Taking to the Pitch for Peace (The FARC are “Fanatical about Football”)
Via the BBC: Colombia Farc rebels to play Valderrama peace match
Colombia’s biggest rebel group, Farc, has accepted a challenge from national football great Carlos Valderrama to play a match for peace.
[…]
In an open letter, the left-wing rebels said they were happy to play matches that helped foster reconciliation.
The first leg would be played in Cuba, where the Farc is holding peace talks.
In their letter, published on the rebels’ negotiating team blog, the Farc admitted they were "fanatical about football" and suggested a second match in Colombia and a parallel women’s contest.
Anything to help with the process, I suppose.
And an amusing side note from the story:
Valderrama played for his country on 111 occasions and starred in the 1998 World Cup in France. He has also been given a Golden Foot award in Monte Carlo.
But he recently became involved in controversy when Colombia’s ruling party declared him a Senate candidate for next year’s elections. The former midfielder adamantly denied being a candidate next day.
