On 20 July, as part of a two-day mission to Morocco, Wilfried Lemke attended a football match of a special nature: a team of Moroccan youth challenged a team of Sub-Saharan refugee youth, respecting sportsmanship.

The match, which took place at the Maroc Telecom Stadium in the district of Agdal, in Rabat, was organized by the Fondation Orient Occident (FOO) in cooperation with the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Supporters of the two teams were staff from the Foundation and the UN System in Morocco.

Mr. Lemke expressed his strong belief in supporting disadvantaged youth and in using sport as a tool to foster social integration by explaining to the youth: "You don't have to have the same background or speak the same language. Sport itself is a universal language and on the pitch everyone is the same!"

After the match, the Special Adviser congratulated the two teams for their great performance and concluded that "through sport, we learn to respect each other and to play as a team. Respect and team spirit, two values that are essential for creating a better world!"