Sports Programs
Athletic competitions and running events bring together people of diverse backgrounds to promote good sportsmanship and build friendship and good will. For suggestions about how to organize a one-day community sports event, click here.
- Written by: UPF - Australia
Sydney, Australia - Two sports-loving Ambassadors for Peace invited UPF-Australia to present "Youth Peace-Builder" awards to outstanding young athletes on Feb. 2, 2014.
- Written by: Dr. Paterne Zinsou, UPF-West Africa
Cotonou, Benin - Ambassador for Peace Mr. Honoré Hounkpatin organized a Peace Cup in Cotonou in which the December 31 finals were attended by the Ambassador of Benin to Nigeria and the President of UPF-West Africa.
- Written by: UPF - Russia
Paris, France – The Russia-France Peace and Friendship Super-marathon finished in Paris on August 1 with a multi-ethnic team of 30 runners who overcame many difficulties and bought a banner of friendship from Moscow to Paris.
- Written by: UPF - Italy
Monza, Italy - In collaboration with the Committee of UISP Monza (the “Italian Union of Sport for All”), UPF-Monza promoted the eighth annual "Peace Cup" tournament among ten teams representing the various nationalities of people living in the area.
- Written by: UPF - Switzerland
Novazzano, Switzerland - UPF-Ticino held the second Peace Cup tournament in the town of Novazzano on May 5. This event brought together 11 teams of young soccer players for one day of sports under the motto “Play Football Make Peace.”
- Written by: UPF - Russia
Moscow, Russia - The winter Play Football for Peace tournament took place on the open ground in the yard of House 61 on Lyublinskaya Street in Moscow on February 2.
- Written by: UPF - Russia
Moscow, Russia - A friendly autumn football tournament marking the Day of the District of Lyublino and the upcoming National Day of People's Unity took place on a football field in Stavropolskaya Street on November 3.
- Written by: UPF International
"After meeting three former popes and former presidents of various nations, I had an opportunity to meet with Rev. Sun Myung Moon," said Pele, the soccer hero of Brazil. "He said to me that, since football is the largest organization in the world and a very important means of propagating the message of peace, I hold a great responsibility."
- Written by: UPF - Russia
Moscow, Russia - The track-and-field relay race dedicated to the100th anniversary of all track-and-field competitions of Russia and initiated by the International Super-Marathon Association was completed on August 3. Among the participants were athletes from the Ukraine as well as the Moscow region, St. Petersburg, and Novgorod, Russia.
- Written by: UPF - Russia
Lake Seliger, Russia - UPF's Play Football for Peace organizers were awarded a grant from Russia's National Prospects Foundation and met President Vladimir Putin during the annual Seliger Forum August 1 and 2.
- Written by: UPF - Estonia
Parnu, Estonia - The tenth International Youth Football Tournament, June 28 – July 1, drew a great number of sports teams from Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, Russia, Finland, Sweden, Ukraine, and Belarus to compete and make new friends under the theme "Play Football for Peace."
- Written by: UPF - Italy
Monza, Italy - Many say that peace can be reached through sports. The world-famous Pele himself said he has experienced how football can stop conflict at least temporarily, and this was exactly what UPF-Monza had in mind. On June 24, the final matches of the UPF Monza’s Trophy of Peace were held. It was the final day of a nearly three-month football tournament, organized by Carlo Chierico, the Monza UPF president.