How Chevrolet Celebrates Future of Football
Chevrolet announced Thursday a three-year partnership with One World Futbol Project that will result in 1.5 million virtually indestructible footballs being donated to youth in war-stricken zones, refugee camps, disaster areas and other disadvantaged communities around the world.
Chevrolet’s pledge will be executed through a global network of organizations dedicated to helping empower the next generation of footballers.
“The One World Futbol Project celebrates a primary value that is very close to Chevrolet, that football can touch lives and bring positive change throughout the world,” said General Motors global chief marketing officer Joel Ewanick.
Chevrolet becomes the founding sponsor of the organization, which was established in 2010 with crucial early support from world-renowned musician Sting. Chevrolet’s support is part of a companywide global football initiative that includes sponsorship of Barclays Premier League giants Manchester United.
Since its inception, the One World Futbol Project has positively affected more than 525,000 lives in 137 countries through more than 138 organizations – including schools, orphanages, and nonprofits – which use sport to resolve conflicts, teach tolerance, and build communities.
The company is also an affiliate member of streetfootballnetwork, which connects 94 football-for-social change non-profits in 61 countries.
One World Futbol inventor Tim Jahnigen, also an accomplished lyricist, was inspired to start the project after watching CNN footage of kids in Darfur playing a football game using a ball of trash tied up with twine.
Jahnigen decided to create a ball that would play like a real football but would not be destroyed by the harsh conditions often facing footballers in some parts of the world.
The One World Futbol Project and ball are named after Sting’s song “One World (Not Three).” The development of the ball required 11 months of prototyping and field testing in Africa, Haiti, Iraq and elsewhere.
A One World Futbol can outlast and outplay hundreds of regular balls, sustaining play in any environment. The ball never needs a pump and never goes flat, even when punctured multiple times.
While designed to have the same size, weight and rebound characteristics of a traditional inflated football, the One World Futbol requires no stitching. The material used to make the ball is inert (non-toxic, doesn’t leach) and is extremely rugged.
Fans can join Chevrolet’s efforts and donate a One World Futbol to an area of the world that is in need, and learn more about Sting’s involvement in the project by visiting www.ChevroletFC.com.
