STATEMENT

by

HENRY A. KISSINGER


to the

Subcommittee on Commerce, Transportation and Tourism
Energy and Commerce Committee
U.S. House of Representatives

April 7, 1983

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee:

One of the principal means of improving international relations is through sports.

The #1 world sport is soccer. The television audience for the World Cup final in Spain last year was 1.3 billion people. About one quarter of the world, in 92 countries, watched this sport spectacular. This compares with the ~~100,000,000~~ viewers for our pro-football Super Bowl. ONE MILLION

International soccer events staged during each year dwarf the United States sports scene in the national and international excitement that they create. Apart from the Olympic Games, the United States has no major world sports involvement. World Cup soccer is such an important world event that the Prime Minister of Madagascar devoted 10 minutes of his speech to the non-aligned nations meeting last month to criticism of the organization of previous World Cups.

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Our ambassadors have for a long time hoped that through the medium of soccer competition, the United States could improve its international relations with countries throughout the world.

Until recently, the United States was not ready to compete effectively in world competition. However, during the past decade, the U.S. interest in soccer has grown phenomenally. Today, we have more youngsters in organized soccer leagues than in our national pastime of baseball. Soccer in our colleges has grown to the point where more colleges play soccer, than football.

With this growth, we have begun to develop the U.S. player. This year, in a plan to compete effectively in the 1986 World Cup, we have already established the American national team in training in Washington, under the title Team America.

The one event that would sweep the U.S. into the world sport of soccer would be for us to host the World Cup in 1986.

It's important not only for international relations - it's important economically, too. I would expect at least 150,000 foreign visitors to come to the U.S. during the tournament. The World Cup is a competition that lasts for 30 days, which means that worldwide soccer enthusiasts and their families will spend from one week to the whole month in the U.S.

In tourism, the World Cup may well be the world's most lucrative event. All of the sites in the United States recommended for use in 1986 have recognized the enormous potential. The political, civic and business leaders of those communities have, therefore, given their full support to hosting World Cup '86 in the United States and their individual cities.

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To the world, this event - which takes place every four years - is more important than almost any international crisis. It will fill the front pages of the world's newspapers. It will be the main running story of world television for the whole month.

President Reagan has already indicated his support for this event. American major corporations including Coca Cola, R.J. Reynolds, Gillette and McDonalds were principal sponsors of World Cup '82 in Spain, thereby recognizing the importance of American business interests being associated with the world's greatest event. I would hope that the Congress of the nation will forcefully go on record as supporting the U.S. as host for the 1986 World Cup, and thus indicating to the world our united effort.