"Sport has the power to change the world." Nelson Mandela, Laureus World Sports Awards 2000, Monaco.
The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation faces the social challenges of our times actively, with the power of sports. It supports over 140 sports projects for disadvantaged children all around the world – with new projects being added all the time. Since its founding in 2000 it has made a change for the better to the lives of more than 1.5 million young persons.
Apart from countless volunteer helpers and project managers, the 46 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy – a group of the most eminent sportsmen and -women of all time – as well as over 100 top international sportsmen and -women – are actively engaged as on-site Laureus ambassadors on a voluntary basis. They have all experienced how sports can change the world and want to share this experience with children and youngsters. They visit the different projects regularly and motivate their protégés to set goals for themselves and work on themselves.
In addition, they make use of their popularity to direct the public's attention to the projects.<br />
Boxing, tennis, ice hockey, rock climbing, football, golf – the supported projects are as diverse as the athletes that represent and sponsor them. The problems tackled by the projects, on the other hand, are similar everywhere. Poverty, social exclusion, AIDS, violence, drug abuse as well as racial and religious discrimination cannot be solved by sports alone, but can be tackled and situations improved. Hand in hand with the project managers and sponsors, the participating children discover their talents and capabilities. They develop self-assurance and values such as discipline and purposefulness – qualities that also help them in their daily life.
The symbiosis of benevolent work and high-performance sport creates something powerful, something that is a lot more than just a sports movement. Laureus Sport for Good combines in a unique manner Mercedes-Benz's claim to leadership on the one hand, and the social responsibility that arises from it on the other hand. Together with icons of sport and volunteer helpers from all around the world, with Laureus we have been able to bring about social changes through many small impulses. Because sports can awaken hope where there once was only hopelessness and futility.
Apart from the global Foundation there are national Sport for Good foundations in Argentina, Germany, France, Holland, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, the USA and South Africa.