UK Embassy holds day of sport for peace as Olympics draw closer

With the Olympic Games drawing closer, the British Embassy in Manila organized a football invitational tournament in Zamboanga to drive home the message of peace. Dubbed “Time Out for Football,” the event was held last Tuesday, June 19, at the Joaquin Enriquez Sports Complex in Zamboanga City as part of Olympic Truce events taking place worldwide. “I firmly believe that today’s games show how sport can bring people together, and that it can teach people the Olympic values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect.  With excellence, friendship and respect, we can transcend discord, disunity and animosity,” said British Ambassador Stephen Lillie, in a news release posted on the UK Embassy website Wednesday. Lillie also voiced hopes the event would be "only the first of many more occasions where sport is used to promote an inclusive and lasting peace in the country.” The UK is among the countries aiding the ongoing peace efforts between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. “I am optimistic that a peace agreement that truly represents the interests of the Bangsamoro and the wider community in Mindanao and across the Philippines is within sight.  The time is right for a lasting and just peace, that will benefit the development of the whole country. I know that ordinary people in Mindanao and Sulu are also willing to do their part to achieve peace, despite the difficulties involved," Lillie said. "I see NGOs and local communities positively engaged in building understanding through inter-faith dialogue.  I see local and national policy makers voicing their views and working hard to find solutions to the difficult issues that will spell the difference in achieving a truly lasting peace in the southern Philippines,” he added. At the event, 120 players representing stakeholders of lasting peace demonstrated the power of sport as a tool for peace. Members of civil society, government, the security sector and the diplomatic community played in the symbolic match. The match dovetailed with a football clinic hosted by the British Embassy and the Zamboanga City Government in cooperation with the Zamboanga Football Association. Some 100 school children also participated in the activity. "They come from different backgrounds - a mix of different faiths, cultures and ethnicity - to reflect diversity and inclusion, values at the heart of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games," the UK embassy said. Football exhibition games were between mixed teams from: