Soccer is the world’s favorite sport. With nothing more than a ball and a little teamwork, it is played by millions of kids in the United States and Africa alike.

The More Than a Club: Kick it to Malaria program embraces soccer as a unifying factor for children worldwide. Through the program, kids in the United States can use their favorite game to save lives by raising awareness about malaria and raising money for live-saving bed nets that prevent the disease.

Malaria is the number one killer of children in Africa. Transmitted by a mosquito bite, it kills a child every 30 seconds. Malaria was eradicated in the United States in 1951, but is still a huge problem—especially in Africa. The disease is so devastating and sudden that a child who is playing soccer with his friends in the morning can be dead by nightfall. But it doesn’t have to be this way: a simple $10 bed net can save a life. 

 

FC Barecelona and AYSO ring the opening bell at the NY Stock Exchange | 8/5/08

Defeating malaria requires teamwork. That’s why the world’s premier soccer team, Fútbol Club Barcelona (FCB), Malaria No More, and the 600,000-member American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) are teaming up to send malaria off the field for good.

Through the More Than a Club: Kick it to Malaria program, FC Barcelona and AYSO invite young soccer enthusiasts across the nation to join them in fighting malaria. Throughout the Fall 2008 season, youth soccer players will ask family, friends, and neighbors to sponsor $1 for each game they play and donate the proceeds to buy bed nets to protect kids in Africa from malaria.

When players raise at least $10—enough for one bed net—they are entered to win prizes including a trip to FC Barcelona’s stadium in Spain. AYSO coaches can also use malaria-themed soccer drills to help kids understand malaria and how they can save lives.

More Than a Club: Kick it to Malaria captures the essential philosophies of AYSO and FC Barcelona, including sportsmanship, good citizenry, and teamwork. By working as a team, American kids can join FC Barcelona, Malaria No More, and the American Youth Soccer Organization to shoot for a worthy goal: a world in which no child dies of malaria.

Learn more about malaria >>

 

FC Barcelona is based in the Catalan city of Barcelona and plays its home games at "Camp Nou," the largest stadium in Europe. Few clubs have won as many titles as Fútbol Club Barcelona: two European Cups, four Cup Winners Cups, two European Super Cup trophies, three Inter-Cities Fairs Cups, 18 La Liga championships, 24 Copa del Rey, and 11 Supercopa de España. Barça's "més que un club" (more than a club) slogan is demonstrated in part through the club's philanthropy, and the team is proud to join Malaria No More in the fight against malaria in Africa. Learn more about FC Barcelona...

 

 

Malaria No More's mission is simple: to end deaths due to malaria. The world has known how to beat this disease for more than a century, yet it remains the number one killer of children under five in Africa, claiming more than 1 million lives a year. Malaria No More works to raise the profile of the disease among the public, policymakers, and businesses, while engaging the private sector to provide life-saving bed nets and other critical interventions to families in Africa. Learn more about Malaria No More...

 

American Youth Soccer Organization is a nationwide non-profit organization that develops and delivers quality youth soccer programs in a fun, family environment based on AYSO's Five Philosophies: Everyone Plays, Balanced Teams, Open Registration, Positive Coaching, and Good Sportsmanship. Learn more about AYSO...

 

 

 

The FC Barcelona Foundation's XICS programs promote access to education, health care and sports to youth around the world. XICS (International Network of Solidarity Centers) are not soccer schools, but extracurricular programs that use sports to encourage cooperation, healthy living and social skills. XICS programs work closely with local charities to make a difference in the lives of children in their communities.

In Africa, where the malaria crisis is at its most severe, XICS programs are operating in Mali, Morocco, Senegal and Burkina Faso. Children living in extreme poverty in these countries learn valuable lessons at their local XICS, including information on how to protect themselves against malarial mosquitoes. With on-the-ground partners like XICS, soccer can help save lives.

For more information about the FC Barcelona Foundation's XICS programs, click here.