UN Ambassadors Marks the Opening of FIFA World Cup 2018
New York: The United Nations turned into a football fan zone on Thursday, as members of the Security Council, together with the secretary-general, changed into football jerseys to welcome and celebrate the opening of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
At about 10:30, ambassadors to the United Nations from Russia and other countries participating in the World Cup donned jerseys of their national teams and gathered in a hall at the UN headquarters. They posed for group photos and watched the opening match between Russia and Saudi Arabia together. In the afternoon, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, wearing a traditional black referee's shirt, entered the Security Council chamber together with UN General Assembly President Miroslav Lajcak. They posed for group photos with the council members, including Russian ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia. Russia, which holds the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council for June, organized the event to promote the flagship football tournament which opened on Thursday in Moscow, Russia.