SPAIN: Scottish actor Sean Connery talks about his hope for peace by playing the international sport of football.

Record ID: 572861

  • Title: SPAIN: Scottish actor Sean Connery talks about his hope for peace by playing the international sport of football.
  • Date: 1st December 2005
  • Summary: PAN OF MEDIA CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 16th December 2005 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Spain
  • Country: Spain
  • Topics: Entertainment,Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA5CBWTDIME5CD3RSX2Y1763J6R
  • Story Text: Actor Sean Connery joined Israeli politician Shimon Peres in hailing soccer as a great contributor to Middle East peace on Monday (November 28) when a combined Israeli and Palestinian team arrived in Spain to take on Spanish champions Barcelona. Tuesday's "Match for peace", is a friendly at the Nou Camp stadium. "I've always played soccer myself, very much a great supporter of Shimon and what he's trying to do since way back in Oslo, when we had a marvellous response in Italy five years ago," Connery told a news conference. The "Peace Team" includes Israeli internationals and Palestinian players from the occupied West Bank. "For the younger generation the combination of football, of music, of arts is the greatest I can think of," said Peres. "There will be a change in the climate within a week, I predict," said Connery. The Barcelona squad is packed with outstanding players such as Brazil's Ronaldinho, crowned European Footballer of the Year in Paris on Monday night, Cameroon international Samuel Eto'o and Argentine prodigy Lionel Messi. The match against Barcelona has been three years in the planning and is backed by the Peres Centre for Peace, a foundation set up by Peres. The game is aimed at building understanding and respect between Israelis and Palestinians and to contribute to the quest for peace in the Middle East.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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