THE EMIRATES TO TURN (RED)™ TO ‘LACE UP. SAVE LIVES’
29 January 2010
London, UK (January 28th, 2010) - The Emirates Stadium will turn (RED) this Sunday as Arsenal play host to Manchester United, in a game which sees both clubs show their support for the NIKE (PRODUCT) RED ‘Lace Up. Save Lives’ partnership that generates funds to help fight AIDS in Africa.
Red goal-nets – a first in the Barclays Premier League, will sit between the posts for the match and a giant (NIKE) RED lace will be hung around the middle tier of the stadium to ‘tie the stadium together’.
Players from both clubs, including Cesc Fabregas, Andrei Arshavin, Theo Walcott and Wayne Rooney, will wear (NIKE) RED laces in their boots during the game and both sides will run out onto the pitch wearing (NIKE) RED track jackets to show their commitment to the partnership.
And fans too can show their support for the initiative by raising (NIKE) RED ‘Lace Up. Save Lives’ cards as the players take to the pitch before kick-off, uniting both sets of supporters and the global TV audience to raise awareness of the partnership through the power of football.
The Nike and (RED) partnership invites people to ‘Lace Up. Save Lives’ by purchasing a pair of (NIKE) RED laces. One hundred percent of the profits from (NIKE) RED laces 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.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s match Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said: “Arsenal Football Club understands the importance of the HIV/AIDS issue globally and with the world’s fans focusing on Africa in this World Cup year there is a great opportunity to make a real difference through the power of football in 2010. Arsenal Football Club is proud to support the (NIKE) RED ‘Lace Up. Save Lives’ partnership.”
On the (NIKE) RED partnership Arsenal’s Andrei Arshavin says: “If life gives you a little bit more than it does other people, then you must give something back. Football is the most popular sport in the world. It shows that everyone can help, regardless of where they are from.”
Bert Hoyt, Global VP of Nike Football, comments “Nike has a proven history of elevating global causes through sport. With the continued support of our athletes and clubs such as Arsenal and Manchester United we can play a major role in amplifying this important issue.”
On 30th November 2009 Didier Drogba (Chelsea), Joe Cole (Chelsea), Andrei Arshavin (Arsenal), Denilson (Arsenal), Marco Materazzi (Inter Milan), Lucas Neill (Everton), Clint Dempsey (Fulham) and Seol Ki-Hyeon (Fulham) joined U2 frontman Bono at Niketown to announce the partnership between NIKE, Inc. and (RED).
(Nike) RED laces are available to buy now at Nike Store locations, key retailers and www.nikefootball.com/RED at a cost of £4.00 per pair.
Media contacts:
Nike: Claire.parmell@nike.com +44 (0)207 578 0653 / +44 (0)7714 724990 Matt.holmes@freud.com +44 (0)203 003 6324 / +44 (0)7949 715630
(RED): Europe Deborah Croshaw Freud Communications for (RED) Deborah.croshaw@freud.com +44 (0)203 003 6312 / +44 (0)7958 582870
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, $140 million has been generated by (RED) for the Global Fund. One hundred percent of this money is put to work in Global Fund AIDS grants in Africa with no overhead taken out. (RED) money is at work in Swaziland, Rwanda, Ghana and Lesotho. For more information, visit http://www.joinred.com/
About the Global Fund
The Global Fund is a unique global public/private partnership dedicated to attracting and disbursing additional resources to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. This partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities represents a new approach to international health financing. The Global Fund works in close collaboration with other bilateral and multilateral organizations to supplement existing efforts dealing with the three diseases. Since its creation in 2002, the Global Fund has become the dominant financier of programs to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, with approved funding of US$ 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.
