Puma and UNEP Announce Strategic Partnership To Support The 2010 International Year Of Biodiversity
(NewDesignWorld Press Release Center) -- UMA and the United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP) were joined today by the Indomitable Lions – Cameroon’s national football team – with team captain Samuel Eto’o, to announce a strategic partnership to support biodiversity worldwide and specific initiatives in Africa.
The ‘Play for Life’ partnership will support the2010 International Year of Biodiversity by raising awareness about habitat and species conservation among football fans and the general public during worldwide football events, including the Orange Cup of African Nations in Angola later this month and international friendly games leading up to the FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa. With 12 African football team sponsorships toits name and a history of innovation with Africa,PUMA is uniquely positioned to help drive this effort with UNEP.
The International Year of Biodiversity (IYB) is a global initiative launched by the United Nations for2010 to help raise awareness on the importance of biodiversity and to encourage worldwide action to conserve plants and animals and the environments in which they live. The ‘Play for Life’ campaign focuses on Africa, acontinent that hosts exceptional biodiversity including two ofthe five most important wilderness areas on Earth – the CongoBasin, and Miombo-Mopane Woodlands and Savannas of Southern Africa. Nine of the planet’s 35 Biodiversity hotspots, the richest and most threatened reservoirs of plant and animal life on Earth, are also in Africa.
According to the Convention on Biological Diversity(CBD), biodiversity is under threat around the planet – we are creating the greatest extinction crisis since the natural disaster that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Species have been disappearing at up to1,000 times the natural rate, and this is predicted to rise dramatically. Basedon current trends, an estimated 34,000 plant and 5,200 animal species -including one in eight of the world's bird species - face extinction.
At their ‘Play for Life’ press conference held today in Nairobi, Kenya, PUMA unveiled their key fund raisinglever, the revolutionary new Africa Unity Kit --the world’s first ‘continental football kit’designed to be worn by the 12 African football national teams that PUMA sponsors. These include the World Cup qualified teams Ghana, Cameroon,Ivory Coast and Algeria who are headed to the Africa Cup ofNations’ with hosts Angolaand the national teams of Egypt,Mozambique, Togo and Tunisia,as well as non-qualified federations of Senegal,Morocco and Namibia.Puma also sponsors some of the continent’s best players -- Samuel Eto’o,Emmanuel Ebouéand John Mensah.
The Africa Unity Kit has been approved by FIFA who have officiallyrecognised it as the Official 3rd kit* to be worn by thosePUMA-sponsored African teams.
With all eyes on Africa during the2010 football season– the Africa Unity Kit makes a compelling global statement.By supporting the Africa Unity Kit, African teams are not only uniting as apowerful force in world football, but also raising awareness of the importanceof environmental issues. PUMA’s profits fromsales of the replica fanwear for the Unity Kits will help fund biodiversityprograms in Africa, and in particular endangeredspecies on the continent such as lions, elephants, gorillas and the desert fox.
The sportlifestyle company has a host of other gear designed to generateadditional funds to support biodiversity, including PUMA Unity t-shirts andPUMA Lacelets, collectable shoe laces featuring patterns from world-renownedartist Kehinde Wiley. These products all bear the PUMA Yellow “life” Label,which gives consumers an easy way to identify products that benefit projectssupported by PUMAVision, PUMA's Corporate Social Responsibility Program. Aportion of the profits from the Yellow “life” label products will also go tofund the biodiversity programmes.
"In 2010, Africawill be at the centre of the footballing world. The ‘Play for Life’ campaign and the release of the Africa Unity Kit isa powerful statement for PUMA. PUMA is creating a unique kit embracing thediversity of African Nations teams while valuing the unity of players and supporterstowards a common goal,” said Jochen Zeitz, Chairman and CEO, PUMA AG who helpedlaunch the Africa Unity Kit. “Biodiversity and therefore valuing and protectingall life on our planet is a huge issue, not only in Africa,but around the world - and we are proud to partner with UNEP to raise bothawareness and funds through the sale of our Unity products.”
“As the whole planet comes together for the World Cup, 2010 marks theyear when people around the world will unite to conserve the planet’s almostpriceless natural resource - its biodiversity. UNEP is delighted to partnerwith PUMA to bring this important message to millions of fans,” said Angela Cropper,UNEP’s Deputy Executive Director, at the press conference today.
“The planet’s living organisms are the building blocks of themulti-trillion dollar services-- from freshwater to agriculturalnutrients--that underpin all life on Earth including its economic, social andsporting life. Bringing together the public’s global passion for football withits global passion for animals, plants and other life-forms surely makes amatch-winning team,” she added.
Cameroon’s captain Samuel Eto’o, flanked by fellowsquad members at the unveiling in Nairobi,commented: “The new Africa Unity Kit has inspired me and my teammates. Not onlyare we very proud to wear a shirt that helps bring the continent of Africa together but to do so for such an important causeis truly an honour. Supporting the Africa Unity Kit sends out a positivemessage for Africa – we are a uniting as acontinent to help life and the planet.”
The UNEP-PUMA ‘Play for Life’ campaign willsupport the International Year of Biodiversity by:
- Raising awareness worldwide about biodiversity andthe International Year of Biodiversity among football fans and the general public during football events including the African Nations Cup and international friendly games
- Raising awareness through Public Service Announcements featuring football stars
- Encouraging the public to take action to conserve biodiversity
- Raising funds through the Africa Unity Kit andother PUMA Unity football products under the Yellow “life” label to support biodiversity projects in Africa.
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