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Football and UNICEF Unite to
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| UNICEF-FIFA Web pages |
NEW YORK, 20 November 2001 - In a ceremony today at the United Nations, UNICEF and FIFA (the world governing body of football), announced a global alliance for children. FIFA will dedicate the 2002 World Cup to children under the banner of "Say Yes for Children." This is the first time a World Cup has ever been dedicated to a humanitarian cause.
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Carol Bellamy, UNICEF Executive Director |
It
is not the first time that UNICEF and football have joined forces.
The game has been helping us to 'Kick Polio out of Africa,'
and several of our Goodwill Ambassadors are current or former
football stars who are working tirelessly to build a world fit
for children. 
The alliance will call for:
Changing the world with children: A major focus of this alliance will be to put children at the forefront of people's minds and get people involved in changing the world with children. These key messages will be promoted in various ways:
- Say Yes for Children: The partnership will publicize the Say Yes
for Children campaign, which urges people everywhere to pledge their
commitment to 10 essential actions needed to improve and protect children's
lives, and to vote for the top three actions they think are most important.
To date, over 41 million pledges have been collected worldwide via
the Web and paper ballots. The campaign was launched in April and
is spearheaded by a partnership of children's rights organizations
seeking to build a Global Movement for Children (GMC).
- Football making a difference for children: Young people will be featured during 2002 World Cup events and festivities. At every game, children will lead the players on to the field wearing FIFA/UNICEF "Say Yes" t-shirts.
In addition, a series of TV spots are being planned with top footballers expressing their support for Say Yes and urging fans to get involved.
"I am very much looking forward to this cooperation with UNICEF," FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter said. "It is FIFA's obligation as a global sports organization to help children all over the world, because football offers fun and hope based on tolerance, respect and fair play."
"We are very excited about this partnership with FIFA," said UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy. "It is not the first time that UNICEF and football have joined forces. The game has been helping us to 'Kick Polio out of Africa,' and several of our Goodwill Ambassadors are current or former football stars who are working tirelessly to build a world fit for children."
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For further information, b-roll materials or interview requests, please
contact:
Samantha Henry,
UNICEF New York, tel: +1 212 326 7259, e-mail: shenry@unicef.org
Shima Islam, UNICEF New York,
tel: +1 212 824 6949, e-mail: sislam@unicef.org
Markus Siegler, FIFA Communication,
tel: +41 1 384 95 95,
mobile: +41 79 322 0323,
e-mail: markus.siegler@fifa.org
Note to Broadcasters: Please see our "Children and Football" video b-roll. The 12-minute tape includes the following sequences: children all over the world playing football, UNICEF AIDS awareness programmes in Kenya and Honduras using football as a tool to communicate vital messages to young men and boys, UNICEF's partnership with Manchester United, UNICEF Goodwill ambassadors Roger Moore and George Weah playing football. To order a copy of the tape or to read the script and shotlist, please visit www.unicef.org/broadcast/brolls/.
