"The fact is that the World Cup makes us green with envy," Annan wrote in a guest editorial in Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

"As the only game in the world that is played in every country and by people of every race and religion, football is one of the few institutions that is as exceptional as the United Nations."

Annan pointed out world soccer governing body FIFA has 205 members compared to the United Nations' 191 and that "everybody on the planet will talk about the World Cup".

He said he wished people would discuss development issues as seriously as they will their team's performance in the world's biggest sporting event and that nations would compete with each other in governance the way they will on the field from June 9 to July 9.

"I wish countries would compete with each other on respecting human rights, that they would try to outdo each other on the survival rate of children or to shine in education," he said.

"I wish we had other things that leveled the playing fields the way football does, where only talent and team spirit matter, such as freer and fairer trade."

Annan said it was "a special honour" for Ghana, his home country, to have qualified for the World Cup for the first time and that for each African nation taking part, the tournament will have a special meaning.

"For a country like Angola, which knew years of misery, the World Cup will bring a sense of renewal.

"And for a nation like Ivory Coast, which has been torn apart by conflict, it is a symbol of national unity and the hope for a new start."