MEDIA ADVISORY: THE SECRETARY-GENERAL -- HOW WE ENVY THE WORLD CUP

MEDIA ADVISORY: THE SECRETARY-GENERAL -- HOW WE ENVY THE WORLD CUP

June 05, 2006

June 2006

    The Secretary-General made a statement on the World Cup
on 5 June 2006, with details as follows:

    "You may wonder what a Secretary-General of the
United Nations is doing writing about football. But in
fact, the World Cup makes us in the UN green with envy. As
the pinnacle of the only truly global game, played in every
country by every race and religion, it is one of the few
phenomena as universal as the United Nations. You could
even say it's more universal. FIFA has 207 members; we have
only 191."

    "But there are far better reasons to be envious.
"

    "First, the World Cup is an event in which
everybody knows where their team 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 which everybody
on the planet loves talking about. Dissecting what their
team did right, and what it could have done differently --
not to mention the other side's team. People sitting in
caf¨¦s anywhere from Buenos Aires to Beijing, debating the
finer points of games endlessly, revealing an intimate
knowledge not only of their own national teams but of many
of the others too, and expressing themselves on the subject
with as much clarity as passion. Normally tongue-tied
teenagers suddenly becoming eloquent, confident, and
dazzlingly analytical experts. I wish we had more of that
sort of conversation in the world at large. Citizens
consumed by the topic of how their country could do better
on the Human Development Index, or in reducing the number
of carbon emissions or new HIV infections."

    "Third, the World Cup is an event which 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 team work. I wish we had
more levellers like that in the global arena. Free and fair
exchanges without the interference of subsidies, barriers or
tariffs. Every country getting a real chance to field its
strengths on the world stage."  

    "Fourth, the World Cup is an event which
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 to 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 wins -- 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 countries they go and work in, and in
the homelands they inspire through new-won ideas and
know-how when they return." 

    "For any country, playing in the World Cup is a
matter of profound national pride. For countries qualifying
for the first time, such as my native Ghana, it is a badge
of honour. For those who are doing so after years of
adversity, such as Angola, it provides a sense of national
renewal. And for those who are currently riven by conflict,
like C?te d'Ivoire, but whose World Cup team is a unique and
powerful symbol of national unity, it inspires nothing less
than the hope of national rebirth." 

    "Which brings me to what is perhaps most enviable
of all for us in 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 a country scores; I also mean
the most important goal of all -- being there, part of the
family of nations and peoples, celebrating our common
humanity. I'll try to remember that when Ghana plays Italy
in Hanover on 12 June. Of course, I can't promise I'll
succeed." 

    "-- Kofi A. Annan"

    For more information, please contact:

     Zhang Wei
     UNDP Communications Officer  
     Tel:   [phone] ext. 228
     Fax:   [phone]
     Email: [e-mail]

SOURCE  Office of the United Nations System