A Goal for Peace: Iraq and Messi’s Ambassadors of Peace played at San Siro

On 22 December 2008, Milan’s Giuseppe Meazza – San Siro stadium hosted “A Goal for Peace”: for the first time, Iraq’s national team played there, facing a team of Ambassadors of Peace captained by Lionel Messi and coached by Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti.

The match was promoted by the World Organization for Peace (OMPP · WOFP) and the association Un Goal per la Vita, in collaboration with AC Milan, Inter and the City of Milan. It was broadcast in more than 100 countries, including on Eurosport, Al Jazeera and TyC, and in Italy on RAI 3.

Star players on the pitch for peace in Iraq

Alongside Messi, the Ambassadors of Peace team included players such as Roberto Carlos, Patrick Vieira, Sebastien Frey, Riccardo Montolivo, Marco Amelia, Goran Pandev, Edmilson, Pepe, Chicco Evani and Stefano Eranio, among others. The day also featured a veterans’ match between Inter and Milan and former players from other international teams, and a friendly between the two clubs’ youth sides.

Before the main match, Carlos Peralta, President of OMPP; Don Davide Solano, President of Un Goal per la Vita; and Ali Aldabbagh, spokesman for the Iraqi Prime Minister, presented the teams with a joint appeal for peace to return soon to Iraq.

Proceeds for a good cause

The proceeds went to building orphanages in Abidjan, Baghdad and Bogotá, and to founding a University Institute for Peace Studies in Rome.

The result

According to OMPP’s account, the Ambassadors of Peace team beat Iraq, coached by Jorvan Vieira, 2–1. Afterwards, Guardiola summed up the spirit of the day: there were no winners or losers, because the winner was peace.

The match was shown live in Iraq and rebroadcast the following day on Iraqi television. The organization received a medal from the Italian Republic and a cup from the Italian Chamber of Deputies.

Sources: OMPP account · Genova Press, match preview (in Italian) · Digital-News.it, 22 December 2008.