1 March 2010
LONDON, UK (March 1, 2010) - The Brazil vs. Ireland friendly to be played tomorrow, Tuesday March 2nd at Emirates Stadium, will turn (RED)™ as both sides show their support for the Nike (PRODUCT) RED™ ‘Lace Up. Save Lives’™ partnership that generates funds to help fight AIDS in Africa.
Red netting will be used in the goals for the match and a special (NIKE) RED ball will be used during the game to highlight the partnership. Players from both teams will wear (NIKE) RED laces in their boots and the Brazil team will run out onto the pitch wearing (NIKE) RED track jackets to show their commitment.
All digital perimeter boards around the pitch and the giant TV screen in the stadium will show the “Lace Up. Save Lives” message inviting consumers to ‘Lace Up. Save Lives’ by purchasing (NIKE) RED products. One hundred percent of the profits from (NIKE) RED products is split equally between the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which funds AIDS programs that provide medicine for those living with HIV, and football-based community initiatives that deliver education and understanding around HIV/AIDS prevention.
“Nike has a history of elevating global causes through sport. Through the power and appeal of football, this campaign not only highlights the HIV/AIDS issue globally, it has also created a great way to raise much needed funds,” said Mark Parker, President & CEO of NIKE, Inc.
On November 30th, 2009, the eve of World AIDS Day, Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Andrey Arshavin (Arsenal), Denilson (Arsenal), Marco Materazzi (Inter Milan), Lucas Neill (Galatasaray), Clint Dempsey (Fulham) and Seol Ki-Hyeon (Fulham) joined U2 front man Bono and Mark Parker at Niketown London to announce the partnership.
(NIKE) RED products are also now being sold at retail. (NIKE) RED laces are available now at Nike Store locations, key retailers and www.nikefootball.com/RED or at www.nikestore.com. The (NIKE) RED Limited Edition Ascente Ball will be available for £150 and 2010 (NIKE) RED Limited Edition Brasil N98 Track Jackets will also be £150 and both will be sold globally starting March 3rd. The jackets are numbered. A second round of balls will be available again starting in May.
The March 2nd game is the first in a series of (RED)-themed federation games designed to support the initiative. The following games will also have similar (RED) elements:
• 3 March: Holland vs. USA
• 3 March: Portugal vs. China
• 3 March: Belgium vs. Croatia
• 3 March: Korea vs. Ivory Coast
• 6 March: Kaiser Chiefs FC vs. FSS (South Africa)
• 6 March: Sundowns FC vs. Golden Arrows FC (South Africa)
• 6 March: Werder Bremen FC vs. VfB Stuttgart (Germany)
• 13 March: Hertha BSC vs. FC Nurnberg (Germany)
• 24 March: FC Basel vs. FC Zurich (Switzerland)
• 20 March: FK Austria Wien vs FC Salzburg (Austria)
• 20 March: PSV vs. FC Twente (Netherlands)
• 20 March: Trabzonspor vs. Galatasaray (Turkey)
• 1 April: Corinthians vs. Cerro Porteno (Brazil)
Media contacts:
NIKE:
Claire Parnell, Nike Communications Manager
Claire.Parnell@nike.com
(m) +44 (0)7714 724990
(RED):
Erin Heath, Director, Partners/Marketing International
Erin.Heath@joinred.com
(m) +44 (0) 7595 820 478
About Nike
NIKE, Inc. based near Beaverton, Oregon, is the world's leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Wholly owned Nike subsidiaries include Converse Inc., which designs, markets and distributes athletic footwear, apparel and accessories; Cole Haan, which designs, markets and distributes luxury shoes, handbags, accessories and coats; Umbro Ltd., a leading United Kingdom-based global football (soccer) brand; and Hurley International LLC, which designs, markets and distributes action sports and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories. For more information, visit www.nikebiz.com.
About (RED)™ and (PRODUCT) RED™
(RED)’s primary objective is to engage the private sector in raising awareness and funds for the Global Fund, to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. Companies whose products take on the (PRODUCT) RED mark contribute a significant percentage of the sales or portion of the profits from that product to the Global Fund to finance AIDS programs in Africa, with an emphasis on the health of women and children. Current partners are: American Express (U.K. only), Apple, Bugaboo, Converse, Gap, Emporio Armani, Hallmark, Dell, Nike and Starbucks. Since its launch in the Spring of 2006, $140 million has been generated by (RED) for the Global Fund. One hundred percent of this money is put to work in Global Fund AIDS grants in Africa with no overhead taken out. (RED) money is at work in Swaziland, Rwanda, Ghana and Lesotho. For more information, visit http://www.joinred.com/
About The Global Fund to Fight AIDS Tuberculosis and Malaria
The Global Fund is a unique global public/private partnership dedicated to attracting and disbursing additional resources to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. This partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities represents a new approach to international health financing. The Global Fund works in close collaboration with other bilateral and multilateral organizations to supplement existing efforts dealing with the three diseases. Since its creation in 2002, the Global Fund has become the dominant financier of programs to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, with approved funding of US$ 18.4 billion for more than 600 programs in 144 countries. To date, programs supported by the Global Fund have saved 4.5 million lives through providing AIDS treatment for 2.3 million people, anti-tuberculosis treatment for 5.4 million people and the distribution of 88 million insecticide-treated bed nets for the prevention of malaria.
