Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Friday in Manchester that he hoped Britain and China would strengthen cooperation and exchanges in the area of sports, including football, according to a statement by the country's foreign ministry.

[Sport] is a powerful tool for progress and for development," said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2011. In post-genocide Rwanda, Felicite Rwemalika's work is an embodiment of this idea. She has forged opportunities which have brought increased wealth and skills to women and their families - all by getting women to play football.

David Beckham is urging world leaders to put children at the center of the ambitious set of global initiatives that will be adopted Friday at the United Nations.

With hosting and qualifying for the World Cup finals listed as long-term goals, the authorities plan to substantially increase the number of young people playing football, with the number of special “soccer schools” raised to 20,000 after five years and to 50,000 in a decade.

We make it clear in everything that we do that their identity is British and football is a great way of doing this.It breaks down barriers, brings people together and is a fantastic way to learn about British history and culture. What could be more British than playing football?”

It is for the first time since its formation in 2011 that the Tibetan women football team in exile is travelling abroad. They would be meeting their Chinese counterpart during the trip. The Tibetan footballers have been invited to attend the Discover Football, the International women's football & cultural festival, in Berlin from June 27 to July 6. Other teams to take part in the festival include Brazil, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Tanzania, South Africa, and China. This year's theme of the festival is 'Beyond Borders.'

Swapping the lush green soccer fields of Australia for the arid dusty plains of Kenya, Adelaide United star Awer Mabil will make the long journey back to his birthplace at the Kakuma refugee camp to deliver hundreds of pairs of soccer boots and sports gear to children. Mabil said he was prompted to contribute in some way to the lives of the 180,000 refugees living in Kakuma after returning to visit last year and seeing scores of children playing soccer barefoot in the dirt.

Soccer is truly the world’s sport. It is played and watched by more people across the globe than any other sport.

Every four years, it is the center of global attention when the World Cup is held. It’s as if the World Series and Super Bowl were rolled into one mega-sporting event with viewership in the hundreds of millions.