"We are thrilled to have Future Fortified chosen as the official charitable partner of the Herbalife World Football Challenge," stated Marc Van Ameringen, executive director of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), which launched the Future Fortified campaign in 2011. "This partnership provides a unique opportunity to utilize soccer, the world's most popular sport, to address malnutrition, the world's largest global health issue."
In order to raise awareness of global nutrition throughout the tournament, Herbalife will contribute $1 to the Future Fortified campaign for every tweet from a fan, player and team using the hashtag #WFCfortified, up to $65,000. The program will run from July 18 through August 11. In addition, individuals who donate to the Future Fortified campaign will automatically be entered to win two free VIP tickets to a Herbalife World Football Challenge match in their region. Complete details are available at www.FutureFortified.org .
A global nutrition leader and the title sponsor of the event, Herbalife helped kick-off the Future Fortified campaign with an initial commitment of 20 million home nutrition packets, small packets filled with vitamins and minerals that mothers can sprinkle onto the foods they prepare at home for their children. Herbalife made this initial contribution jointly with DSM, a leading producer of vitamins and nutritional ingredients, in response to ongoing food insecurity and drought in eastern Africa, including Kenya.
Good nutrition is critical for women and children in the 1,000 days from a woman's pregnancy to a child's second year of life, providing the essential nutrients needed for healthy pregnancies, good growth and proper development. Yet drought and escalating food prices have brought hunger and malnutrition to more than 2.4 million people in Kenya. As a result, children have alarmingly high rates of malnutrition and over 35 percent of children in Kenya are stunted. Poor nutrition in mothers and children is the underlying cause of one in three childhood deaths each year.
"Herbalife is committed to making good nutrition accessible to everyone, from soccer stars to young children," stated Michael O. Johnson, Herbalife's chairman and CEO. "We are honored to be working in partnership with the Future Fortified campaign to help get children in Kenya off to the right start to reach their full potential, both on and off the field."
About the Herbalife World Football Challenge:
One of the largest and most successful soccer exhibitions ever staged in North America, the Herbalife World Football Challenge brings together many of the world's most accomplished and celebrated soccer clubs to play in major sports venues across the region. The event gives soccer fans the unique opportunity to see global superstars play live and experience first-hand the fast-paced, skillful competition that has made soccer the most popular sport in the world. Now in its third year, the Herbalife World Football Challenge is hosted in partnership by CAA Sports, a division of Creative Artists Agency (CAA), the world's leading entertainment and sports agency, and Major League Soccer (MLS), the top-flight professional soccer league in the U.S. and Canada.
