Promote peace through Football World Cup, says Ogi

Adolf Ogi says the Football World Cup 2002 should promote world peace and the anti-tobacco campaign Keystone Archive

The UN sports ambassador, Switzerland's Adolf Ogi, says the Football World Cup 2002 should promote world peace and the anti-tobacco campaign.

“Sport can be an instrument to create a better world,” said Ogi, during a trip to Tokyo, which is set to co-host the annual event with South Korea.

The former Swiss president believes the countries’ cooperation should serve as an example to the world.

Citing other examples of sporting events used to build bridges, Ogi explained that the former arch foes North and South Korea marched together at the Sydney Olympics last year.

“During the football world cup, I would like to organise a match between football stars, Japan and the two Koreas,” he continued.

“This will be more than a match. It’ll be an opportunity for everyone to get to know one another, to play together, without thinking whether they are from the north or the south,” Ogi explained.

Ogi plans to draw from past sporting events used to foster better intercultural understanding and peace. One example would be when children from around the world met in France, to play under the banner “sport at the service of culture and peace.”

UN agencies

The event in France was organised by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco). Getting UN agencies such as Unesco on board are key to Ogi’s mission.

“Adolf Ogi wants to persuade the different UN agencies to make sport one element of their activities,” said Raffael Vonovier who works with the sports ambassador.

“Whether it’s the fight against drugs, poverty or criminality, he wants to promote peace through sport.”

A meeting with the heads of major UN agencies is set for the end of the month in Geneva to make them more aware of the educational, humanitarian and economic role sport can play.

In collaboration with the Geneva-based World Health Organisation (WHO), Ogi has proposed making Tokyo “a tobacco-free World Cup”, to promote the anti-tobacco campaign.

South Korea has already accepted his proposition while Japan has not yet given its response since it remains, in large measure, “an empire of smokers”.

swissinfo