UEFA Foundation for Children inaugurates Lay’s RePlay pitch in Bilbao, Spain

UEFA Foundation for Children inaugurates Lay's RePlay pitch in Bilbao, Spain

The new field has been built in the Errekalde sports center and will be inaugurated leading up to the UEFA Women's Champions League final.

Bilbao, May 23rd, 2024.- Lay's RePlay has inaugurated this morning its first pitch in Bilbao (Errekalde) aimed at supporting young women at risk of exclusion through soccer in the framework of the UEFA Women's Champions League final.

The launch of the initiative has been made possible thanks to the support of Lay's and its key collaborating partners as the UEFA Foundation for Children, Common Goal, Bilbao Kirolak (Bilbao City Council) and Fundazioa (Athletic Club Foundation).

With this new space, the partners will promote an inclusive sports program that will foster the social development of young migrant women between the ages of 12 to 18 to strengthen not only their socioemotional skills, but also their sense of belonging, tolerance, respect, commitment, teamwork and collaboration in the community. In this sense, UEFA Foundation and Lay's RePlay seek to contribute to gender equality in sports, training and educating girls and women to actively participate in the soccer environment.

A full program will be run on an ongoing basis that will include different activities from, for example, improving soccer skills to developing communication or teamwork, key social skills for the development and growth of the players.

Johana Ruiz de Olabuenaga, Director of the Social Area of Athletic Club, concludes: "At Athletic Club Fundazioa we are committed to the integral development of people through sport. Lay's RePlay gives us the opportunity to work in collaboration with other key players that support our goal of promoting gender equality and social inclusion through soccer. We are confident that this initiative will have a great impact on the young women of Bilbao and their communities".

 

The girls will participate in a league in different educational centers aimed at students and family members with players from Athletic Club's first and second teams. In addition, players from Athletic Club's men's and women's teams will be involved, with the particular participation of female athletes, who will serve as role models for the young girls to look up to and be inspired by.

The program will also include integration activities and events for the participants and their families that will serve to strengthen ties with the community. The goal of the women's training sessions is to form three teams aimed at empowering women in soccer, particularly in the migrant communities of Errekalde and Ibaiondo.

Lay's RePlay represents our commitment to sport and sustainability. We are excited to open this camp in Bilbao and to be able to offer young girls in the community the opportunity to grow and develop through soccer

- Derica Lascorz, Lay's Southwest Europe Marketing Manager

About Lay's

Project partner

Lay's is one of the brands that makes up Frito-Lay North America, the $23 billion convenient foods division of PepsiCo, Inc. (Nasdaq: PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, NY. Learn more about Frito-Lay at the corporate website, http://www.fritolay.com/ and on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/fritolay. Learn more about Lay's by visiting www.facebook.com/lays or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/lays. You can also follow Lay's on Instagram by visiting http://instagram.com/lays

About Common Goal

Project Partner

Common Goal is a global impact movement that exists to unite the football community in tackling the biggest challenges of our times. The movement creates opportunities for every stakeholder of the football economy to play a meaningful role in serving the wellbeing of our people and planet.

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Copy of Kick It Out: UEFA Foundation for Children and FedEx bring greater diversity to UK football coaching.

Kick It Out: UEFA Foundation for Children and FedEx bring greater diversity to UK football coaching.

FedEx Express Europe and the UEFA Foundation for Children have announced a new charitable collaboration with Kick It Out, a UK non-profit advocating for diversity in football and specifically the development of black and Asian adults pursuing the professions in football coaching and management.

Now in its third year, ‘Championing an Inclusive Future through Football’ was designed by the UEFA foundation in partnership with FedEx, a long-term donor and sponsor of UEFA tournaments. Kick It Out is the third non-profit to receive funding from the UEFA Foundation for Children thanks to a Charities Aid Foundation grant on FedEx's behalf.

Kick It Out will use the funding to support its Coach Pathway Programme which encourages ethnic minorities to remain and develop in coaching and management positions.

Troy Townsend MBE, head of player engagement at Kick It Out, said:

“There is a lack of black and Asian managers, coaches and talent ID scouts in professional English football. Thanks to this collaboration with the UEFA foundation, Kick It Out has managed to provide funded opportunities for a number of people from underrepresented backgrounds.”

