Princess Rani Vanouska Modely is the Founder of the Football World Heritage Organization, and the official ambassador delegate to lead the candidacy of Football as a world intangible heritage to be registered on UNESCO’s list. Rani Vanouska T.Modely is a descendant from one of the most important houses of the Indian Empire. Princess Rajput, of the Chauhan royal dynasty, heiress of the direct lineage of King Hammira-Deva Chauhan of Ranthambhore. Whose ancestor is none other than HRH Prithviraj Chauhan III, “the last Emperor of India” who ruled the kingdoms of Ajmer and Delhi in northern India. She is originally from French, British and Indo-European noble families.
Princess Rani Vanouska T. Modely views the sport as a tool for rekindling hope in the lives of children around the world. For Princess Rani Vanouska, football is more than just a competition or a venture for profit-making. Her role is to bring together Heads of State, leading world institutions, FIFA federations, iconic personalities from the world of football, politics, economics, and culture, and the world public, to call on UNESCO to include our football in the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
Helping football grow means also helping poor local communities grow. As football is played mostly by kids Rani Vanouska Modely attention is focused on bringing humanitarian relief for young people all over the world. Football is creating bridges between people without distinction of language, religion, race or sex discrimination and , because of this, it is a perfect tool to change the world and promote human rights, equity and fairness. Princess Rani Vanouska T. Modely views the sport as a tool for rekindling hope in the lives of children around the world.
Princess Rani Vanouska Modely conceived her Football World Heritage idea when invited to the Champion’s League Final awards ceremony in Monaco in the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Football is much more than the most popular sport, it is a universal common language shared by 4.5 billion people on the planet. It, therefore, has its full place in the service of the objectives of the United Nations: education, culture, social inclusion, equality, environment and the development of the programs of nations united in the service of PEACE.
Rani Vanouska Modely’s engagement is one of the biggest reasons why Jacques Seguela has admired her over the years. At the UNESCO headquarter in Paris, they already presented the project to all the UNESCO State members, who shared their support and enthusiasm in this global UNESCO candidacy. They aim to make football the most historic candidacy of UNESCO with the participation of 185 States members.
What is your role, approach and objectives in this UNESCO candidacy? As Ambassador Delegate to the Member States of UNESCO, my role is to bring together Heads of State, high world institutions, FIFA federations, iconic sports, political, economic and cultural personalities and the world public, to call on UNESCO to include our soccer in the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. Now, soccer, before being a question of competition or money, is first and foremost the most universal sport, a true language that children all over the world speak even before mastering their own language, a link between territories and countries. We want to bring all peoples together, and thus affirm the universal dimension of soccer within all the nations of the world in the service of Peace. The aim of this candidacy, and tomorrow of this UNESCO label, is to gain recognition for the challenge of social and cultural openness that soccer brings at a time when the world is tending to close its social and economic borders. The objective is also to encourage the signatory states of UNESCO and the world of soccer to adopt policies to support and finance social, educational and charitable initiatives. Our mission is to unite all soccer leaders around this project so that more than ever, soccer will be the symbol of universality and sharing in an open and peaceful world.
“Football can change the world.” It’s a common language, activity, source of health and happiness. Many football organizations have already shown support for Princess Rani Vanouska Modely and her UNESCO football candidacy bid. “We are conscious of the enormous power of the most popular sport in the world, of its capacity to act as a vehicle for universal values such as fair-play and respect and of its efficiency in the strive for social improvement that is the equality between men and women, social inclusion, tolerance, and education. We hope that Football will be saved in the Intangible Cultural Heritage list of UNESCO” – Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA).
What’s the goal ? Our goal is to bring a real ball to every child on the planet that cannot afford one as a universal symbol of freedom and equality. Developing football infrastructure, local projects, giving all children a place where football can be played. Football means happy and healthy kids, and there is no better investment for the future than that.
Football, as Princess Rani Vanouska T. Modely explained, conveys emotions through its ability to bring the world together. Examples of this can be seen in the 1998 World Cup in France, when tensions were slightly eased between Iran and the United States, or in 2006, when the Ivory Coast qualified for the Germany World Cup and helped end a civil war in that country. And those are just a few examples. And Princess Rani Vanouska T. Modely believes that this unity can be something that helps us tackle one of the greatest challenges we have faced, which is the daunting challenge of climate change. In order to be designated a world heritage activity, football aims to get the support of 185 member nations. And it will take exactly the same type of multinational support to address the challenge of climate change.
Some think at Princess Rani Vanouska Modely as a Mother Theresa for football and the comparison is natural if you look at the motives and the goals involved. Fighting against child poverty, fighting for human rights and happiness, that creates similarities between the two. The young beauty, Princess Rani Vanouska T. Modely thinks that football should be registered as part of UNESCO’s World Cultural Intangible Heritage with a special focus on children and unity ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. This require 185 countries to sign the initiative and many already did it.
Rani Vanouska Modely’s commitment to this sport has a lot to do with its capacity to unite and spread positivity: even in the gloomiest, war-torn regions in the world, Football managed to unify millions of people all over the world. The princess made her first steps in the world of football when she walked down the stairs of the famous UEFA blue carpet of the Grimaldi Forum. Instantly, she was amazed by the spirit of the game and how it has become the route for change and hope for millions around the world. Rani Vanouska Modely conceived her Football World Heritage idea when she was certain that this was the way to unite the globe and make way for peace.