FIFA wins WHO award for making World Cup tobacco free
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has won WHO's tobacco control award for its opposition to smoking, culminating in its decision to declare this year's World Cup events tobacco free. The award was presented at FIFA's 53rd Congress in Seoul, Republic of Korea, on 28 May.
"Sports and tobacco do not mix," said Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland. "WHO's decision to back our public cause is a significant step towards achieving this goal. The world's biggest sporting even is now tobacco-free."
As part of the Memorandum of Cooperation signed by WHO and FIFA, there was no tobacco advertising or promotion at World Cup venues, no sale of tobacco products there, and no smoking in public areas except in clearly marked smoking zones. Frequent announcements reminded the public about the tobacco-free policy.
Further progress towards dissociating sports from tobacco was marked with the decision of the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) to make its matches tobacco-free as well. FIVB is one of the largest sports federations, with members in 217 countries. Its President, Rubén Acosta said "Volleyball provides millions of people all over the world with fun, athleticism and exciting competition. We believe it is very important to join forces with WHO to make sure those people hear and understand the tobacco-free message." 