Kick-off raises EUR 875,655

sporteo once again assumed social responsibility at a special event as part of our ‘Time to Care’ initiative. Numerous stars from the world of sport assembled in Munich to play a charity game for the Goal4Africa project and sporteo was also there with its LED perimeter advertising.

The All Stars with the captain of the German national team Michael Ballack beat their rivals captained by co-organiser Clarence Seedorf 9:6 (5:3) in front of 30,000 spectators.

The build-up to the event in the Allianz Arena was accompanied by musical performances featuring Ali Campbell, the legendary voice of UB40, and Ladysmith Black Mambazo who also presented the official anthem: ‘Many rivers to cross’ on this evening for the first time.

The first goal was scored a few seconds after Jürgen Klinsmann and the former Brazilian international Zico had kicked off by Sizwe Mandela, the grandson of the great statesman Nelson Mandela and a striker in the UNISA university team in Johannesburg. The list of top stars playing in the match was headed by football world champion Gennaro Gattuso and ex-Formula One champion Michael Schumacher who was one of the goalkeepers.

But the actual result was only of secondary importance on this evening. The match in Munich launched the worldwide Goal4Africa initiative in support of education projects on the enormous continent which will run until the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. And the first figures are impressive: the kick-off event in Munich raised EUR 875,655. Over 30,000 spectators in the stadium and millions of TV viewers in 67 countries formed a superb basis for the project to continue.

Goal4Africa – to score is to help

On the occasion of Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday the charity set itself the aim – true to its motto: ‘All for education, education for all’ – of acquiring as many donations as possible for the benefit of well known aid organisations including Peace and Sport, Champions for Children, Right to Play and last but not least, the Nelson Mandela Foundation. Football is fuelling this initiative across a range of different platforms. Fans donate money for goals scored: even virtual goals in mobile phone and computer games can form the basis for a donation. Companies can go as far as to sponsor the goals of an entire club or an entire league.

But Munich was only the beginning: plans for the next events include a concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London in August and a football match in South Africa in December. Further information on the organisation and the opportunity to make a goal donation is available at www.goal4africa.org