This is so good that I just have to retype it from The Star newspaper dated, 11.6.06. These are excerpts from Secretary –General of the United Nations, Kofi A. Annan.
You may wonder what a secretary-general of the United Nations is doing writing about football. But in fact, the World Cup makes us at the United Nations green with envy.
You could even say it’s more universal. FIFA has 207 members; we have only 191.But here are far better reasons to be envious.
First, the World Cup is an event in which everybody knows where their teams stands, and what it did to get there. They know who scored and how and in what minute of the game; they know who missed the open goal; they know who saved the penalty.
I wish we had more of that sort of competition in the family of nations. Countries openly vying for the best standing in the table of respect for human rights, and trying to outdo one another in child survival rates or enrolment in secondary education.
States parading their performance for all the world to see. Governments being held accountable for what actions led them to that result.
Second, the World Cup is an event that everybody on the planet loves talking about, dissecting what their team did right, and what it could have done differently.
People sitting in cafes anywhere from Buenos Aires to Beijing debate the finer points of games endlessly, revealing an intimate knowledge not only of their own national teams but of many of the others too, expressing themselves on the subject with as much clarity as passion. Normally tongue-tied teenagers suddenly become eloquent, confident, and dazzling analytical experts.
Third, the World Cup is an event that takes place on a level playing field, where every country has a chance to participate on equal terms. Only two commodities matter in this game: talent and teamwork.
Fourth, the World Cup is an event that illustrates the benefits of cross pollination between peoples and countries. More and more national teams now welcome coaches from other countries, who bring new ways of thinking and playing. The same goes for the increasing number of players who, between World Cups, represent clubs away from home. They inject new qualities into their new team, grow from the experience, and are able to contribute even more their home side when they return. In the process, they often become heroes in their adopted countries- helping to open hearts and broaden minds.
I wish it were equally plain for all to see that human migration in general can create triple gains – for migrants, for their countries of origin and for the societies that receive them.
That migrants not only build better lives for themselves and their families, but are also agents of development- economic, social and cultural - in the homelands they inspire through newly won ideas and know-how when they return.
Which brings me to what is perhaps most enviable of all for us at the United Nations: The World Cup is an event in which we actually see goals being reached.
I’m not talking only about the goals that a country scores: I also mean the most important goal of all – being there, being part of the family of nations and peoples, celebrating our common humanity.
You may wonder what a secretary-general of the United Nations is doing writing about football. But in fact, the World Cup makes us at the United Nations green with envy.
You could even say it’s more universal. FIFA has 207 members; we have only 191.But here are far better reasons to be envious.
First, the World Cup is an event in which everybody knows where their teams stands, and what it did to get there. They know who scored and how and in what minute of the game; they know who missed the open goal; they know who saved the penalty.
I wish we had more of that sort of competition in the family of nations. Countries openly vying for the best standing in the table of respect for human rights, and trying to outdo one another in child survival rates or enrolment in secondary education.
States parading their performance for all the world to see. Governments being held accountable for what actions led them to that result.
Second, the World Cup is an event that everybody on the planet loves talking about, dissecting what their team did right, and what it could have done differently.
People sitting in cafes anywhere from Buenos Aires to Beijing debate the finer points of games endlessly, revealing an intimate knowledge not only of their own national teams but of many of the others too, expressing themselves on the subject with as much clarity as passion. Normally tongue-tied teenagers suddenly become eloquent, confident, and dazzling analytical experts.
Third, the World Cup is an event that takes place on a level playing field, where every country has a chance to participate on equal terms. Only two commodities matter in this game: talent and teamwork.
Fourth, the World Cup is an event that illustrates the benefits of cross pollination between peoples and countries. More and more national teams now welcome coaches from other countries, who bring new ways of thinking and playing. The same goes for the increasing number of players who, between World Cups, represent clubs away from home. They inject new qualities into their new team, grow from the experience, and are able to contribute even more their home side when they return. In the process, they often become heroes in their adopted countries- helping to open hearts and broaden minds.
I wish it were equally plain for all to see that human migration in general can create triple gains – for migrants, for their countries of origin and for the societies that receive them.
That migrants not only build better lives for themselves and their families, but are also agents of development- economic, social and cultural - in the homelands they inspire through newly won ideas and know-how when they return.
Which brings me to what is perhaps most enviable of all for us at the United Nations: The World Cup is an event in which we actually see goals being reached.
I’m not talking only about the goals that a country scores: I also mean the most important goal of all – being there, being part of the family of nations and peoples, celebrating our common humanity.
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