Football: the beautiful game — and more

I confess: I’m a practicing football fan. After a short visit to Switzerland in early April, I realized once again just how “big” football is back in Europe. While the immensely popular UEFA Champions League is moving closer to the finals, many national championships also enter their decisive phase. And then there is the prospect of this year’s FIFA football World Cup in Brazil, which the Swiss team enters as No. 8 in the world. Hopes are soaring high back home.

Football fans all over the world will be transformed into a state of passionate exhilaration when the World Cup kicks off in only a few weeks for a month of huge expectations, exciting games, and early mornings spent in front of the TV to root for one’s favorite squad. And one can be sure to see thrilling games, electrifying plays and the best footballers in the world creating a spectacle that makes even poets dream. After all, football is “the beautiful game.”

But the World Cup will not just temporarily transform the world for a few weeks. Here in Asia and in the Philippines in particular, football is visibly becoming increasingly popular. The Azkals climbed more than 60 places in the global ranking over the past few years. Stars like the Younghusband brothers, Alex Borromeo or Rob Gier demonstrate that the sport is not only great to watch and to play. The Philippine national team with players from all walks of life shows that the game builds character, offers opportunities and can transform individuals and communities. Philippine boys and girls agree – and get into the game.

The aftermath of typhoon Yolanda makes a case in point. When it devastated wide parts of the central Visayas, it also destroyed much of the footballing infrastructure in Tacloban, the clandestine capital of Philippine football. Dan Palami, the Azkals manager and Tacloban resident, immediately started to bring the game back onto the streets and into the schoolyards of the city. Naturally, the players of the various teams needed training. But Dan also knew that football would help to bring normalcy back to the traumatized lives of the countless disaster victims. He succeeded with the help of many partners like the Philippine Football Federation, UNDP and FIFA — and most importantly the enthusiasm of the kids.

For one, the funds raised by this year’s FIFA/UNDP “Match against Poverty” were given to the victims of typhoon Yolanda. This annual game brings together former football stars and UNDP Goodwill Ambassadors such as Ronaldo or Zinédine Zidane, and was played in early March in Bern, Switzerland.

The plight of football and the hope that the game brings to the typhoon victims was captured in an inspiring video produced by Swiss movie director Michael Steiner. Entitled “Football Wonder of Tacloban” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-RnS9k-jXg), it was screened in the stadium and on TV during the half-time break of the match.

Not surprisingly, back home I was repeatedly approached by fellow Swiss. They were moved by the compassionate message of the video and assured me of their sympathy and support for the Yolanda victims (the Swiss public donated more than P2.1 billion to ease their plight). Moreover, FIFA also pledged $1.2 million to help the typhoon victims and to use football as a means to bring relief to individuals and to rebuild the devastated communities. Sports facilities will be built and community programs launched. Moreover, UNDP’s Goodwill Ambassadors will visit Tacloban later this year to underscore the football world’s continued support for the typhoon victims.

As fans will focus on Brazil to delight in the excitement of the World Cup, the way this sport succeeds in making a difference to countless victims affected by Yolanda truly shows that football is much more than “the beautiful game.”

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(Ivo Sieber is the Ambassador of Switzerland.)