UN Global Goals World Cup to bring football and activism to Nairobi
The United Nations (UN) Global Goals World Cup (GGWC), set to take place in Nairobi, Kenya, on 5 March, will bring together 24 teams of adolescent girls and women from diverse backgrounds to contest the tournament and raise awareness of the 17 UN Global Goals.
The GGWC is a tribute to the power of sport to change the world and raise awareness of some of the most pressing challenges faced by women and girls across.
It kicked-off in Copenhagen last year and is divided into several regional tournaments that will see the winning teams get a spot to participate in the Global Goals World Cup final in September 2017 in New York.
The tournament is being organised ahead of the International Women's Day, marked on 8 March. Football matches are played by a different set of rules, awarding points for both scoring goals as well as working for the 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development, which include zero hunger, good health and wellbeing, no poverty, gender equality, among others.
The initiative, which is being sponsored by Royal Danish Embassy, Safaricom, Save the Children, United Nations Development Programme and Eir-soccer is supported by the Game of Thrones actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.
Denmark’s development minister, Ulla Tornaes, noted: "The 17 global goals, including their recognition of gender equality are fundamental for our international engagement and are indeed worth playing for.
"I am happy to invite our partners to the tournament, playing for fun, creating awareness for the millions of women and girls in Kenya for whom the fight for their rights is deadly serious."
In May 2016, backed by Fare, Girl Power played in Copenhagen for goal number 10 - reducing inequalities - building on their work to empower women through sport. The team was constituted of eight players from migrant backgrounds who work across Europe in refugee centres promoting sporting and cultural activities for refugees and asylum seekers.
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