FIFA President
Thefirst-ever memorandum of understanding (MoU) between FIFA and the UnitedNations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) wassigned by FIFA President Gianni Infantino and UN Women Executive DirectorPhumzile Mlambo-Ngcukaat the FIFA Women’s Football Convention today, a few hours before the openingmatch of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019™.
“This isa significant moment for FIFA as we combine forces with UN Women to realisegender equality for women both on and off the pitch.” said Infantino.“Together, we will raise awareness about women’s football and its impact interms of health, empowerment and positive role models for women and girlsaround the world.”
The MoUwill provide a strong framework for strengthening and further developingsynergies between FIFA and UN Women. Both organisations will work closely withpublic authorities, international organisations, the private sector, and mediaand sports organisations to make football more accessible to women and girlsand to disseminate diverse sports content to promote gender equality.
Majorsporting events will also be leveraged to deliver a legacy of positive changeat social, political and economic levels to challenge persistent forms ofdiscrimination and stereotypes that hold back progress for all.
“UNWomen and FIFA are committed to levelling the playing field for women andgirls, leveraging football’s mass appeal to bring positive change around theworld. We are confident that this partnership will make a real difference tothe gender inequality that we currently see in all sports, and that we areworking to end throughout society, knowing that the benefits are for everyone,”said UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
Thethree key joint areas of work in the MoU are sports policy development, thepromotion and support of sustainable projects that will help create a lastinglegacy, cultural change and empowerment of women and girls around the world,and communications to raise awareness around gender equality through sport, forexample through the support of the FIFA Legends and UN Women GoodwillAmbassadors, as well as major tournaments.
The FIFAWomen’s Football Convention, where the MoU signing took place, saw leaders fromthe world of sport and politics assemble to discuss key issues related to thedevelopment of women’s football and the societal benefits of football on womenand girls around the world.
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Constance Meju is publisher of Port Harcourtbased National Point Newspaper and Gender and Human Right Justice advocate