A cohort of 15 individuals have been selected and taken on a journey of continuous professional development, with access to mentors, coaching observation opportunities and talent ID interactions with specific support from The FA and the Premier League.

Urs Kluser, the general secretary of the UEFA Foundation for Children, said:

“We’re delighted to continue the diversity, equity, and inclusion programme we developed with FedEx, by welcoming Kick It Out as a new delivery partner. This programme has allowed us to target financial support to non-profits using football as a useful tool to promote diversity and inclusion in communities, specifically among children. This year’s programme shifts the focus from children to young adults, benefitting a non-profit that uses football to promote diversity and aims to improve and maintain diversity from a grassroots level to professional levels of the sport itself.”

Wouter Roels, SVP marketing operations, FedEx Express Europe, said:

“Throughout our journey as a sponsor of professional football, FedEx has been fortunate to see the tremendous value of the work being done by the network of non-profits throughout Europe and the world. Together with the UEFA Foundation for Children, we continue to identify ways to best use our charitable platform. FedEx Cares, to support organisations working in the shadows of professional football to influence positive change either through or within the sport.”

Alongside charitable funding, FedEx and the UEFA Foundation for Children will work together to donate one aspect of FedEx’s sole and exclusive sponsorship rights – the opportunity to provide three player mascots for the 2024 UEFA Champions League final in Wembley– to children put forward by Kick It Out.

Read more about the impact of this three-year programme and the previous year’s charitable collaborations on UEFA Foundation for Children’s website here.

There is a lack of black and Asian managers, coaches and talent ID scouts in professional English football. Thanks to this collaboration with the EFA foundation, Kick It Out has managed to provide funded opportunities for a number of people from underrepresented backgrounds.

- Troy Townsend MBE, head of player engagement at Kick It Out

About FedEx

Project partner

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce, and business services. With annual revenue of $88 billion, the company offers integrated business solutions through operating companies competing collectively, operating collaboratively, and innovating digitally as one FedEx. Consistently ranked among the world’s most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 500,000 employees to remain focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. FedEx is committed to connecting people and possibilities around the world responsibly and resourcefully, with a goal to achieve carbon-neutral operations by 2040.

About Kick It Out

Project Partner

Marking its 30th anniversary this season, Kick It Out is English football’s most recognised anti-discrimination charity and uses its voice to call out discrimination and offer solutions for change. Over the last two seasons, more than 2,000 people have signed up to our online education website, The Academy, and in-person education has been delivered to almost 200 perpetrators of discrimination and to over 4,500 players, parents and staff in club academies. Kick It Out also helps develop talent from under-represented communities and offers a widely-used reporting tool that participants can use to help tackle discrimination whether it’s in a stadium, online or in grassroots football. Kick It Out’s Impact Report showed that fans have regarded football as safer and more welcoming over the last three decades as a result of the charity’s work but that much more needed to be done to tackle discrimination. We continue that work to make the game more inclusive for all.

Contact: Becky Gee, becky@kickitout.org

 

Kick It Out: UEFA Foundation for Children and FedEx bring greater diversity to UK football coaching.

Kick It Out: UEFA Foundation for Children and FedEx bring greater diversity to UK football coaching.

FedEx Express Europe and the UEFA Foundation for Children have announced a new charitable collaboration with Kick It Out, a UK non-profit advocating for diversity in football and specifically the development of black and Asian adults pursuing the professions in football coaching and management.

Now in its third year, ‘Championing an Inclusive Future through Football’ was designed by the UEFA foundation in partnership with FedEx, a long-term donor and sponsor of UEFA tournaments. Kick It Out is the third non-profit to receive funding from the UEFA Foundation for Children thanks to a Charities Aid Foundation grant on FedEx's behalf.

Kick It Out will use the funding to support its Coach Pathway Programme which encourages ethnic minorities to remain and develop in coaching and management positions.

Troy Townsend MBE, head of player engagement at Kick It Out, said:

“There is a lack of black and Asian managers, coaches and talent ID scouts in professional English football. Thanks to this collaboration with the UEFA foundation, Kick It Out has managed to provide funded opportunities for a number of people from underrepresented backgrounds.”

