SPORTS: Soccer

One of Jaqui White's many qualities is that she has a great sense of humor. She sends me this Associated Press article, datelined Oslo, Norway, probably planted by Carlos López:

"The game of soccer has been nominated for the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for promoting understanding among nations. Although more than a dozen fans died during stampedes and riots at games last year, Swedish lawmaker Lars Gustafsson insisted Monday that soccer helps international relations.

'Soccer has and will continue to play an important role in the global arena, when it comes to creating understanding between people,' Gustafsson wrote in his nomination letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo.

Sometimes, Gustafsson wrote, hostile nations meet on the soccer field when other contact would be unthinkable. He noted that Iran played the United States in the 1998 World Cup. He said FIFA, the International Federation of Football Associations, could accept the honor on behalf of the sport."

Ronald Hilton - 1/25/01