[child-rights] UNICEF and FIFA join with children to celebrate "Global Girls Football Day"

NEW YORK, 7 October 2003 – As excitement builds to a fever pitch in the 
last week of the FIFA Women's World Cup USA 2003, children around the world 
will be celebrating Global Girls Football Day, jointly designated as 11 
October by UNICEF and FIFA.

Global Girls Football Day, taking place one day before the Women's World 
Cup championship match in Los Angeles, marks UNICEF and FIFA's efforts to 
open up new avenues for girls in the developing world.

UNICEF and FIFA have teamed up again this year, this time to highlight two 
crucial areas of child development that are often absent or overlooked for 
girls because of poverty and discrimination: the right to play and the 
right to education.
The FIFA Women's World Cup USA 2003 is dedicated to Go Girls! Education for 
Every Child, UNICEF's global initiative to get more girls into school.

"For millions of girls, certain basic rights are seen as a privilege or 
luxury," said UNICEF's Executive Director Carol Bellamy. "UNICEF and FIFA 
believe that girls should have equal opportunities to make a better life 
for themselves through an education and by playing and participating in 
sports."

FIFA President, Joseph S. Blatter said that the number of girls who are 
excluded from school is an "alarming indication that girls today are 
entering a future without hope and without options. Girls, families and 
entire communities pay the price for that loss."

Educating girls empowers them to grow to their full potential and to fully 
develop self-confidence and social skills. Educated girls and women are 
more likely to protect themselves against HIV/AIDS and other diseases, to 
have safer pregnancies and healthier children, and to send their own 
children to school.
Girls and Sports

UNICEF believes that access to and participation in sports is a critical 
part of any child's physical, mental and social development. But often 
girls are the ones denied the benefits of sports and recreation because 
they are kept off the playing field.

"Participation in sports activities has the power to build confidence and 
self-esteem for girls who have relatively few opportunities," said Bellamy. 
She added that girls who play sports help to break the stereotype of being 
"weaker" than boys.

Blatter said that every child has the right to an education and that "we 
have not only the responsibility of helping them have access to it, but 
also a great opportunity to use football as an integrating, educational 
tool. By helping girls achieve an education, we are helping the mothers of 
tomorrow and therefore, our society as a whole."

He also added that "there are over 20 million women footballers around the 
world, 80% of whom are juniors or still in their teens, which demonstrates 
the growing popularity for women's football, and the educational potential 
this sport has.
Bellamy and Blatter will mark Global Girls Football Day at a panel 
discussion in Los Angeles, where leaders in the world of sports and 
education will explore the value of sports in child development and the 
role that football can play to help girls realize their right to an 
education. UNICEF and FIFA will confirm their joint commitment to use 
football to expand opportunities for children and particularly for girls 
who are denied an education.
FIFA's Role

In several countries where UNICEF is helping to boost low school enrolment 
rates
for girls, FIFA is making it possible for children to enjoy their right to 
play on Global Girls Football Day.

Using a $150,000 donation from FIFA, UNICEF has delivered over 600 
"Sport-in-a-Box kits" to twelve countries. The kits, which include basic 
sports equipment and how-to guides on playing football, are being used in 
projects that encourage girls to attend school and to play football.

In an ongoing partnership for the last several years, FIFA has used its 
major tournaments to promote football as a vehicle for the fulfilment of 
children's rights. Beyond sports events, UNICEF and FIFA are expanding this 
powerful alliance to partnerships and programmes at the national level that 
address the health, education and protection of children and adolescents.

* * * *

Event Details: Global Girls Football Day Panel Discussion, Saturday 11 October
*	9:30 – 11:30 a.m. at the Westin Long Beach Hotel in Los Angeles, CA
*	Participants include Carol Bellamy and Sepp Blatter; Reiko Niimi, head of 
UNICEF Brazil; Mary Harvey, Director of Development Division at FIFA; 
Christophe Forax of the European Commission on Education and Culture; 
former Olympian athlete Shiny Wilson from India and Doreen Greenberg of the 
Women's Sports Foundation.
*	Photo opportunity at 11:00 a.m. – Bellamy and Blatter signing the Los 
Angeles Declaration of Commitment.

For further information please contact:
Allison Hickling, UNICEF Media, New York: (+1) 212-326-7224
Kate Donovan, UNICEF Media, New York: (+1) 917-796-9845


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