Soccer nominated for 2001 Nobel Peace Prize

The game known to some as Football and to others as Soccer has been nominated for the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize for promoting understanding among nations.

Despite the fact that more than a dozen people died during stampedes and riots at games last year, Swedish lawmaker Lars Gustafsson insisted that soccer helps international relations. "Soccer has and will continue to play an important role in the global arena, when it comes to creating understanding between people," Gustafsson wrote in his nomination letter to the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo.

Sometimes, Gustafsson wrote, hostile nations meet on the soccer field when other contact would be unthinkable. He noted that Iran played the United States in the 1998 World Cup.

According to Gustafsson, FIFA, the International Federation of Football Associations, could accept the honour on behalf of the sport.

The nomination was one of dozens streaming into Oslo ahead of the Feb. 1 deadline. Last year, there were 150 nominations for the award, which went to South Korean President Kim Dae-jung.

The winner is announced in October.