Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Goodwill Zunidza
29 June 2009
Johannesburg — THE FIFA Confederations Cup has not only brought together some of the world's top football talents in this vast country, it has also gathered some of the key players who are trying to use the power of the football to change the world off the pitch.
Great encounters between Brazil and United States and South Africa against Spain completed the jamboree on the field of play but before that over 100 experts in the field of social development through football had their own important tete-a-tete on the sidelines.
The experts drawn from around the world met for three days last week at the inaugural Football for Hope Forum in Vanderbijlpark on the outskirts of Johannesburg to interact and share football ideas.
The forum was officially opened by Fifa President Sepp Blatter alongside Irvin Khoza, Chairman of the 2010 Fifa World Cup organizing committee, Willi Lemke, special adviser to the United Nations Secretary General on Sports for Development and Peace, and former South African national team captain and ex-Leeds United great defender Lucas Radebe.
"Through the Football for Hope Movement, FIFA supports organisations that consciously use the appeal and attraction of football to promote social development, education, health and integration. It is the key element to develop projects on the ground, in which football is the common denominator," said Blatter.
Fifa officials also said the forum aimed to find new solutions to social issues using the power of football.
It brings together organisations using the world's favourite sport to address issues such as landmines in Cambodia, homelessness in England, ethnic conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina and HIV and Aids education in South Africa, working alongside global corporations and development institutions.
"I very much welcome the inclusive concept of the 'Football for Hope' movement, using the positive values of sports to contribute to the achievement of the UN Millennium Development Goals in Africa and beyond," said Lemke.
His mandate as UN-Special Adviser on Sports for Development and Peace is to promote sports as an instrument for development and peace both within the United Nations system and externally, and to encourage the establishment of partnerships in this area.
Radebe, the celebrated former Bafana Bafana skipper chipped in:
"I am proud to join such a distinguished group of international experts at the Football for Hope Forum.
"Football is much more than just a game here in Africa; when it is combined with health and education it can make the difference in a child's future. What we learn at the forum will help organisations that work every day to improve social issues here in Africa and around the world."
The intensive three-day programme featured a diverse range of workshops and seminars and is a milestone in the Football for Hope movement, another of the several Win In Africa with Africa projects that FIFA have initiated since Blatter took control.
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