By Pelé

1940's 1950's 1960's 1970's

On 27 September 1977 the United Nations gave me a certificate declaring that I was now ‘A Citizen of the World’. I was very moved by the honour, which came at a time when I was looking ahead to what I would do after football. My retirement was imminent, and although I had various business and sponsorship commitments I knew I wanted to do something more than just lend my name to the highest bidder for the rest of my life. It sounds grandiloquent to say that becoming a ‘citizen of the world’ helped focus my thoughts – after all, everyone on the planet is a citizen of the world in their own right – but it was a humbling reminder that I had come to occupy a different place in people’s attentions and affections. In kicking a ball around a pitch, and scoring some goals, I had somehow come to embody a little of what so many millions of people around the world loved about football, this beautiful game. I had been lucky to be blessed by God with a talent for it, and lucky to have loving and supportive parents, and lucky to have played alongside and against some of the best players in the world, who helped me hone my skills. Football had been my job for over 20 years, and now it was time to use the fame it had given me in a positive way.

Football’s world governing body, FIFA, was an obvious organisation to become more involved with, not least because I knew its President, João Havelange, well and had helped in his campaign to become elected. I was invited to join FIFA’s Fair Play board, a cause that has always been close to my heart. I had applauded the introduction of the red and yellow card system at the 1970 World Cup, and saw my work for FIFA as a way of encouraging higher standards of refereeing and stronger punishments for players who went out to hurt their opponents rather than just trying to relieve them of the ball.

As well as the Fair Play work I also came to perform a more general, almost ambassadorial role for FIFA, which took me all over the world as a figurehead for football and which I grew to enjoy very much. Following the UN honour described above I also became a ‘Goodwill Ambassador’ for UNICEF, the United Nations’ Children’s Fund, which was established in 1946 to help children who were suffering from hunger or disease. Since then it has become a permanent part of the UN’s Charter, working to protect the basic rights of children to things like education and healthcare. I took part in fund-raising events for this cause and I’m proud that to this day I’m still involved with the organisation’s work. Much later, in November 2001, I was able to combine these two interests by appearing at the launch of a partnership between FIFA and UNICEF to dedicate the 2002 World Cup to the children of the world. I was proud to take part – I was a child too, once, and a country that has no children has no future.