Our Lingua Franca : How football can heal animosities.(Brief Article)

Christmas day, 1914. Facing each other in trenches separated by dead bodies and mortar holes, a group of British and Allied soldiers and the opposing German battalion laid down their arms and played one of the most famous football matches in history. Germany reportedly won, 3-2. The next day, the shelling resumed. But football and peace had become synonymous, at least temporarily.

In 2001, Swedish politician Lars Gustafsson actually nominated football for the Nobel Peace Prize. Though it was a stretch, he had a point. Whereas our religious and political beliefs all too often breed fanaticism and cause conflict, football is something we all share in spite of differences. On the tumultuous streets of Third World Port au Prince, Haiti, I recently played football with a group of kids half my age. I scored, did a little celebration dance, and we were all friends. In a slightly swankier section of that same city, Bertrand, a 21-year-old gardener, told me how much he would love someday to go to England and Germany "to see how they play their wonderful football." Ten-year-old Jeremy from Jamaica was rather shy until I turned the conversation to this year's competition. "Jamaica's not in it this time," he lamented. "But I don't care. I'll support Brazil," he added excitedly. Recently, toward the end of an interview with Ion Iliescu, the president of Romania, the conversation turned from HIV to football. I mentioned Gheorghe Hagi, one of Romania's greats, and a broad grin spread across his face. "You know him?" he asked. Of course, I replied. "He is a national hero," said the president proudly. For a few brief moments, football had bridged the divide between journalist and politician. Once again, it had brought down the barriers of race, age, class, culture and nationality that so often keep us apart.

French-Algerian philosopher--and avid footballer--Albert Camus once wrote: "All that I know about morality and the obligations of man, I owe to football." I would not profess as much. But from football I have learned much about the dreams and goals of humankind, and the metaphorical and stereotypical images we hold of each other. The English still dream of a glorious past (the Empire--and the 1966 World Cup final victory over Germany). And no one can doubt the potential of the Chinese, once they put their minds to something. As recently as 10 years ago, China still lacked a professional league. Then, in 1994, the government endorsed the Chinese Professional Soccer League, and quicker than I could have learned to say "goal" in Mandarin, China qualified for its first ...