Football is a sport where competition takes place and someone wins or loses, but it also has the potential for significantly influencing countries and increasing their cooperation toward peace. I was told that twice as many people watched the World Cup as watched the Olympics. This provides an idea of how many people around the world love football. Therefore, just like the Olympics, it has the power to become a force for harmony between countries, races, religions, and cultures. I see football and peace among countries as potentially powerful partners.

We live in a competitive society where there is a great deal of stress. Stress creates tension in our lives and takes away our peace of mind. When stress accumulates, people can become irritated and sometimes fight each other. Sports and the arts are examples of things that help us to lower our levels of stress. These things help us to vent our pent-up urges and bring humanity together. The reason for my devotion to football teams, symphony orchestras, and ballet companies is that these activities are a means to bring world peace.

The famous football player Pelé understands this kind of thinking.
Finding ourselves in agreement, Pelé and I created a new competition of international dimensions called Peace Cup, and tournaments have been held every two years since 2003. We brought famous soccer teams from around the world to Korea. A corresponding women’s tournament called the Peace Queen Cup is held in alternate years.

The Peace Cup organization also has a goal of building a peace stadium in the Israel–Palestine–Jordan region, as close as possible to the Israel–Palestine border. The stadium would be freely available to all as a peace-building venture. We want to bring famous coaches from Europe and start a soccer academy for the children in the region. The adults may want to point guns at each other, but the children will want to come to the soccer stadium and kick the ball around. People say it is unrealistic and shake their heads, but we will do this.