UN FAO Goodwill Ambassador, Patrick Vieira, scores Millennium Development Goals with MPs at Westminster

23 November 2011, London: 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 penalty shoot-out on Speaker’s Green held by  the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK Branch.

Participating parliamentarians selected one of the 8 MDGs, adopted by world leaders in the year 2000 and set to be achieved by 2015, before taking a shot at the goal. The event was a reminder how world poverty could be cut in half, how tens of millions of lives could be saved and billions more people could have the opportunity to benefit from the global economy if the entire international community managed to work together towards a common end – making sure that human development reaches everyone, everywhere.

Representing FAO, former France Captain, Vieira, spoke about the Organization’s commitment to Millennium Development Goal 1 - the fight against hunger and poverty – and the crucial need for greater political and civil support as the number of people suffering from hunger continues to increase daily, far from MDG1’s target of halving the problem by 2015.

“I am proud to support FAO’s effort to end world hunger and as a footballer, I am committed to using the skills, influence, passion and credibility that I built on the football field to help bring the attention of the world to the unacceptable fact that, in this day and age, hunger is a daily struggle for survival for almost a billion people”.

In 2008, FAO launched a global "Professional Football against Hunger" solidarity campaign to seek the support of professional football leagues, football organizations and football players and to use such a powerful communication platform to steer people's attention towards the plight of the increasing number of hungry people in the world. FAO recognises how sport can be a key tool for mobilizing the political will and the resources required to end hunger around the world as well as cultivating the fundamental support needed from society to tackle this issue.

Rt Hon. John Bercow MP, Speaker of the House of Commons, also drew attention to the importance of sport as a vehicle for development and peace, noting how the parliamentarian’s role includes a duty to act as strong public advocate to improve the lives of the most marginalised in society.

Other star guests included: Michael Essien, World Cup and Premiership winner and founder of the Michael Essien Foundation; and Steve Sodje, former Nigeria national player and founding member of the Sodje Foundation and Kelvin Jack, Trinidad and Tobago national goalie.

The event was held in the run-up to the UK’s International Parliamentary Conference on the MDGs, set to take place on 28 November-2 December 2011.

UK Parliament web site:

www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/offices/bicameral/cpa-home/whats-new1/footballers-and-parliamentarians-join-to-score-a-millennium-development-goal/