The UN/UNIDO Brussels Football Team wins the Schuman Trophy 2013

The game

In a dramatic final against the Council of the EU, the UN/UNIDO Brussels Football Team today won the Schuman Trophy this year. After a 1:1 in the regular time, the UN team won the penalty shoot-out with a score of 4-2. The captain of the UN team, Florian Iwinjak from UNIDO, said: "This is amazing! I am very proud of the team. We were the underdogs, but fought with heart and soul and in the spirit of One UN, and won!" For a short video of last penalty, please see: http://db.tt/DZsWglpP

The trophy

The Schuman Trophy has been a fair-play charity football tournament in support of impoverished and marginalized children inside and outside of the EU since 17 years. Since the beginning of the first Schuman Trophy some 150 projects in developing countries as well as in Belgium have been supported by EU personnel. For many years the Trophy was a European-Commission internal event, since five years other EU institutions as well as the United Nations have been invited to participate.

UNIDO

UNIDO has been leading and supporting the team for 4 years. Christophe Yvetot, UNIDO representative to the EU says: "We are happy to contribute to foster the spirit of the UN here in Brussels and to show that the UN and UNIDO are strongly committed to engage with the European Union and its institutions in a human and fun way to celebrate our fruitful partnership aiming at poverty reduction and sustainable development."

EU-UN/UNIDO Partnership

Since the signature of the Financial and Administrative Framework Agreement (FAFA) in 2003, the partnership between the UN and the EU has sharply increased in terms of technical assistance. Also the cooperation between UNIDO and the EU has been very fruitful with more than €125 million implemented in over 70 countries in the last five years. The Schuman Trophy represents only one aspect of an increasingly strong partnership between the UN, UNIDO and the EU. It symbolizes a different form of bringing people together around a cherished passion and for a good purpose.

Hearty Congratulations to UN Brussels Football Team!

Additional links:

• Schuman trophy
• UN partnership with the EU
• UNIDO's partnership with the EU