Honour for football

Football's popularity is unmatched in nonfootball playing nations as well. The game is a universal language, so to say, and has nicely flowered over the decades through champion players from diverse backgrounds coming together for a common cause: regale fans with skill and perseverance. No surprise, the lovely game is viewed as a promoter of universal peace despite on-field acrimony. Now, in a huge honour to football, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has proclaimed May 25 as “World Football Day”. May 25 marks the 100th anniversary of the first ever football tournament. As aptly described by a diplomat at the UNGA, football is the “number one game played and followed across the globe”. Dr Ganapathi Bhat, Akola