A cohort of 15 individuals have been selected and taken on a journey of continuous professional development, with access to mentors, coaching observation opportunities and talent ID interactions with specific support from The FA and the Premier League.

Urs Kluser, the general secretary of the UEFA Foundation for Children, said:

“We’re delighted to continue the diversity, equity, and inclusion programme we developed with FedEx, by welcoming Kick It Out as a new delivery partner. This programme has allowed us to target financial support to non-profits using football as a useful tool to promote diversity and inclusion in communities, specifically among children. This year’s programme shifts the focus from children to young adults, benefitting a non-profit that uses football to promote diversity and aims to improve and maintain diversity from a grassroots level to professional levels of the sport itself.”

Wouter Roels, SVP marketing operations, FedEx Express Europe, said:

“Throughout our journey as a sponsor of professional football, FedEx has been fortunate to see the tremendous value of the work being done by the network of non-profits throughout Europe and the world. Together with the UEFA Foundation for Children, we continue to identify ways to best use our charitable platform. FedEx Cares, to support organisations working in the shadows of professional football to influence positive change either through or within the sport.”

Alongside charitable funding, FedEx and the UEFA Foundation for Children will work together to donate one aspect of FedEx’s sole and exclusive sponsorship rights – the opportunity to provide three player mascots for the 2024 UEFA Champions League final in Wembley– to children put forward by Kick It Out.

Read more about the impact of this three-year programme and the previous year’s charitable collaborations on UEFA Foundation for Children’s website here.

There is a lack of black and Asian managers, coaches and talent ID scouts in professional English football. Thanks to this collaboration with the EFA foundation, Kick It Out has managed to provide funded opportunities for a number of people from underrepresented backgrounds.

- Troy Townsend MBE, head of player engagement at Kick It Out

About FedEx

Project partner

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) provides customers and businesses worldwide with a broad portfolio of transportation, e-commerce, and business services. With annual revenue of $88 billion, the company offers integrated business solutions through operating companies competing collectively, operating collaboratively, and innovating digitally as one FedEx. Consistently ranked among the world’s most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its more than 500,000 employees to remain focused on safety, the highest ethical and professional standards and the needs of their customers and communities. FedEx is committed to connecting people and possibilities around the world responsibly and resourcefully, with a goal to achieve carbon-neutral operations by 2040.

About Kick It Out

Project Partner

Marking its 30th anniversary this season, Kick It Out is English football’s most recognised anti-discrimination charity and uses its voice to call out discrimination and offer solutions for change. Over the last two seasons, more than 2,000 people have signed up to our online education website, The Academy, and in-person education has been delivered to almost 200 perpetrators of discrimination and to over 4,500 players, parents and staff in club academies. Kick It Out also helps develop talent from under-represented communities and offers a widely-used reporting tool that participants can use to help tackle discrimination whether it’s in a stadium, online or in grassroots football. Kick It Out’s Impact Report showed that fans have regarded football as safer and more welcoming over the last three decades as a result of the charity’s work but that much more needed to be done to tackle discrimination. We continue that work to make the game more inclusive for all.

Contact: Becky Gee, becky@kickitout.org

 

UEFA Foundation for Children inaugurates Lay’s RePlay pitch in Santa Marta, Colombia

UEFA Foundation for Children inaugurates Lay's RePlay pitch in Santa Marta, Colombia

Together with partners Margarita RePlay®, Fundación Tiempo de Juego, Fundación PepsiCo Colombia and Common Goal, the UEFA Foundation provides local community with a safe space to play football.

Perfect ten! The UEFA Foundation, Margarita RePlay®, Fundación Tiempo de Juego, Fundación PepsiCo Colombia and Common Goal are proud to unveil the tenth sustainable RePlay pitch in Santa Marta, Columbia.

Made of recycled bags of chips, RePlay pitches provide five-a-side and training facilities that are ideal for communities with limited access to spaces, where they can enjoy the game and develop their skills.

