Former Premier League forward Duncan Watmore has addressed delegates at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. The former Sunderland and Middlesbrough striker took to the stage during Global Health Futures Day, where he argued that lessons from elite athletic performance should be used to improve everyday public health.
Watmore, 32, is now head of elite performance at the wellbeing firm PEAK4. His move into that role follows a 15-year professional career in which he made 336 appearances, and he combined his playing days with study, completing a first-class economics degree and a masters. He also represented England at Under-21 level.
Reflecting on the speech, Watmore said: “Using the power of football, and sport more broadly, to help make the world a better place is something I’ve always been incredibly passionate about. To be able to speak about that on a stage like UNGA was a real privilege.”
Watmore is not the first football figure to appear at the General Assembly. Pelé, David Beckham, Didier Drogba and Kaká have previously addressed the assembly in ambassadorial roles, while 1995 Ballon d’Or winner George Weah took to the podium as President of Liberia. Other leading names, including Lionel Messi, Brazil’s Marta, Ronaldo, Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, have also championed humanitarian, equal pay and development causes around UNGA summits.