Say Yes, July 2002: Pure Football, Pure Hope

Nothing matches the game of Football for its grip on the hearts of young people. (The same may be said for the not-so-young, but the ability of older enthusiasts to kick a ball with any style tends to decrease with age.) In Turkey, the ‘beautiful game’ has always been popular but it has never enjoyed such undivided attention as it did during the FIFA World Cup 2002. In case you were asleep throughout the month of June -- a near impossible feat on any day the National Team played -- Turkey came third after a break from the tournament of forty-eight years.

Within minutes of the final whistle in Seoul, Turkish roads were congested with a festival of blaring horns and waving flags and children everywhere skittered footballs up and down the streets, excited and enthused by the success of their National Team.

Weeks after the event, there’s another game in the neighbourhood every evening and it isn’t uncommon to see a child bouncing a ball on the pavement as he makes his way home.

Such is the influence of the World Cup tournament -- a truly global event in everyone’s life. The game has an unparalleled history of demolishing barriers of race, religion, class and nationality, bringing people together in the most intransigent situations.

Being aware of the game’s powerful influence on people, The Fédération Internationale de Football (FIFA) has a history of involvement in campaigns supporting children. In 1999, in partnership with the United Nations, FIFA launched the Pure Football, Pure Hope campaign raising funds for UNICEF through the sale of merchandise.

Thanks to FIFA’s involvement with UNICEF in the Kick Polio Out of Africa campaign, well-known players appear on TV and radio encouraging people to ensure that they have been immunised. Good progress in Africa means that this global campaign to eradicate the disease is nearing completion.

The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) explicitly guarantees all children the right to play, leisure and recreation. Being guided by the CRC, UNICEF understands that sport is an excellent medium for making contact with young people and the benefits of fitness training to their general health and well-being is unquestionable. So it was with great pleasure that FIFA President, Joseph Blatter and UNICEF Executive Director, Carol Bellamy formally launched the FIFA/UNICEF Alliance in November, 2001. Promoting the 2002 FIFA World Cup as it’s first major event, the Alliance dedicated the competition to Say Yes for Children.

At the formal announcement, Carol Bellamy said:

Football is something that makes the ‘global community’ real as a humanitarian force. The football community has the power to advance humanity. And to help ensure that all children everywhere have health, education and equality.

The announcement was broadcast globally, the following week, on the occasion of the World Cup Draw in Korea, giving Say Yes for Children a welcome boost.

During the course of the tournament children in Say Yes for Children t-shirts escorted players onto the pitch at the beginning of games. FIFA and UNICEF called on warring factions around the world to lay down arms, enabling UNICEF to deliver food, supplies and other vital services to children in contact areas.

Local broadcast campaigns were produced in participating countries where footballers urged people to take action in support of children. Many of the footballers donated memorabilia to a Yahoo! auction in support of UNICEF.

Following the objectives of Say Yes for Children, the FIFA/UNICEF Alliance aims to place children’s rights high on the public agenda, mobilising support to change the world for, and with, children.

UNICEF Turkey and the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) made an informal agreement to have well-known players deliver messages to raise awareness of children’s rights issues through the media. The former International Captain, Ogün Temizkanoğlu presented a television spot underlining the importance of quality education for all children.

Further projects for the partnership in Turkey are under discussion.

The 2002 FIFA World Cup was only the start of a partnership which will put the world’s most popular game at the service of it’s most precious resource, children. FIFA is committed to being a powerful humanitarian force and UNICEF will channel that commitment to young people everywhere.

The FIFA/UNICEF Alliance is an opportunity for UNICEF to raise it’s profile and reach out to a much wider global audience, maximising potential media attention for it’s activities.

Looking towards the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, it is clear that strong country level partnerships between UNICEF and FIFA-affiliated national football associations will ensure the long-term strength and sustainability of the FIFA/UNICEF Alliance.

Haydi Türkiye!

Where to now? outlines some ideas about football as a tool for advocacy, training and education. UNICEF Turkey followed Say Yes for Children to Seoul. Find out more about the FIFA/UNICEF Alliance from our global headquarters.

Previous page  |  Next page

ARCHIVE

Search UNICEF Turkey
   

• Advanced Search

Download this issue in pdf format. [PDF 1.4MB]

 * How to use RSS …