First launched in 2021 in South Africa, the programme has seen other pitches come to life in Brazil, Egypt, the USA, Italy, Mexico, the UK and Turkey, benefitting 1.200 participants per month.

The initiative results from strong partnerships with local associations, building spaces and programmes that bring people together and drive positive change for generations to come.

Urs Kluser from the UEFA Foundation for Children:

"UEFA is proud to be part of a new launch of Margarita RePlay®, which will benefit a new community. By bringing this initiative to Colombia, we hope to improve the opportunities of young people through the power of football by providing them with key life and social skills".

RePlay facilities are much more than just pitches. In addition to artificial turf for five-a-side football, the local communities can access tailored education programmes focusing on four key areas: creating a sense of belonging, boosting engagement, promoting safety, and ensuring access to sport.

The new football field in Santa Marta will benefit at least 500 members of the local community through targeted events and programmes, with Fundación Tiempo de Juego delivering 20 hours of football to 150 participants every week, focused on:

  • Increasing skills connected to environmental care through sports and playful learning.
  • Promoting social fabric and coexistence through play-based community events.
  • Providing meaningful sports activities to youth to foster social-emotional skills.
  • Increasing participation of females in the community in football activities to 50%.

The initiative combines the fun and passion of football by creating a field that encourages the spirit of belonging and drives benefits for the surrounding communities”.

- Daniel Velásquez, Marketing Sr Director of PepsiCo for Andean Region

About Lay's

Project partner

Lay's is one of the brands that makes up Frito-Lay North America, the $23 billion convenient foods division of PepsiCo, Inc. (Nasdaq: PEP), which is headquartered in Purchase, NY. Learn more about Frito-Lay at the corporate website, http://www.fritolay.com/ and on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/fritolay. Learn more about Lay's by visiting www.facebook.com/lays or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/lays. You can also follow Lay's on Instagram by visiting http://instagram.com/lays

About Common Goal

Project Partner

Common Goal is a global impact movement that exists to unite the football community in tackling the biggest challenges of our times. The movement creates opportunities for every stakeholder of the football economy to play a meaningful role in serving the wellbeing of our people and planet.

.

 

New sustainable Lay’s RePlay pitch opens in Italy.

New sustainable Lay's RePlay pitch opens in Italy.

In Naples, the UEFA Foundation, Common Goal, and Lay's unite to promote sport, inclusion and sustainability.

From Packs to Pitches: the UEFA Foundation for Children, Common Goal and Lay's proudly unveiled a new sustainable football pitch today in the heart of Naples, open to the local community and local sports associations.

The inauguration of the new sustainable pitch, made using recycled bags of crisp packets, was the perfect occasion to celebrate sport, inclusion and sustainability, and supports the recent development of the city's Scampia neighbourhood.

The ribbon cutting ceremony was attended by a number of special guests to mark the occasion including Naples mayor Gaetano Manfredi and former Italian international and UEFA Champions League winner Ciro Ferrara, with a performance by singer-songwriter Dadà.

The Scampia district was chosen for this initiative to support its recent redevelopment launched as a series of initiatives promoted by Municipality 8 and local associations to address issues such as unemployment, poverty and inequalities.

Urs Kluser, General Secretary of the UEFA Foundation for Children:

“The Lay's RePlay programme is not just about creating football facilities - it's about empowering communities, promoting inclusivity and championing environmental sustainability. This initiative represents a powerful example of how sport can be a catalyst for positive change on a global scale, and we're proud to be part of this journey."

 

The Lay's RePlay programme has successfully led to the creation of football facilities in South Africa, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Mexico, Egypt, the United States and Italy. In the latter, the first pitch was inaugurated in the Cecchi Point district of Turin in May 2022. Since its launch, the Turin pitch has been used over 20,000 times, provided 1,225 hours of sport activities and life skills training and 213 hours of events and special activities for the community.

Providing everyone with access to the joy of sport is a long-standing goal of Lay's RePlay - this project embodies the transformation, moving from reusing empty packs of chip packages to creating football fields donated to local communities. The goal is to combine the passion for sport, social inclusion and environmental protection to promote a positive impact on a global scale.

- Marcello Pincelli, PepsiCo Italia General Manager