UN ambassadors and journalists get World Cup fever UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon got into the spirit of the World Cup by kicking off the first ever match between UN ambassadors and correspondents on Wednesday. At least 25 different countries were represented at the match, played on New York’s Upper East Side. The correspondents largely had age on their side, but at least two of the ambassadors revealed that they had formerly been semi-professional football players. An hour into the game the score was 3-2 to the ambassadors, but a sudden thunderstorm led to the pitch being closed before full-time. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES.