April 14, 2026 06:08 pm (IST)

Make this your homepage

Foreign

'ECI deviated from Bihar procedure': Supreme Court raises concerns over voter deletion in Bengal SIR | Noida workers’ protest turns violent: Stones pelted, vehicles damaged over wage hike demand | Oil prices jump above $103 a barrel as US moves to block Iran-linked shipping | I don’t care if they come back or not, says Trump after Iran talks collapse | Legendary singer Asha Bhosle suffers cardiac arrest, hospitalised | Big boost to India–Mauritius ties: S. Jaishankar hands over 90 e-buses | Middle East tension: Iranian delegation arrives in Islamabad for major talks, 10,000 security personnel deployed | Ranveer Singh visits RSS HQ amid Dhurandhar 2 success, triggers speculation | ED raids ex-Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee; SSC scam resurfaces ahead of polls | Amit Shah promises UCC, ₹3,000 aid per month for women and youth in BJP’s Bengal manifesto

Credit: UNAIDS

UN kicks off campaign as football World Cup opens in Brazil

India Blooms News Service | | Jun 13, 2014, at 05:17 pm

New York, Jun 13 (IBNS): United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Thursday to attend the opening game of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, as United Nations agencies carry out a number of projects and activities related to one of the greatest sporting events on the planet.

“I’m very excited to be here,” Ban said. “Like billions of people around the world, I have loved football since I was a very young boy. This shared passion is a great demonstration of how sport can unite people around shared values: teamwork, fair play and mutual respect.”

The Secretary-General is confident that the host nation, Brazil, will do everything to stage a successful and peaceful event, harnessing the power of sport to bring together and unite people across the world, said his spokesperson.

“In particular, he looks forward to the unique way Brazil plays and celebrates the ‘beautiful game’ and hopes that this joy will spread all across the globe.”

Before heading to the opening match between Brazil and Croatia, Ban took part in a lunch offered by Brazil’s President, Dilma Rousseff, for the foreign dignitaries who gathered in São Paulo.

The Organization is carrying out a number of projects and activities related to the World Cup, including a campaign by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) against trafficking and exploitation of children; a campaign against violence against women ‘O valente não é violento’ (The brave is not violent) coordinated by UN Women; and an awareness-raising campaign, ‘Protect the Goal,’ by the Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).

Also, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) is awarding environmental-friendly hotels in Brazil with the ‘Green Passport’ seal, while the UN Development Programme (UNDP) is assisting the Brazilian Government in compensating the carbon footprint of the whole World Cup.

(Credit: UNAIDS)

#Ban Ki-Moon # United nations # Football # World Cup # Brazil

Support Our Journalism

We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism

IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.

Support objective journalism for a small contribution.

India
International

Related Images

German president says ‘no reason’ to align with Trump on Iran war Mar 24, 2026, at 11:22 pm

In Images: Canadian PM Carney concludes his China visit Jan 17, 2026, at 01:30 am

In images: King Charles III hosts President Trump and First Lady Melania at State Banquet in Windsor Sep 19, 2025, at 12:49 am