Sports has the effect of inspiring and supporting people, through good and bad times; it has the ability to inspire change, and encourages people to challenge themselves and make their lives better. Football has been lucky enough to be one of those sports that has been able to move people deeply, and has been able to change perceptions of poverty and homelessness all around the world.
This year, Unilever’s shampoo brand Clear is celebrating its 4th year as a sponsor for NAFAS, a social initiative that aims to help improve the lives of street children through the power and passion of football, to raise awareness for at-risk youths and formally introduce and train children and teenagers to football.
NAFAS initiates and manages sports programs that give young people at risk a place to breathe, creating a positive medium through sports in the hopes of reintegrating them into society in a productive and healthy way.
Over 9.2 million children are living in poverty, with 7.2 million more at-risk, according to a 2015 brief by CAPMAS and UNICEF; while a recent report notes that poverty has jumped up to 32.5% in 2017/2018, meaning that the number of at-risk children may even be double today.
Supporting At-Risk Youths Through Football
Clear is a big supporter of sports and the spirit of comradery and championship that comes from it; Clear’s number 1 brand ambassador is famed footballer Cristiano Ronaldo. The brand has made it well-known that they feel sports positively impacts and empowers people of all ages and experiences.
Related > Egypt’s street football to the world stage; underprivileged youth to play at World Cup 2018
Clears support for youths at-risk is, for the lack for a better word, clear. The brand has continued to sponsor NAFAS and their national teams under the radar. The teams have already traveled to various tournaments, ranging from Scotland to even Russia last year for the Street Child World Cup 2018.
Egypt Heads to Scotland for Homeless World Cup 2019
While Clear is celebrating their 4th year of supporting NAFAS, the two are also celebrating the men’s team’s 5th placement at this year’s Homeless World Cup at Cardiff, Wales.
You can watch their final match against Bosnia here; note just how excited the Egyptian team is as they wait for the match to start.
In an effort to change perceptions of homelessness around the world, the Homeless World Cup was born. According to their statistics, the organization has “impacted the lives of 1 million homeless people around the globe since [their] founding more than a decade ago.”