Sport Politics
7/2/2012
UNOCA and CAF will work together to promote peace and security in Central Africa
Libreville (UNOCA) - The Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Regional Office for Central Africa (UNOCA), Mr. Abou Moussa, and the President of the African Football Confederation (CAF), Mr. Issa Hayatou, met... Read more »
5/2/2012
Oscar Pistorius talks to Laureus ahead of Monday’s Laureus World Sports Awards
Oscar Pistorius is up for two honours at Monday’s Laureus Awards: the Breakthrough of the Year and the Sportsperson with a disability of the Year. Laureus.com caught up with him in the run-up to the Awards to ask a few questions. Question: You have achieved quite a remarkable double this year by being nominated for [...] Read more »
1/2/2012
The shared values of the Laureus Awards and Sport for Good Foundation
For those that love sport, there is often no greater hero than their favourite sportsperson. Whether your sport of choice is football, hockey, tennis or athletics, watching someone achieve incredible, almost superhuman things, not only entertains, but inspires. It leaves us marveling at how the impossible can be made possible right before our eyes… And [...] Read more »
31/1/2012
Laureus Action Sports Nominees go head to head
Though they are not always household names like those in other categories, nominees for the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year are often some of the most exciting athletes in the world. This year is no different and action sports as diverse as surfing to BMXing are represented in what is a closely run [...] Read more »
27/1/2012
Óscar Washington Tabárez, named UNESCO Champion for Sport
Paris (UNESCO) - Óscar Washington Tabárez, the Uruguayan national football team manager, will be named UNESCO Champion for Sport by the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, during a ceremony at Organization Headquarters on 30 January... Read more »
26/1/2012
Barca? All Blacks? Who was your best sports team of 2011?
The Laureus World Sports Awards are now less than two weeks away. You have already been telling us who you think should be the Sportsman and Sportswoman of the year, now its the turn of the year’s best teams to go head-to-head. 2011 was a remarkable year for team sports. Everything from football and rugby [...] Read more »
24/1/2012
UN Special Adviser Praises Winter Youth Olympic Games and Attends Christmas Truce Celebration in Flanders and Brussels
Geneva (UNOSDP) – Wilfried Lemke, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace, was in attendance last week at the closing of the 1st Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOGs) in Innsbruck, Austria. Tomo... Read more »
20/1/2012
The UN and the Italian Swimming Federation Partner for Water Preservation
The UN and the Italian Swimming Federation are now partners in the Europe-wide ad competition and campaign “Drop by Drop” following the sport body’s enthusiastic acceptance of acting as a testimonial in the world of sport on the theme... Read more »
20/1/2012
Successful UN Youth Camp Concludes in Doha: ‘Only the beginning’ Stresses UN Special Adviser on Sport
Doha/Geneva (UNOSDP) – The inaugural ‘UNOSDP Youth Leadership Camp’ concluded yesterday in Doha after eleven days of intense learning. Twenty-nine young people from nine countries in sub-Saharan Africa and the Palestinian Territory en... Read more »
20/1/2012
Africa… Winning against AIDS: Opinion piece by the Executive Director of UNAIDS for the Africa Cup of Nations 2012
Source: UNAIDS – Winning the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) 2012 is something millions of people across Africa are dreaming of right now as the continent’s most prestigious football tournament gets underway in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. A... Read more »
19/1/2012
Who do you think has been sport’s breakthrough of the year?
Celebrating both the achievements of exciting new talent, but also standout new heights reached by sportspeople already familiar to many, the Laureus Breakthrough Award really is one of the most exciting categories of them all come Awards night. This year’s Nominees cover both of these types and include new faces going up against sportspeople who [...] Read more »
18/1/2012
Afridi to Hit Hard Against Drugs in New Role as UNODC Goodwill Ambassador
Vienna (UNODC) – Pakistan cricket star Shahid Afridi has been appointed UNODC National Goodwill Ambassador in recognition of his outstanding sporting record. Both batsman and bowler, Afridi is a talented all-rounder who from 2009 to 2011 was capt... Read more »
17/1/2012
Laureus Sportswoman of the Year Nominees: Head-to-head
The first of the Laureus blog’s posts on this year’s Laureus Awards Nominees was all about the Sportsman of the Year, and the response from you all was incredible. It even looks as though a favourite among you is emerging. Next up however is the Sportswoman of the Year category, which might even be a [...] Read more »
17/1/2012
Winter Youth Olympic Games kicked off in Innsbruck
Innsbruck (UNEP) – After three years of preparations the First Winter Youth Olympic Games (Innsbruck 2012 Youth Olympic Games) officially kicked off on 13 January 2012 in the majestic city of Innsbruck located in the heart of the Austrian Alps. T... Read more »
13/1/2012
How willpower and passion is being celebrated through Laureus Comeback of the Year Award
