FedEx and UEFA Foundation invite Sport Dans Le Ville to put forward referee mascots at UEFA Champions League final in Paris

Once-in-a-lifetime experience for children from Sport Dans la Ville

Paris, 27 May 2022. -UEFA Champions League sponsor and express transportation company, FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX), continues its tradition of collaborating with UEFA Foundation for Children to offer memorable experiences to children enrolled in sporting programmes of local non-profit organisations.

French organisation Sport dans la Ville (SDLV) has been invited to put forward three children, two boys and one girl aged 7-10, who will have the opportunity to accompany UEFA officials onto the field in front of more than 75,000 people at Stade de France in Paris this weekend.

“This is a great opportunity to be able to offer young people in our programs – it’s an experience unlike any other and one unlikely to ever come around again. For these children, this moment will help them feel visible as individuals alongside admired professional players and respected footballing officials. It’s a global stage for them, one that makes them feel appropriately equal, and a confidence-building memory they can take forward in their lives,” said Hélène Blondel, Director of partnerships at Sport Dans Le Ville.

The selected children will have the rare chance to watch the players from Liverpool and Real Madrid warm-up on the pitch and opportunity to savour the atmosphere of a live tournament in a football stadium that is local to them, but which the three chosen children have never been inside.

“The UEFA Foundation for Children is delighted that our collaboration continues as it began when FedEx became a sponsor of UEFA tournaments back in 2015. These apparently simple gestures, of donating opportunities to those who may not otherwise have them, has an immeasurable impact on the individuals themselves, and lends a platform for local charities, like SDLV, who are utilising football to support children’s rights and needs,” said Urs Kluser, general secretary of the UEFA Foundation for Children.

“The donation of referee mascot places at the UEFA Champions League Final is only one initiative, but notably the most visible, in our social responsibility collaboration between FedEx and the UEFA Foundation for Children. Throughout our sponsorship cycle we will continue as we have always intended – to utilise our position as a sponsor of professional football to fund charitable organisations working to advance social issues, such as diversity and inclusion, that affect the opportunities and sense of optimism among young people,” said Wouter Roels, SVP Marketing International, FedEx Express Europe.

The donation of referee mascot places to local non-profit organisations will continue throughout FedEx three-year sponsorship of the UEFA Champions League, offering similar opportunities to children in Istanbul, Turkey and London, UK via football-focused charities when the time rolls around.

A three-year social responsibility grant from FedEx to the UEFA Foundation will shortly be announced. The co-developed programme, Championing the Future, will provide financial support to charities in host-countries of the UEFA Champions League Finals, promoting diversity and equality among children and empowering them to become champions of a more inclusive future.

The donation of referee mascot places at the UEFA Champions League Final is only one initiative, but notably the most visible, in our social responsibility collaboration between FedEx and the UEFA Foundation for Children. Throughout our sponsorship cycle we will continue as we have always intended – to utilise our position as a sponsor of professional football to fund charitable organisations working to advance social issues, such as diversity and inclusion, that affect the opportunities and sense of optimism among young people.

- Wouter Roels, SVP Marketing International, FedEx Express Europe

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(c) Sport dans la Ville

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About FedEx Corp.

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 $92 billion, the company offers integrated business solutions through operating companies competing collectively, operating collaboratively, and innovating digitally under the respected FedEx brand. Consistently ranked among the world's most admired and trusted employers, FedEx inspires its nearly 600,000 team members 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.

To learn more, please visit fedex.com/about.

About Sport dans la Ville

Project Partner

Founded in 1998, Sport dans la Ville is the main organisation in France promoting social and professional integration through sport. The organisation sets up and operates sports centres in disadvantaged neighbourhoods. Its programmes help 8,500 young people find their place in society and enter the world of work.

Sport dans la Ville has created the following programmes to ensure every young person finds a route into employment:

  • L dans la Ville – a programme aimed at empowering and enhancing the employability of 2,000 young women.
  • Job dans la Ville – a programme that provides career guidance and employability training to 2,085 young people aged 15 and over.
  • Entrepreneurs dans la Ville – a start-up support programme that has led to the creation of 310 businesses since 2007.

https://www.sportdanslaville.com/