The fight against HIV and Aids is an ongoing battle in South Africa. Sony has teamed up with Grassroot Soccer to initiate a programme which aims to help the fight against these diseases through the power of football.

For the next generation
This initiative fits perfectly into Sony’s extensive global CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activities for the next generation, and ‘Dream Goal 2010’ - a CSR project developed around the FIFA World CupTM. Sony employees around the world are also taking part in supporting the project, and together with its partners such as GRS, Sony aims to support the Millennium Development Goals.

Football as a common starting ground
Grassroot Soccer is a South African-based non-profit organisation that uses football as a common starting ground to promote the fight against HIV and Aids by providing young people with the knowledge, skills, and support to remain HIV-free. GRS’s flagship site is in South Africa and forms part of the greater Football for an HIV-Free Generation initiative in South Africa. GRS focuses on the transfer of the necessary skills, tools and content to individuals and implementing partners to enhance their ability to implement effective HIV prevention activities.

Sony and GRS plan to educate 230,000 young people in South Africa over the next three years and reach in excess of five million people on a quarterly basis with prevention and stigma reduction messages. The FIFA World Cup™ tickets available as part of the Ticket Fund are to be used as an incentive for service or participation in GRS’s many campaigns and programmes in South Africa. They will be awarded as rewards for commitment, not as prizes in lottery-style competitions.

Objectives:

• Give young people and adults from disadvantaged backgrounds an unprecedented football experience.

• Effectively distribute up to 15,000 tickets to disadvantaged young people and adults involved in development programmes around South Africa – particularly in and around the nine host cities.

• Use the tickets as a tool for stimulating and rewarding the development of communities by the communities themselves

• Create strong links between Grassroot Soccer, Sony and other organisations within South Africa, with a focus on long-term change.

• Ensure that those attending matches are delivered to and returned home safely from the FIFA World Cup venue(s).