PARIS, France & LONDON, England (15th February 2018) – Today Nissan is joining UEFA Foundation for Children and streetfootballworld to support grassroots organisations Sport dans la Ville in France and Street League in the United Kingdom.
Part of its mission to create a “cleaner, safer, fairer” world, Nissan is addressing the issue of the roughly 7 million young people (15-24) in Europe that are Not in Education, Employment and Training (NEETs).
In the beginning of February 2018, the two-year partnerships in France and the UK are aligned with activities run by the Nissan Skills Foundation in the UK, which seek to encourage the next generation of talent in design, engineering and manufacturing sectors.
Stuart Jackson, VP Brand & Communications for Nissan Europe said: “At Nissan we believe in creating a cleaner, safer, fairer society through the power of our people and our products. As an official UEFA Champions League partner, we are now looking to harness the power of football to create a fairer society and brighten the futures of young people across Europe.”
Chairman of the UEFA Foundation for Children and UEFA president, Aleksander Čeferin, said: “Improving the employment prospects of underprivileged young people in Europe is a huge challenge for us as a society. We welcome this new partnership with official UEFA Champions League sponsor Nissan Europe, who recognises its responsibility in society and lives up to this by investing in the communities they operate in to increase youth employability.”
“Football has a proven ability to bring people together and change lives,” commented streetfootballworld Partnership Director, Johannes Axster. “We’re grateful that Nissan recognises the potential for football-based social development programmes to empower young people in disadvantaged communities, while also providing Nissan employees with the opportunity to get engaged in meaningful activities in France and the UK.”
UK organisation Street League’s vision is to see an end to youth unemployment. Nissan will support “Academy” programmes in the London and Tees Valley areas, which work with 20 young people at any one time over a 10-week period. In 2017 alone, Street League lifted 1,731 young people into employment, education or training. “Street League are delighted to be working in partnership with Nissan to help even more young people find a positive future using the power of sport,” said Matt Stevenson-Dodd, Chief Executive Street League. “Our Academies do this by offering a mixture of employability sessions, sporting activities and life skills development.”
Sport dans la Ville is France’s leading non-profit association, serving disadvantaged boys and girls aged 6-25 by offering sports and job-readiness training. Through its “Job dans la Ville” programme, the organisation provides individual careers support, mentoring, work experience, and skill-building workshops. In 2017, a total of 1054 youths participated in the Job dans la Ville programme across France, with 73% of participants subsequently attaining a job or position on an education programme. “Thanks to our partnership with Nissan and the UEFA Foundation for Children, we will be able to amplify our actions in the Paris area to help even more youth in their social and professional integration,” said Elise Curioni, Directrice Partenariats Ile-de-France, Sport dans la Ville
ABOUT NISSAN IN SPORT
The UEFA Champions League partnership is another example of Nissan’s dedication and growth in global sports, which includes: major international cricket events, such as the ICC Men’s and Women’s World Cups, the Canadian Football League, the Heisman Trust and Heisman Trophy, and the City Football Group, which includes the Manchester City, Melbourne City and New York City clubs. Nissan’s NCAA partnership in the US also marks the widest-reaching sponsorship in the history of collegiate sports – backing 100 colleges and universities, as well as select NCAA Championships – covering 22 sports. In addition, Nissan has a number of sporting ambassadors, including footballers Gareth Bale and Sergio Agüero.
ABOUT STREETFOOTBALLWORLD
streetfootballworld is the world’s leading non-profit in the field of football for good. Football has a unique power to change the world for good. streetfootballworld´s goal is to unleash this power.
The organisation bridges the gap between community organisations that use football to change lives, with supporters and donors from the world of football, business, politics and philanthropy, who believe in their potential to change the world. streetfootballworld´s global network unites 126 community organisations in 81 countries empowering 2,5 million disadvantaged young people every year. Its impact has been recognised with a variety of awards from the likes of Laureus, UEFA and the World Economic Forum.
ABOUT SPORT DANS LA VILLE (FRANCE)
Sport dans la Ville is France’s leading non-profit association serving disadvantaged boys and girls, ages 6-25, through sports and job-readiness training. Founded in 1998, it operates in the most deprived urban neighbourhoods and has touched the lives of countless underprivileged youth across France. Through free football programmes they impart the values of teamwork, self-confidence and determination, leading young people toward brighter futures. The professional skills training and job placement programme is moving youth from unemployment to opportunity.
ABOUT STREET LEAGUE (UK)
Street League’s vision is to see an end to youth unemployment in the UK. The organisation does this using the power of sport to transform the lives of young unemployed people. Street League works with those aged 16-24 who are currently not in education, employment or training (NEET) and have been out of work for 3 months or more. Through their award-winning Academies and the power of sport, young unemployed people gain the skills, experience and confidence to secure sustained employment. Street League operates in 14 cities and 38 local communities across England and Scotland. Since the programme began six years ago, Street League has helped lift 5,526 young people into employment, education or training.
