie Foudy），讓她們與拜登和米歇爾一同趕赴巴西。他應該注意到足球在美國未來體育的重要性，同時認識到女性運動員應當受到與男性運動員相同的尊重。美國女子足球隊贏得過兩次世界杯冠軍，足球越來越受到年輕女性的喜愛。

While the number of young boys and girls playing soccer has grown dramatically since the 1990s — it’s the fastest growing sport in the United States — in order to compete at the highest level internationally, more young and talented athletes need to opt for soccer when making early choices about what sports to participate in.

自20世紀90年代起，參與足球運動的年輕男女的數量激增，足球成為美國發展最為迅速的運動。為了可以參與最高級別的足球比賽，越來越多年輕且有天賦的運動員需要早早做出選擇，參與足球訓練。

During the World Cup, President Obama will have significant opportunity to promote soccer at home, while also reaching out to Brazil and most importantly to the world. It’s a sports diplomacy moment that he should seize.

世界杯對奧巴馬來說是個很大的契機，他不僅可以在國內推動足球發展，也是與與巴西，更重要的是和世界接觸的良機。這是他應該牢牢把握的體育外交機會。

（譯者 孫喆 編輯 齊磊）