SPORTS> Off the Pitch
Annan brands soccer as role model for international community
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2006-06-05 10:09

UN Security General Kofi Annan said Sunday that the World Cup was an event of global importance, branding soccer as a role model for the international community.

Annan brands soccer as role model for international community
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan.[filephoto]
"The World Cup is an event that everyone on this planet will be talking about," Annan said in an interview with German newspaper Bild am Sonntag.

"As the only sport that is played in every country, and by every race and religion, football is as rare a phenomena in the world as the United Nations," the UN chief said.

Annan, whose home country Ghana is one of the 32 World Cup participants, said that in many cases, people opened up when talking about their teams, adding that he would like to see more such competitions involving different nations.

"I wish we had more such discussions across the globe, involving citizens enthusiastic about the economic development of their country, reducing greenhouse gases or combating AIDS," he said.

Annan noted that foreigners playing in the world's different soccer leagues also helped improve communications between different peoples.

He said that migration "can be a triple advantage for all concerned - for the guest players, their countries of original and for the societies in which they live".