The power of sport to transform people’s lives was the theme of an evening debate hosted by Emma McClarkin, Member of the European Parliament.  Convening stakeholders from the NGO, government and business sectors, the panel gave various examples of how sport, in particular football, can be harnessed to convey important health and social messages. 

The panel consisted of:

Emma McClarkin, Member of the European Parliament

Ann de Mol, Advisor, King Baudouin Foundation

Mandy Ayres, Director for Sustainable Business and Innovation, Nike

Laurent Thieule, President, Sport et Citoyenneté

Pedro Velazquez, Deputy Head of the Sport unit, European Commission

Moderator:  Outi Alapekkala, Journalist, EurActiv

Since 2009 NIKE, Inc. and (RED)™ have worked together to leverage the power of sport to fight HIV/AIDS.  The partnership aims to deliver programmes that both deliver HIV medication and education on the ground and harness the power of sport to engage youth around the world in the fight against AIDS in Africa. 

The NIKE, Inc. and (RED)™ concept is very simple: inviting people to “Lace Up. Save Lives” by purchasing a pair of NIKE laces.  NIKE will then split 100% of the profits from the sale of these laces equally between the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which funds AIDS programmes that provide medicine for those living with HIV, and African football-based community initiatives that deliver education and understanding about HIV/AIDS prevention

The King Baudouin Foundation (EFC member) will monitor and distribute the portion of the profits directed towards football-based community initiatives to all the community programme grantees.  KBF has worked in partnership with NIKE since 2001, and from 2005-2010  collaborated on the “Stand Up Speak Up” campaign, consisting of 238 projects in Europe with the aim of fighting racism.

For more information:

Watch the Lace Up Save Lives video on YouTube.

Visit the Lace Up Save Lives website