180 women and men arrive in Lisbon with the sole objective of winning the football competition for which they registered. There is no more exciting scenario than this, especially when footballers are UN officials - that is, they spend all year trying to solve some of the world's most serious problems and rarely have a moment of fun.

The UN swimming athletes, meeting in Lisbon for the Inter-Agency Games, their annual sporting competition, were ready, trained and motivated. In the warm-up areas and on the pool slopes there was that silent nervousness that precedes great moments.

The perfect golf course is one that combines a great technical difficulty design with the natural beauty that surrounds it.

In theory, the UN is the ideal multinational organisation to have good basketball players.

A table tennis competition is an intense and exciting event.

At every game, singles or pairs, the players' movements display incredible strength, the techniques employed defy the imagination, the speed of the ball is dizzying!

Pétanque is quite popular in France and it is actively played in many nations with a history of French colonial influence, especially in Southeast Asia. There are also strong national federations in Germany, Spain and England.