Football for Peace

Football for Peace is a non-governmental organization (NGO) with its headquarters based in London and supported by the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace. It was co-founded internationally in 2013 by English-born Pakistani footballer Kashif Siddiqi and Chilean FIFA legend Elias Figueroa.

Originally started by Figueroa in 2006 as a campaign known as Futbol Por la Paz in South America. Siddiqi became the co-founder of Football for Peace Global in 2013 and in the same year, the concept made the transition from "campaign" to implementing NGO status with its international incorporation. The initiative was based on what had been achieved in the Americas, and brought to Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Far East.

In 2015, Football for Peace Global created a peace process which is inclusive of peace matches, legacy projects known as "City for Peace" and sports diplomacy toolkits influencing social change. The process was intended to focus on community integration, reducing tensions between different groups and creating dialogue between nations.

Football for Peace hosted Joko Widodo, 7th president of Indonesia in East London to showcase the peace process on 20 April 2016. He was accompanied by the British government officials where they met 60 youngsters from Newham, London and three Football for Peace ambassadors from Birmingham, who participated in the day-long workshop at Chobham Academy, Newham.

At the event, the NGO showcased educational football diplomacy toolkits which included youth leadership programs in bringing together youths from different backgrounds, religions and ethnicities.

In October 2016, co-founder of Football for Peace, Kashif Siddiqi was invited to meet Pope Francis and launch the first "Sport at the service of Humanity" at a press conference, which was organized by the Pontifical Council for Culture under the leadership of Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi at the Vatican and welcomed the presence of faith leaders. Siddiqi spoke on the Global Peace Process and the role sport has to unite.

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