Another Form of Diplomacy: The Copa America Taiwan Football Contest
By Christy Chang
The Copa America Football Contest took place on October 17-18 at the Fu Jen University Football Field with players from 13 different countries and an audience of over 3500 people. To prevent the spread of the COVID-19, major events like the Tokyo Olympics and UEFA had been canceled. With its success at keeping the outbreak under control, Taiwan became the only place to hold such a cross-cultural event. This event was organized by the Taiwan Digital Diplomacy Association, which has been engaging in digital diplomacy with foreign countries since 2018. They hold the spirit of “Participating is more important than giving” to promote participatory diplomatic thinking and believe that by taking part in global issues and creating posts on local social media platforms, Taiwan can make a positive impression on foreigners. Besides the 23 football teams from 13 different countries, Copa America Taiwan invited over 40 groups of food vendors and performers for the festival.
Neptali, a Honduran who works at ASUS and sells authentic Honduran cuisine at the event, said this is his second time to be here because some of his friends are players and he’s watching the game in support of them. Moreover, he thinks the culture in Taiwan and Honduras are quite different. “In my country, people are warm and passionate. Here in Taiwan, people are a bit shy, but actually very kind.”
Neptali, a Honduran who works at ASUS and sells authentic Honduran cuisine at the event, said this is his second time to be here because some of his friends are players and he’s watching the game in support of them. Moreover, he thinks the culture in Taiwan and Honduras are quite different. “In my country, people are warm and passionate. Here in Taiwan, people are a bit shy, but actually very kind.”
The Taiwan Women Representative Team at FJCU football field winning third place, photograph by Claire Chen
This year is the first time for Taiwan to organize a women's football team to join Copa America Taiwan, and they came in third place. Upon victory, Claire Chen, the captain of the Taiwanese football team, thanked her team members since “winning third place is something we’ve never thought of achieving. Without my team members’ cooperation and perseverance, we wouldn’t have won this prize.” Chen said, “since this is the very first time for Taiwan to have a women’s football team, all the other teams from different countries cheered for us. They were excited to see our performance.” The chairwoman of Taiwan Digital Diplomacy Association Kuo Chia-Yo said, “we hope to bring together people who are interested in strengthening Taiwan-Latin America relations, paving the way for future cooperation.” Most of the participants were either international students or people who live and work in Taiwan. They felt grateful to attend the event. They said that it felt like returning to their hometown because they heard people speaking their native language.
On October 18, players spared no efforts to the last minute, with the UK team defeating France by 4:3, coming in first place, followed by France, then Guatemala in third. As for women’s events, Guatemala won the championship, Paraguay came in second, and Taiwan in third place. Besides players and organizers, there was another group of people who dedicated themselves to the event-- without the help of over 100 volunteers, the games wouldn’t have gone as well.
On October 18, players spared no efforts to the last minute, with the UK team defeating France by 4:3, coming in first place, followed by France, then Guatemala in third. As for women’s events, Guatemala won the championship, Paraguay came in second, and Taiwan in third place. Besides players and organizers, there was another group of people who dedicated themselves to the event-- without the help of over 100 volunteers, the games wouldn’t have gone as well.
Taiwan Women Representative Team members, photograph by Claire Chen