United Nations and FIFA joint message for World Cup

Addis Ababa, 07 June 2006 - With billions of people worldwide following the World Cup, the event offers an unparalleled opportunity to raise awareness about the many significant contributions made by football and other sports towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

In addition, sport also promotes tolerance, understanding and peace. Its positive dimensions far outweigh negative incidents, and it is vital that audiences worldwide gain a better understanding of the valuable role of sport, and its great potential, to help create a better world. To this end, the UN Secretary General and the FIFA President have issued a joint message kicking off a month-long UN system-wide mobilization (9 June to 9 July) on the issue of sport for development and peace during the World Cup. UN efforts will focus especially, but not exclusively, on the 32 countries whose teams are participating in the event in Germany.