Last week , Elton John spent his 63rd birthday in South Africa endorsing an HIV initiative supported by one of our favorite non-profit organizations, Grassroot Soccer (GRS). The initiative, Football for Hope, is a movement created by FIFA and StreetFootballWorld, a football development network. The goal (no pun intended, well maybe a little) is to open 20 centers across the continent that would use football as a platform to educate African youth about important social issues, such as HIV prevention, children’s rights and the environment.
The Khayelitsha Township Center that Elton visited is the first of 20 that FIFA plan on building across the continent as a lasting legacy of their first World Cup on the continent. It is fitting and indicative of the great work that GRS is doing that they were selected as the first host center organization.
It is good to see that socially conscious stars like Elton John remain steadfast in their support of initiatives that strive to help disadvantaged communities around the world. As Elton so eloquently put it:
“Soccer stars are the most powerful role models for young people today so it’s fantastic that organizations like Grassroot Soccer are harnessing that power to educate young people about HIV.”
To learn more about Grassroot Soccer, who we featured in our Football For Change segment, please visit them at the GRS website.
To learn more about the Elton John AIDS Foundation, please visit them at the EJAF website.
