Article July 12, 2004 Issue

Soccer lessons from Rwanda: the ball's in everyone's court

By Tony Lobl

I MISSED —by many decades—a remarkable football (soccer) game reputedly played in the Winter of 1914, on World War I's Western Front. Some

I German and British soldiers paused for an unofficial Christmas Day truce. Instead of exchanging deadly fire, they kicked a leather ball back and forth in a game that ended with a 3-2 German victory.

The hint of universal fraternity inherent in that match has resonated as folklore down the ages, although sadly—at the time—it was just a momentary glimmer of brotherhood. Commanders soon sent the troops back to their "real" and deadlier combat.

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