Nigeria, July 19 -- In Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, I attended a tournament organised by the United Nations peacekeeping mission. Young people from communities that had recently been on opposite sides of a violent conflict were playing together on the same team. I still remember the moment when Gloire a Dieu passed the ball to Moussa. It was an ordinary pass, yet it carried extraordinary meaning. Only a few years earlier, their families had been enemies.

The tournament was never just about football. Through training sessions, matches and informal encounters, young people gradually learnt to trust one another again. They discovered respect, cooperation and, above all, the possibility of a shared future. Football di...