Under-20 in action in my backyard

After spending all of last summer criss-crossing around Germany it’s nice to see world class soccer being played in my backyard. The Under-20 World Cup in Canada has been a very successful so far according to all the major press outlets. I even managed to catch a few games myself.

While the press has done a good job of covering the technical aspects of the game, I have been surprised how little has been said about the context in which many of the players who have graced the pitches in Canada live.

For example, many of the players in the Congolese team are young enough to have lived through civil wars and militia conflicts. A peace accord to end the long-standing conflict between the government and rebels was reached just in 2003. Despite the peace accord, several militias are active in the south of the country.

This Under-20 World Cup was also a historical first because the North and South Korea participating at the same time. This has never happened before. It’s important to remember that these two countries are still technically at war.

Nigeria, which had played tremendously well, is a country that continues to experience civil conflict. Much of it driven by the politics over the control of the countries’ significant oil reserves. The Government of Canada and other Commonwealth countries condemned the Nigerian government and Shell in the recent past for the violence they have used against rural peoples.

If you weren’t aware of these facts before I hope you are now.

Bye for now,

Maty Campeonisimo

P.S. – Check out the new Make Goals Not War documentary trailer

Maty's back on the Web

It’s been a really long time since my last post. It’s been a really hectic and exciting year here at Make Goals Not War. Where do I even begin?

After I returned from Germany and having received such strong support from thousands of people, I knew I had to try even harder to make our dream of resolving international conflicts on the soccer field. One person dies every minute from violence. We must all try to do whatever we can do to stop all the unnecessary death and suffering.

I have continued to speak with world leaders and convince them to double and even triple their efforts to ensure we have a more peaceful world. But I know I can’t do this alone without your and others help.

In response to all the positive support I got in Germany and from around the world since, the Make Goals Not War team decided to establish Make Goals Not War as a non-profit organization. This will give us a formal structure in which to do our work in advocating for a better and more peaceful future with organizations such as the United Nations and FIFA. We also want to take advantage of the opportunities on the Web to spread our message and use it as a platform for peace. We’re working one several projects (link here for more information).

After a year of very hard work the Team has finished the Make Goals Not War documentary film (link here for more info). We’re planning on making the documentary as accessible as possible and we’ll let you know one we figure out how to broadcast it to the world.

So please stay tuned for more updates in the coming weeks, visit our new and improved Web site and if you support the idea of Make Goals Not War, please sign our petition which is available on the web (link here).

Maty Campeonisimo