Visa donates €50,000 to UEFA Foundation-backed charity selected by Delphine Cascarino

Olympique Lyonnais forward Delphine Cascarino has directed a €50,000 donation from Visa to Sport dans la Ville, which is supported by the UEFA Foundation for Children.

The 23-year-old was instrumental in helping her team defeat VfL Wolfsburg 3-1 in August’s UEFA Women's Champions League final in San Sebastián and was named Player of the Match, presented by Visa.the Player of the Match the opportunity to choose one of the 245 charities supported by the UEFA Foundation for Children.

“I was honoured to be named UEFA Women’s Champions League final’s player of the match," Cascarino said. "I am of course delighted my contribution has been recognised on the pitch, but it is a wonderful feeling to be able to make a difference off the field of play as well.

“Thanks to the generosity of Visa, I am in a position to choose an organisation which is very close to my heart. Sport dans la Ville is doing some exceptional work in my hometown of Lyon and is supporting young people across France. I’m proud to have played a small part in improving people’s lives and am looking forward to charting their progress over the coming years.”

Sport dans la Ville, a longstanding partner of the UEFA Foundation, works with young and disadvantaged children in marginalised neighbourhoods across France to help them achieve a better life through sports by offering mentoring and entrepreneurship programmes. Founded in 1998, today the charity operates in 46 urban areas and has supported more than 12,000 at-risk youths across the country.

“This is a wonderful initiative by Visa to give Delphine Cascarino the opportunity to make a potentially life-changing gesture,” said Nadine Kessler, UEFA’s chief of women’s football. “Football has the power to initiate positive change, by giving girls confidence, resilience and important life skills. This is why I am so delighted that through the UEFA Foundation for Children, last season’s final will have a lasting legacy in helping to improve the lives of youngsters.”

“I want to thank Visa and Delphine on behalf of the entire Sport dans la Ville organisation for this very generous donation,” said Nicholas Eschermann, president of Sport dans la Ville. “We are very lucky to receive this level of support from such a player and company and we look forward to using this to expand our work.”

In December 2018, UEFA announced a landmark seven-year partnership with Visa, who in the process became the first ever UEFA sponsor dedicated to women's football.

The milestone agreement has made Visa a main partner of the UEFA Women's Champions League, UEFA Women's EURO, the UEFA European Women's Under-19 and U17 Championships and UEFA Women's Futsal EURO until 2025, as well as UEFA's football marketing platform Together #WePlayStrong, which is aimed at getting more girls and women to play football.

I was honoured to be named UEFA Women’s Champions League final’s player of the match. I am of course delighted my contribution has been recognised on the pitch, but it is a wonderful feeling to be able to make a difference off the field of play as well.

Thanks to the generosity of Visa, I am in a position to choose an organisation which is very close to my heart. Sport dans la Ville is doing some exceptional work in my hometown of Lyon and is supporting young people across France. I’m proud to have played a small part in improving people’s lives and am looking forward to charting their progress over the coming years.

- Delphine Cascarino, Olympique Lyonnais player