Sporting Bodies

We are the leading cause partner for elite international sporting federations, clubs and teams including:

Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP): ‘ACE’ initiative to Assist Children Everywhere, by raising funds for global child immunization programmes. Roger Federer is a UNICEF International Goodwill Ambassador.

International Olympic Committee (IOC): We have been working together on programmes that use sports for child and youth development since 1993. At the 2004 Athens Olympic Games we educated and mobilized over 400 athletes from every nation to become champions of children's rights.

NBA / WNBA: Basketball without Borders clinics use basketball as a tool to address HIV/AIDS prevention among youth.

The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA): Since 1999, FIFA and UNICEF have been working together to promote the ‘beautiful game’ as a tool in peace-building efforts, helping to restore a sense of normality to children caught in the middle of war and bringing communities together to promote tolerance and peace.

• In 2003, FIFA donated hundreds of 'Sports-in-a-Box' kits to 11 countries to support girls' education programmes and encourage girls' access to play sport.  In 2004, they donated another 1,200 'Sports-in-a-Box' kits to 12 countries affected by conflict.
  
• At the FIFA World Cup in Germany in 2006, UNICEF and FIFA launched a joint campaign called ‘Unite For Children, Unite For Peace’, to promote non-violence and to fight against racism.
  
• Every September, FIFA and UNICEF celebrate ‘FIFA World Fair Play Day’, together with the UN’s International Day of Peace, to encourage ‘fair play’ between people around the world and end violence & conflict, so that all children can grow up in peace.

FC Barcelona are featuring the UNICEF logo on their 2006-7 jersey, the first such placement in the club’s 107 year history. This alliance will raise $14 million for children in the developing world over the next 5 years, focusing on those affected by HIV/AIDS in Swaziland in Year 1.

Manchester United’s ‘United for UNICEF’ programme has raised over $3million for UNICEF education & other projects since 1999.

International Cricket Council (ICC): Partnered with UNICEF to promote the 'Unite For Children, Unite Against AIDS' campaign at the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup. Prominent cricketers from around the world – including NZ Blackcaps Ross Taylor and Daniel Vettori - spoke out in support of this initiative, wore yellow UNICEF campaign armbands and visited local UNICEF HIV/AIDS youth projects in the Caribbean.
 
Asian Cricket Council (ACC): Promotes Girls’ Education in South Asia and the right of all children to enjoy healthy recreation, as well as the UNICEF Global Campaign on HIV/AIDS ‘Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS’. 

International Sports Representatives & Goodwill Ambassadors also serve as powerful role models for youth.

For more information about UNICEF’s sporting partnerships in New Zealand, please contact Philippa Day at philippa@unicef.org.nz or call 0800 243 575.