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Hyundai takes football fever to Africa’s children
(Johannesburg, South Africa) Just as FIFA brought the 2010 Soccer World CupTM to Africa, Hyundai Motor Company - one of the tournament’s official top partners - aims to roll out football fever to children with limited access to sports and educational opportunities right across the continent with the launch of the ‘One Million Dream Balls for Africa’ project.
As part of its global Corporate Social Responsibility programs, the Hyundai ‘One Million Dream Balls for Africa’ program will see children across Africa receiving soccer balls as a symbol of hope and motivation to achieve greater things in life as well as allow for educational development and the identification of greater opportunity.
Over the period of a year, children in all 53 African countries in Africa will benefit from the programme, which aims to teach life skills such as team work and strategy, build confidence and motivate performance through the realisation of their inner potential. The delivery of soccer balls to all corners of the African continent will be assumed by NGOs and organisations under the auspices of the United Nations from July to December 2010.
The road tour kicked off in Soweto at Moletsane Sports Complex on the 16th July at an event attended by 1200 school children who participated in life and soccer skill activities such as a quiz and soccer clinic. Legendary footballer Doctor Kumalo gave the kids a talk about having hopes and dreams as representative from the UN and Hyundai handed the balls over to the kids.
Following Soweto, further stops will be made in Nigeria, Ghana, Algeria and Morocco before ending in Cairo, Egypt. Hyundai will explain the Dream Ball project along the road, distribute soccer balls and exhibit the company’s famous Goodwill Balls as well as the latest vehicle models. The `Africa Road Tour’ will be filmed for a documentary by the National Geographic Channel and aired in Asia and Europe in August or September.
At the launch of the ‘One Million Dream Balls for Africa’ initiative on the 8 June 2010 at the ‘Sports for Peace’ UN Gala held at Constitution Hill, Johannesburg, President and CEO of Hyundai Motor Company, Mr. Steve S. Yang, handed over the first soccer ball to The UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in a gesture of goodwill between the two parties.
“We wish to convey a message of hope and dreams to children in Africa through this project. As a global company, Hyundai will continue its efforts to fulfill its corporate social responsibilities worldwide,” said Mr. Yang, President & CEO of Hyundai Motor Company.
Each ball will bear a donor’s name, and anyone who registers as a member of Hyundai’s 2010 FIFA World Cup micro-website (fifaworldcup.hyundai.com) or anyone buying a Hyundai car from the company’s worldwide sales network will be eligible to become a donor. To participate as a donor and be part of the hope that Hyundai is bringing to Africa, go to http://fifaworldcup.hyundai.com/ for more information.
Established in 1967, Hyundai Motor Co. has grown into the Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group which was ranked as the world’s fifth-largest automaker since 2007 and includes over two dozen auto-related subsidiaries and affiliates. Employing over 75,000 people worldwide, Hyundai Motor sold approximately 3.1 million vehicles globally in 2009, posting sales of US$41.8 billion (including overseas plants, using the average currency exchange rate of 1,276 won per US dollar). Hyundai vehicles are sold in 193 countries through some 6,000 dealerships and showrooms. Further information about Hyundai Motor and its products are available at www.hyundai.com.
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