TORONTO, CANADA, Oct. 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Liverpool FC Foundation, official charity of the Liverpool Football Club (LFC, The Reds), and global Canada-based children’s charity Right To Play are working Side by Side, using the power of sport and play to help vulnerable children in Liverpool, Bangkok, and around the world.
To raise awareness and support of the partnership, Right To Play and Liverpool FC Foundation have launched a new digital campaign - Side by Side - which will feature across the club’s digital channels.
The Side by Side campaign includes a video narrated by The Reds' manager and LFC Foundation Ambassador, Jürgen Klopp, which shows the power of play and sport in action, and aims to inspire viewers to come together and support the campaign. Watch here.
As well as driving awareness for the game-changing partnership, the campaign will seek support from the LFC family to join the Side by Side movement and help raise funds to provide children around the world with the tools and skills they need to overcome the impacts of poverty, conflict, and disease, and become empowered to learn, lead, and succeed.
The need for support is more important than ever in these challenging times as the devastating global impact of the pandemic continues to make children’s lives harder every single day.
Jürgen Klopp, LFC Foundation Ambassador said: “Millions of children around the world are facing adversity and being forced to grow up too fast. Side by Side gives children the opportunity to rise above their challenges and thrive through the power of sport and play.
“Liverpool Football Club has the best fans in the world - no matter where we live, we’re all part of the Liverpool family and Side by Side we can do anything.”
During last season’s UEFA Champions League competition, fans may have noticed the addition of the Right To Play logo on LFC’s kit. The logo will again be worn during the upcoming Champions League campaign and is available for fans to add to their shirts in LFC stores and the online retail store. All of the proceeds raised from the sales will support the work of the Side by Side partnership. You can access the LFC store here.
“We are so proud to be working in partnership with Liverpool FC Foundation to create a lasting impact in children’s lives,” said Right To Play CEO, Dr. Kevin Frey.
“Liverpool FC is recognised not just for its accomplishments on the field, but also for its commitment to improving the lives of children and young people in Liverpool and beyond. Right To Play is a global leader in harnessing sport and play to protect, educate and empower the world’s most vulnerable children. Working side by side with LFC Foundation will allow us to combine our expertise to reach more children in Bangkok, Liverpool, and around the world and ensure they have the skills and support they need to learn, lead, and succeed.”
Right To Play’s partnership with Liverpool FC Foundation has kicked off with joint programs in Liverpool and Thailand and will expand to include other countries as the partnership develops.
In Thailand, projects will focus on working with the most vulnerable children living in urban Bangkok to develop critical life skills, including leadership, self-confidence, communication and resilience. The programs will also build and rehabilitate play spaces to ensure young people have safe, accessible areas to play and learn.
In Liverpool, the project will build upon the LFC Foundation’s existing Open Goals program in the suburb of Anfield, which provides free multi-sport sessions in local parks to help educate and engage young people in the local area. The partnership with Right To Play will enable Open Goals to be delivered in more parks and open spaces in areas of need across the Liverpool City Region, and potentially beyond in the UK.
Fans will have the opportunity to appear on a pitch-side LED board during a live Liverpool FC Premier League game at Anfield Stadium. Launching on Wednesday 21st October, ahead of The Reds’ Champions League match against Ajax, the exclusive competition will give fans the chance to appear Side by Side with their LFC heroes. Full T’s and C’s can be found on the Side by Side website.
If you would like to find out more about Side by Side and sign up, please visit: liverpoolfc.com/sidebyside
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The LFC Foundation is the official charity of Liverpool Football Club; delivering a range of programmes and partnerships to create life changing opportunities for children and young people in the Liverpool City Region and beyond.
The charity focuses its work in three key impact areas; wellbeing, skills and communities and delivers a wide variety of programmes every day. Some of their initiatives include, ‘Open Goals’ - a free multi-sport sessions in local parks, ‘#iwill’ - a social action programme that engages young people in meaningful social action projects in their communities, Kicks Inclusion – a football programme tailored for people with complex and additional needs, IntoUniversity North Liverpool - a project in partnership with Into University and the University of Liverpool that supports children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to reach their educational potential by providing a dedicated learning centre, after-school clubs, homework support and mentoring schemes. https://foundation.liverpoolfc.com
Right To Play is a global organisation that protects, educates and empowers children to rise above the effects of poverty, war and disease. We work with children in some of the most difficult and dangerous places on earth, helping them to stay in school and graduate, to resist exploitation and overcome prejudice, to prevent diseases like HIV and malaria and to heal from the harsh realities of war and abuse. Pioneers in a unique play-based approach to learning, we use play in all its forms - sport, games, music, art and theatre - to teach children the skills they need to create better futures for themselves, their families and their communities. Right To Play reaches 2.35 million children each year in 15 countries around the world. www.righttoplay.ca
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