The Award for Laureus Comeback of the Year is always a particularly special one. Although Comeback Nominees are of course chosen for their sporting achievements just like the Sportsman and Sportswoman hopefuls, another very important factor is also taken into account. And that factor is the courage, commitment and, as is particularly the case this [...] Read more »
11/1/2012
Head-to-Head with the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year Nominees
The Laureus World Sports Awards 2012 are now just four weeks away… …and we want to know who you think deserves to be victorious on the night. Of course, it’s not an easy task to pick the world’s best sportsperson when the Nominees don’t even play the same game. So, to make it as easy [...] Read more »
10/1/2012
The inspiring story of how an orphan of 2004 Boxing Day tsunami now plays international cricket…
With a death toll in excess of 184,000, it’s almost impossible to picture the individual men, women and children who perished in the Boxing Day tsunami of 2004. Such numbers remain beyond our understanding; the brutality of such destruction surely unimaginable had it never actually come to pass. In Sri Lanka alone, 35,322 were killed [...] Read more »
9/1/2012
United Nations Sport Youth Camp Kicks Off in Doha
UN Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace, Wilfried Lemke, today kicked off a 10-day leadership camp for underprivileged youth from nine countries in Sub–Saharan Africa and the Palestinian Territory. Taking place in Doha, the ‘U... Read more »
3/1/2012
How a Laureus Comeback Award Winner is making a new return all over again…
Back at the 2005 Laureus World Sports Award, it was the inspiring Alessandro Zanardi’s remarkable courage that won him the Comeback of the Year Award. This was following his return to motor racing having lost both his legs in a horrific crash just four years earlier. His 2001 accident in the European Memorial CART race [...] Read more »
13/12/2011
24,400 Fill Arena to Support the UNDP Match Against Poverty
Hamburg (UNDP) - With a final score of 5-4, UNDP won the 2011 Match Against Poverty against HSV in Hamburg, Germany, on 13 December, 2011 before more than 24,000 spectators. The match was broadcast live in more than 25 countries. Read more »
5/12/2011
UN-Supported Youth Centre in Burundi Welcomes Special Adviser on Sport
Bujumbura/Geneva (UNDP/UNOSDP) – As part of his ongoing three‐nation African visit, UN Special Adviser Wilfried Lemke today visited a brand new Youth Sport Centre in Gatumba, Burundi, in the border region with the Democratic Republic of the Congo... Read more »
2/12/2011
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador David Beckham Highlights Issues of Street Children on Philippines Visit
Manila (UNICEF) – Goodwill Ambassador David Beckham spoke about the importance of caring and supportive families during a visit with children who had formerly lived on the streets in the Philippines. Read more »
28/11/2011
Korean Football Icon Appointed UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador
Seoul (UNAIDS) – Iconic Korean football star, Myung-Bo Hong, was appointed as a UNAIDS International Goodwill Ambassador during a press conference held at Yonsei University in Seoul. In this capacity, Myung-Bo Hong will raise awareness on HI... Read more »
24/11/2011
European Athletics and UNESCO Renew Partnership
Paris (UNESCO) – European Athletics and UNESCO have renewed their partnership to promote athletics as a driver for personal development and social cohesion, especially among young women and men. The new agreement, which runs until 2015, was sign... Read more »
24/11/2011
Realmadrid Foundation and UNRWA Unite for Palestine Refugee Children
Madrid (UNRWA) – This evening Realmadrid Foundation and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) have signed a partnership agreement to promote sports programmes in UNRWA schools that will contribute to improving ... Read more »
23/11/2011
UN FAO Goodwill Ambassador Patrick Vieira Scores Millennium Development Goals with MPs at Westminster
London (FAO) – FAO Goodwill Ambassador and World Cup winner, Patrick Vieira, stood alongside British Members of Parliament, together with other international football legends, to ‘score’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at a penal... Read more »
23/11/2011
Special Adviser Wilfried Lemke Attends ITTF's 2011 Qatar ‘Peace and Sport’ Cup in Doha
Doha, Qatar (UNOSDP) – The ITTF Qatar ‘Peace and Sport’ Cup was the site for “Ping Pong Diplomacy version 2.0" as ten National Associations paired up for doubles play in the aim of building friendship and engaging peace. Read more »
18/11/2011
United Nations and International Volleyball Federation Join Forces to Drive Social Change
Tokyo (UNOSDP) – The United Nations (UN) and the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) today signed a two-year partnership agreement seeking to support the attainment and awareness of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), as well... Read more »
8/11/2011
Special Adviser Wilfried Lemke Awarded Berlin Peace Clock for Contribution to Human Development and Peace through Sport
Berlin (UNOSDP) – Wilfried Lemke, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace, tonight was awarded the 2011 ‘Berliner Friedensuhr’ (‘Berlin Peace Clock’) by the Berlin c... Read more »
27/10/2011
UN MDG “Score the Goals” Comic Book Awarded Prestigious Prize
Monaco (UNOSDP) – Six UN organizations were awarded today with the prestigious Special Jury Prize at this year’s Peace and Sports Awards for their comic book project “Score the Goals – Teaming Up to Achieve the Millennium Devel... Read more »
