Football for Peace held a high-level event at the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, promoting the power of football to address social harms and prevent violence. The event aimed to introduce attendees to Football for Peace’s ‘Dialogue Through Sport’ event. The event was hosted by Dr. Diallo, former Director at the office of the Special Advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace. The ‘Dialogue Through Sport’ initiative opened up dialogue with communities, their leaders, clubs, and players about how effective football can be in tackling some of the world’s most pressing issues.
The event showcased the projects that Football for Peace delivers in communities that engage young people in football and life skills training programmes, and hosted conversations with policymakers about the role that sport, particularly football, can play in being a force for good.
Keynote speakers at the event were:
H.E. Mr. Soltan bin Saad Al-Muraikhi, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, State of Qatar H.E. Ambassador Nathan A. Sales, Acting Under -Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, United States Department of State
Mr Vladimir Voronkov, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism UNOCT.
The high level panel discussion between government delegates, private sector and sports bodies brought insight into the ability to work together to support sports base engagement programmes.
Seated on the panel:
Mr. Hassan Al-Thawadi, Secretary-General, Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, World Cup 2022, State of Qatar.
Carli Lloyd, Two-time Olympic Gold-Medalist, Two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champion, Two-time FIFA Player of the Year, and a Three-time Olympian.
Dr Erkut Sögüt, Sports Lawyer, Lecturer and Author
Oguchi Onyewu, professional footballer, former USA national team captain, AC Milan and Newcastle United
Ahmed Nasser, NFL Player Association President.
Ali Soufan, Founder of the Soufan Centre
Jeff Mostyn, Chairman of Bournemouth FC, FA Council Member.
Sam Acho, NFL Player, Former Chicago Bears and Arizona Cardinals
