EA SPORTS FC FUTURES Partners With UNICEF
Family Friendly Gaming News
LONDON--(May 22, in the year of our Lord 2024
) --
Half of all children in Namibia face poverty, which limits
social mobility opportunities, increases risk of exploitation
and abuse, and means that many girls in particular are unable to
complete their education. UNICEF already works with partners in
the country to provide accessible interventions for girls to
gain new life skills and occupational training to transform
their prospects, often through the platform of sports. Through
Namibia Futures, UNICEF will now reach a further 46,000 young
people in Namibia, supporting them through football and
games-based training to achieve their potential both on and off
the pitch.
“We’re thrilled to expand the partnership between our two
organizations, following over five years of successful
collaboration between EA SPORTS and Soccer Aid for UNICEF,” said
Andrea Hopelain, GM & SVP of Publishing, EA SPORTS. “Through
this program, we hope to meaningfully impact many young lives in
Namibia, using the power of football and our EA SPORTS FC
platform.”
“There are 300 million adolescent girls around the world today.
With the right resources, networks and opportunities, they may
be the greatest group of changemakers the world has ever seen,”
said Jon Sparkes, Chief Executive of the UK Committee for UNICEF
(UNICEF UK). “Our new partnership with EA SPORTS FC, Namibia
Futures, will support over 46,000 Namibian adolescents to build
better futures both on and off the football pitch. I would like
to thank EA SPORTS FC for standing by children and helping
UNICEF to not only improve adolescents' physical wellbeing, but
also to develop key life skills that help them transform their
lives with our partnership.”
This year marks five years of an incredible partnership between
EA SPORTS and Soccer Aid for UNICEF. United by a goal to help
protect play for children everywhere, EA SPORTS has helped
Soccer Aid for UNICEF to raise nearly £100m to support UNICEF’s
transformative work.
Shane Horgan, Managing Director of Soccer Aid Productions, said:
“We are delighted to be continuing our longstanding partnership
with EA SPORTS – and, indeed, deepening the hugely positive
impact that this relationship has already had on Soccer Aid for
UNICEF. We are all extremely proud to be part of such important
work, which we know will continue to help improve the lives of
children around the world.”
Across a successful first year, FC FUTURES has opened up the
beautiful game to over 170,000 people across six continents by:
Developing and publishing a library of 7 free-to-access
practices, in partnership with UEFA, as resources for young
players and coaches to utilise in training. These FC FUTURES
ACADEMY practices are currently being integrated into 54
National Football Associations and their Coach Education
Programmes.
Supporting the creation and refurbishment of 11 pitches
globally, from South London to Sydney.
Providing over 12,000 footballs to grassroots clubs, coaches and
children as well as further items including boots, cones, bibs
and more.
Partnering with multiple organisations, brands and charities
including UEFA Grassroots, the Premier League, LA LIGA and now
UNICEF, to make all of this possible and deliver programmes that
make a long-lasting impact.
Awarding the inaugural FC FUTURES Hero Award to FC FUTURES
ambassador, Ian Wright, to recognise his outstanding work in
inspiring the world to love football, alongside a charitable
donation to a grassroots football cause.
“It’s been a busy and immensely productive first year for FC
FUTURES,” said James Salmon, Senior Marketing Director, EA
SPORTS FC. “We are incredibly proud of what we’ve achieved so
far, and we thank our partners, our ambassadors and all the
remarkable community leaders who have helped bring FC FUTURES to
life. There’s still so much more to do to support
community-level football on a global scale, but this
collaborative effort will continue to ensure our investment is
felt by local communities around the world who will truly
benefit from the power of football.”
“It’s an honour to be the recipient of the first FC FUTURES Hero
Award and I take great pride in seeing the strides the
initiative has made around the world in the past year,” said FC
FUTURES ambassador, Ian Wright. “To know that the first-ever
pitch that came from this initiative is in my old community, at
my old primary school, is a really special legacy for me and
Rocky. The Rocky & Wrighty Arena at Turnham Academy wouldn't
have happened without FC FUTURES, and it’s amazing to see the
positive impact our pitch is having on young people in the
community.”
Looking ahead to year 2, in addition to Namibia Futures, FC
FUTURES will continue to launch new pitches, create and publish
more training practices, provide more playing equipment and
further expand its partnerships, so FC FUTURES can continue to
grow the game for all.
*Based on the average annual number of visitors to the Seoul
pitch; residents near the Singapore, Spain, and Mexico pitches;
users of the Rocky & Wrighty Arena and Sam Kerr pitches;
participants in FC FUTURES or FC FUTURES-partnered programs; and
number of footballs provided through partner initiatives.)--
Today, Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: EA) announces that their EA
SPORTS FC FUTURES initiative has opened up grassroots football
to over 170,000* people over the course of its first year and -
in a further demonstration of their commitment to growing the
game for all - unveils a new comprehensive programme, Namibia
Futures, in partnership with UNICEF. This multi-year partnership
will use the power of football to create long-lasting social
change in Namibia and beyond, reaching over 46,000 children and
adolescents.
Want to know how Family Friendly Gaming feels about physical
copies? Please click
here.
For more information about
this product(s) please click on one of their paid
advertisements.
No paid ads? That is easily correctible
here.
Did you know
we lose money on publishing this content? Do you appreciate stories like this one? Have you
ever considered helping Family Friendly Gaming?
For more information
click
here.