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It's the easiest form of soft power because it requires no skills and no effort. It only requires money.
It's probably also less effective than movies and other media but it's still better than nothing. If your country is only known for wars or human rights issues it's good to dilute that image with other stuff like sport teams and world cups.

When I hear the name UAE the first thing I think of is cycling. I still think the country is a soulless, new money, Arab dystopia but I'm sure there is some psychological effect from thinking of a sport I like first.