Monday 21 November 2022, 13:00

FIFA World Cup unites the world and helps global causes

  • FIFA and UN partners to run different campaigns for each round of matches

  • Global stars can help deliver a “forceful message” about unity

  • FIFA and Member Associations committed to using football to effect positive change

Under the umbrella Football Unites the World, and with the help of a number of past and present football icons, FIFA will team up with a range of international partners and organisations to promote and highlight causes such as anti-discrimination, sustainability, and education during the tournament in Qatar. Hassan Al-Haydos, Alisson Becker, Karim Benzema, Lucy Bronze, Didier Drogba, Giulia Gwinn, Kaká, Robert Lewandowski, Carli Lloyd, Édouard Mendy, Lionel Messi, Neymar, Emmanuel Petit and Cristiano Ronaldo have all contributed to the videos which launched the Football Unites the World campaign.

"Football is, and unites in, hope, it unites in joy, it unites in passion, it unites in love, as well in diversity," the FIFA President said during the closing of the FIFA Executive Summit 2022 in Doha on Sunday. "The players, who are living legends, have united themselves for this FIFA campaign, which is such a forceful message." In a ground-breaking move, FIFA and three United Nations organisations -- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Food Programme (WFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO) -- will run separate campaigns during each round of matches at the tournament in Qatar as part of FIFA's commitment to use football's influence to have a positive social impact. These campaigns have taken into account feedback received from the Member Associations who, like FIFA, are committed to using the power of football to effect positive change around the world.

“Thanks to football's global popularity, WHO's partnership with FIFA provides a platform to promote health to billions of people during the World Cup,” said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Football is a celebration of joy, hope and health, and provides a unique platform to promote health, from showing the benefits of physical activity to kicking out tobacco, to promoting mental health. We are also proud to support the message that there is no room for discrimination of any kind in the world today.” “Football is a great tool for teaching values such as team spirit and respect, and for developing life skills such as self-confidence,” said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. “On the occasion of the World Cup, UNESCO recalls that education is a fundamental right and urges the international community to step up its efforts to give every child the right to education from an early age, and that all adults can continue to exercise this right throughout their lives.” WFP Executive Director David Beasley added: “Ending hunger is a critical objective for WFP and this starts with ensuring the poorest families have access to food, the most basic necessity for human life. Protecting vulnerable children lies right at the heart of WFP’s work to save lives and change lives, and our collaboration with FIFA will be invaluable in helping us rally the support needed to ensure every child has hope for a brighter future.” The campaigns are as follows: Whole tournament: No Discrimination #NoDiscrimination (WHO) Group stage, round one: Football Unites the World #FootballUnitesTheWorld (WHO) Group stage, round two: Save the Planet #SaveThePlanet (WHO) Group stage, round three: Protect Children, End Hunger #ProtectChildren #ShareTheMeal (WFP) Round of 16: Education for All #EducationForAll #FootballForSchools (UNESCO) Quarter-finals: No Discrimination #NoDiscrimination (WHO) Semi-finals: Be Active #BeActive #BringTheMoves (WHO) Third-place and Final: Football Unites the World #FootballUnitesTheWorld (WHO)