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Football or Soccer?
Sport is one of the few truly global languages. For a few weeks, the world looks in the same direction, shaped by the same matches, the same moments, the same emotions. But beyond the stadiums and the spectacle, football has always existed in its simplest form: a ball, a space, and people willing to play. For refugees, football or soccer - it is a chance to dream again. When you have lost everything, that space matters.
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¡®Football saved my life¡¯ says genocide survivor
Thirty years have passed since Rwanda's 1994 genocide against the Tutsi unleashed unimaginable horror¡ª800,000 lives lost in just 100 days. Amid the slaughter, footballer Eric Eugene Murangwa, a Tutsi playing for Kigali's top team Rayon Sports, somehow survived when countless others perished. Now living in the UK, he channels that harrowing past into advocacy, working as a genocide educator and promoting sport as a tool for peace. In this UN News interview, he reveals how football became his lifeline and why the world must never forget.
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What if a simple game could heal trauma, boost grades, and break gender barriers? For millions of children, soccer does exactly that¡ªand UNICEF is using it to change lives daily.
Call it football or soccer¡ªthe World Cup reminds us that while we may be 8 billion people, we are one team united in helping every person thrive on a healthy planet.
Refugees don't need handouts¡ªthey need pitches. UNHCR's Gamechanging Team, led by Davies, shows the world what safety and opportunity can create.