Aid and sport: it's a no-brainer for Australia

This is emphasised by the fact that it is only recently – and with conditions – that Indonesia's ban from FIFA for matters surrounding mismanagement and internal politicking has been rescinded.

Mandela said 'sport speaks to people in a language they can understand', and soccer is the most fluently spoken in the world's poorest nations.

Given its popularity and how intertwined it is with politics everywhere, the beautiful game is just one example of how sport may be a key to regional security and to improving relations between our nation, those in our region, and beyond.

Whether our political leaders are right or wrong on aid, the fact is we need to do things better and find news ways to deliver aid that is both beneficial to our external stakeholders and also to Australians.

The best way we can apply innovative approaches to aid is to utilise Australia's extensive sporting prowess and rich sporting culture. In Australian direct aid, sport ought to be, like a star goal scorer, front and centre.