April 8 – PepsiCo, has entered into a one-year partnership with the Asian Football Development Project (AFDP) under the theme ‘Kick for Hope’ which will focus on India and 11 countries in the Middle East including the UAE, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, and Yemen.
The project’s aim is to use football as a tool for social development and to build on the power and popularity of the game to increase the participation of women and youth.
The Indian part of the project will be delivered by the Magic Bus India Foundation, a Sport for Development organisation who will be providing sports opportunities for marginalised youth and women in Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Karnataka and Maharashtra. Magic Bus programmes are measured in terms of impact on education, gender, health and hygiene and sexual and reproductive health.
The partnership between PepsiCo and the AFDP was announced in Dubai attended by Prince Ali Bin Al Hussein (pictured), chairman of the AFDP and FIFA vice-president representing Asia, and Saad Abdul-Latif, chief executive officer of PepsiCo Asia, Middle East & Africa.
Prince Alo said: “We are extremely happy to be partnering with PepsiCo – not only are they a world-leading company but one that is totally committed to social development particularly in relation to the education of youth and empowerment of women through sport.”
Working with Pepsico, Ali Bin Al Hussein said, AFDP would be able to “drive positive social change and promote sustainable development across Asia.”
“We at AFDP very much admire PepsiCo’s long-standing commitment to empowering women especially in the Middle East and India where there are many challenges to overcome and stereotypes to break. Together with PepsiCo we hope to further facilitate access to safe environments where women and girls can get together and actively engage in a fun, healthy and safe sport that builds character and teaches social skills which are useful on and off the field, both football and society as a whole in Asia can only benefit from that.”
Saad Abdul-Latif, said: “We believe that the strength of the PepsiCo brand is in a community relations context, and the projects planned as part of our partnership are all about empowerment to encourage greater participation in football by women and youth. The core of this partnership is grassroots football, realising dreams and giving opportunities to those who are less fortunate and PepsiCo is proud to be part of that.
“This partnership will also support youth football programmes in the Middle East and India at a grassroots level. The benefits of organised, competitive sports to young people cannot be overstated. Football encourages team spirit, fitness and healthy competition which are all valuable life lessons for young people as they build their future.”
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