I have a personal bias in my love for soccer, or what the majority of the world calls football…because you play the game with your feet (unlike another sport that shares the name but is played…wait for it…with your hands…hmmm). The United States National Women’s Soccer team just won back to back World Cups, and like major tournament on the world stage we all get a glimpse of how sports can bring people together.

I just left a basketball camp in Poland that has 250 youth from multiple countries. In the course of this week these young people will obviously learn skills to improve their game, as well as life skills that have the power to transform their future. They play multiple games each day, one of which is representing their specific country. Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, Belarus, and the United States playing for national pride, while also learning what may be a lifelong lesson: There is more that can unite us than separates us if we are willing to look.

The true beauty of travel is found in seeing our differences as a bridge to seeing how similar we are. I’ve known for years that basketball continues to gain more and more popularity outside the United States, and even though basketball is not really a favorite sport for me personally, I can appreciate how it brought together young men and women from different countries, languages and cultures and for one week made the common ground a platform for connection.

Sports does have the power to unite. So does family, a smile, a poor attempt at speaking on me or two words of a language, and even stopping long enough in a little shop to not just see souvenirs, but the person who works there. Connection comes in many shapes and sizes and can be the gateway to the best memories of travel.

Speaking of sports: A personal glimpse into my soul…

Part of the reason that I love things like the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics is not only the fact that they bring nations together, but also because I only have to give focused attention to the event for two to four weeks. Part of the struggle for me with sports is that I feel like I’m get burned out with the length of the season. But these major events allow me to be all in for 14-30 days and then it’s over! Amazing!

World sporting events can be a great opportunity to travel because you will be joining a multinational, multilingual experience where you can see the world at one location. Here’s a quick look at upcoming world sporting events I am excited about:

2019 Rugby World Cup (Japan) September 20-November 2, 2019

2020 Summer Olympics (Tokyo) July 24-August 9, 2020

2022 Winter Olympics (Beijing) February 4-20, 2022

2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup (Qatar) November 21- December 18, 2022

2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup (Location TBD)

Many people will just assume that these events are too expensive to attend. The best piece of advice I give to people is decide far in advance if you want to go because planning has the opportunity to save you a ton of money. For example, many airlines release their first batch of seats 330 days prior to departure. If you know that you want to go to a global event, especially if you are trying to use miles, then this may be the best time to book tickets. The closer you get to the event, the more it will cost you. The moral of the story is this: These events are once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Plan accordingly!