Zurich (Switzerland), Apr 25 (UNI) FIFA has launched World Football Week from May 21-25, an inaugural week of festivities to celebrate football’s unique ability to connect people across places, cultures and languages.
Under the theme 'Together, We Are Stronger,' individuals, teams, and organisations around the
world are invited to play, watch, and celebrate football, highlighting the strength which exists in
unity.
On May 23, 2024, FIFA President Gianni Infantino proposed to extend the existing UN World Football Day (May 25) celebrations for five days annually, in the form of World Football Week.
Beginning on May 21, the day on which FIFA was founded in 1904, World Football Week extends until UN World Football Day, on May 25. The 25th of May was also the day on which the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris kicked off - the first to be organised by FIFA - paving the way for the
first FIFA World Cup, six years later.
Calling on the United Nations General Assembly ahead of last year's World Football Day, the FIFA President was met with the eager support of Dennis Francis, the then-President of the UN General Assembly at its 78th Session, and the Group of Friends of Football, to give people around the world
a longer opportunity to unite through football and experience the joy and peace the sport can bring.
“World Football Week is more than just a celebration of the game we love; it’s a celebration of unity. Under the theme ‘Together, We Are Stronger’, World Football Week will be an opportunity to honour football’s immense power to bring people together and is also a show of the strength that our football community has when united,” the FIFA President said. “No matter how you enjoy the sport, whether playing with friends or cheering on a team, you are part of football, which truly unites the world."
“I would like to thank the Group of Friends of Football and the UN General Assembly for their support in helping us to extend the festivities beyond the UN World Football Day on 25 May. I look forward to seeing the world come together during this important week of joy and happiness,” he said.
Mattias Grafstrom, FIFA Secretary General, said: “World Football Week is a special opportunity for communities to come together and enjoy football. We thank the FIFA Member Associations, and everyone involved for their creativity and commitment in organising and delivering events, giving people around the world the chance to share in the joy football brings.”
World Football Week will run from May 21, FIFA’s 121st anniversary, to May 25 and will be given a platform when all 211 FIFA Member Associations congregate at the 75th FIFA Congress in Paraguay on May 15, during the Delegates’ Football Tournament. FIFA has assembled a digital toolkit for MAs, clubs, sports centres and community groups at all levels, with guidance on how to successfully deliver local events.
The toolkit provides a variety of ideas for bringing people together to play and watch football, and ways to engage individuals of all ages and abilities. It includes useful branding materials, such as posters, and social media templates to help raise awareness.
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