Edwin Moses and Tanni Grey-Thompson join Sepp Blatter and Ramon Calderon at Historic Summit on the Power of Sport

Also present at the conference, which was held to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Peres Center for Peace, were former Australian Rules footballer Jason McCartney, who survived the 2002 Bali bombing, and leading American boxing promoter Don King.

A day before a ground-breaking soccer match between Palestine and Jordan, attended by Blatter, was held in Ramallah in the West Bank, the same town in which Moses and Grey-Thompson had visited a Laureus-supported basketball project for refugees and underprivileged Palestinian children over the weekend. (For more details of this visit, see www.laureus.com)

The session at the King David Hall in Tel Aviv was opened with a message from former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, the founder of the Peres Center, highlighting how sport had been used as a tool for bringing communities together in the divided region.

The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation was then honoured with a special Peace Award, received by Director Ned Wills, in recognition of its commitment and support for peace building in the region. Laureus Chairman Edwin Moses said: “Everyone at Laureus is grateful and delighted. The Peres Center is ten years old this year. Next year Laureus too will be ten years old. I believe both organisations have contributed to the cause of peace and reconciliation in countries and regions where communities are divided. . Our co-operation has been rewarding and successful and the winners are the young people of the area to whom we can offer hope for the future.”

The panel discussion was opened by FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who praised Laureus for its work. He said: “After watching the presentations I have nothing to say. It is clear to see how the power of sport changes lives.” He went on to reinforce how football around the world has over 280 million direct and indirect participants and over one billion stakeholders. He also said that football worldwide has a role to play in ensuring sport remained independent of politics.

IOC member Alex Gilardy reminded the panel that even more than 2000 years ago, at the dawn of the Olympic Games, safe travel to and from the Olympics was a pre-requisite. He added: “This relates to communities both here in Israel and across the world where sport can be used to unite communities and stop wars. Sport has a very important role to play in the political arena.”

Double Olympic gold medallist Edwin Moses was asked about his feelings at not being able to participate in the Moscow Olympic Games in 1980 because of the American boycott. He replied: “If I had a regret it was that apart from not being able to compete, the winning time was more than a second slower than my best time that year. But you learn to live with it.”

On another question regarding sport during the Cold War, Moses said: “It made competition more exciting and intense, but in the end we were friends and still wanted to compete and win.”

Moses revealed how it took him time to come to terms with life after his competitive career was over, but his involvement with the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation for the past ten years has helped him to fulfil many ambitions. “I realise now that sport has a tremendous role to play in our lives and has given me the opportunity to touch lives and along with my fellow Laureus World Sports Academy members make a difference all over the world,” he said.

British Paralympic legend Tanni Grey-Thompson said: “Growing up with a disability was not something I saw as a challenge. Sport gives young people the opportunity to grow emotionally and physically and to prepare for a long and healthy life. Young people should be encouraged to learn and enjoy playing sport. Through my work with Laureus we see the impact sport can play in communities and at government level. We saw how in Beijing, the staging of the Paralympics affected governmental issues such as the implementation of wheelchair access for the subway system.

“We all have parents and many of us are parents. As a nine-year-old disabled child, I was encouraged to participate and given support by my parents and family. This is so important. We should all be considering how the lessons sport has to teach young people might give them, as future leaders, the tools they need to address tomorrow’s challenges.”

The final word came from former Australian Rules footballer Jason McCartney, who survived the Bali bombing despite 50% burns to his body but fought back from these injuries to play in what he described as “his greatest game” to raise funds for the victim of the tragedy. His lesson learned was simply stated: “It allowed me to focus on not allowing the terrorist to win. It’s not what you are dealt with, it’s how you deal with it.”

The Peres Center for Peace was founded by Nobel Peace Laureate Shimon Peres, the former Prime Minister of Israel. Its mission is to establish an infrastructure of peace for the people of the Middle East. As a non-partisan, non-governmental organisation, the Peres Center works parallel to, but independently of, the political process towards peace. Sport plays its part in the attempt to bridge the gulf between the Israeli and Palestinian communities through the Peres Center’s Twinned School’s Peace project. Laureus has been supporting the work of the Peres Center since 2002.

The mission of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation is to fund and promote the power of sport to effect positive social change in communities around the world. Since its inception, Laureus has raised over €15 million for projects which have helped improve the lives of more than 750,000 children. The Foundation supports over 60 humanitarian projects worldwide.

The Laureus World Sports Academy is a unique association of 46 of the greatest living sporting legends led by its Chairman Edwin Moses. The Academy members share a belief in the power of sport to break down barriers, bring people together and to improve the lives of young people around the world. They act as global ambassadors for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, volunteering their time to visit projects to draw attention to the problems afflicting society today.

For further information please contact:
Mal Thompson
Laureus Global Communications
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Website: www.laureus.com