Hak Ja Han Moon, the wife of Rev. Sun Myung Moon, found the time to watch World Cup games when visiting Malta recently as part of a 120-nation global speaking tour.

In Malta, Hak Ja Han and some of her entourage were reported to have caught the quarterfinal game between Brazil and France on TV in their hotel, in a respite from the gruelling schedule of daily speeches as the tour moved into Europe.

Both Mrs Moon and her husband are avid soccer fans. Sun Myung Moon founded Il Hwa soccer team, which, as five times Korean champion is the country’s most successful soccer club. His Peace Cup project is a new initiative that promotes soccer as an agent of peace.

But she encountered problems in Israel. While high level officials waited to welcome Hak Ja Han at an airport in Amman, her private jet was held up for an hour at Israel’s Tel Aviv airport. Israeli warplanes needed the airspace to pound targets in Gaza as they have done for several consecutive nights after the abduction of an Israeli soldier by Palestinians sparked a fresh Middle East crisis.