Sportlifestyle Company
to Host Cameroon, Ghana and Ivory Coast
Football Teams in Paris for Exhibition Game
Before World Cup™
PUMA to Host Free Concert Featuring Africa
Express Artists
Herzogenaurach, Germany, 28 May 2010 – PUMA®
announced today it will host the 'Africa
Unity Experience' in Paris from May 28-29
as the brand's kick-off for World Cup™.
Three PUMA-sponsored
African Federations—Cameroon, Ivory Coast
and Ghana—will participate in a series of
high impact 'Unity' events to generate fan
support, build consumer engagement in advance
of South Africa and raise funds and awareness
for the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) and PUMA's 2010 International Year
of Biodiversity project 'Play For Life'.
PUMA is the proud sponsor of seven football
teams qualified for the World Cup 2010™,
four of which hail from Africa.
One of the most visible
activities taking place during Africa Unity
Experience is the Africa Unity Exhibition
Game on Friday 28 May at 6pm, where players
from the Cameroon, Ghana and Ivory Coast
Federations will participate in an exhibition
match in front of a capacity crowd at the
Stade Michel Hidalgo in Saint-Gratien outside
Paris.
PUMA's breakthrough
Africa Unity Kit—the first-ever continental
kit, designed to be worn as a third uniform
for PUMA's 13 African football teams—will
be showcased throughout the Africa Unity
Exhibition Game.
PUMA will kick off the
game with a 'Play For Life' Fundraising
Parcour incorporating some of Africa's most
renowned players including Cameroon captain
Samuel Eto'o.
Each skills rotation
will feature a real-time fundraising mechanic,
determining PUMA's parcour donation for
UNEP's 2010 International Year of Biodiversity.
The better they perform, the more money
the players will generate to help support
biodiversity programs in Africa.
The Africa Unity Experience
then culminates in a free concert sponsored
by PUMA and curated by Africa Express on
Friday 28 May at 6:30pm at La Cigale in
the 18th arrondisement.
Africa Express is a
collective of African and Western musicians
with the aim to bring African music to a
wider audience. Musicians from across Africa
have been invited to represent their national
African football team, underscoring the
Unity message.
Along with collaborations
and special guests, the headliners include
Tiken Jah Fakoly (Ivory Coast), M3NSA and
M.ANIFEST (Ghana), Les Nubians (Cameroon)
and Amazigh Kateb (Algeria).
Additionally, PUMA footballers
and Hollywood actor Djimon Hounsou will
make a special appearance during the concert.
"We're excited
to host the Africa Unity Experience—PUMA's
official send-off to the African teams who
are World Cup™ bound," said Jochen
Zeitz, Chairman and CEO, PUMA AG.
"It is through
events like these that PUMA's positioning
as a sportlifestyle brand really comes to
life. It represents the perfect marriage
of sport and music and culture, bringing
the Unity message into focus. With our partner
UNEP, and with the full support of the African
Football Federations, we hope to raise awareness
and interest in the topic of biodiversity
through our activities during Africa Unity
Experience event."
On Saturday 29 May,
the activities conclude with the PUMA-Intersport
Africa Unity Experience Camp, where winners
from an Intersport consumer contest will
have a chance to go toe-to-toe with current
PUMA players and African football legends
such as Roger Milla and Tony Yeboah, in
a series of skills challenges. These exciting
fan engagement opportunities—part football,
part festival, all PUMA—will create a truly
inclusive and memorable experience.
The Algeria Football
Federation, the fourth PUMA Africa team
that qualified for World Cup™, will not
be present for the Africa Unity Experience,
as their training will take place May 31-June
4 in Herzogenaurach Germany, the location
of PUMA's world headquarters.
PUMA will recognize
the Desert Foxes in absentia during the
Africa Unity Experience with customized
retail promotions, a consumer contest, dedicated
music performances by Algerian artists during
the May 28th concert and pre-recorded fan
messages delivered by members of the football
squad that will air during the Africa Unity
Exhibition Game.
The football teams participating
in the Africa Unity Experience will sport
PUMA's Africa Unity Kit, the world's first
continental football kit that was launched
in January 2010 and designed to be worn
as a third uniform by PUMA's 13 sponsored
African football teams in the run-up to
World Cup.
To commemorate the Africa
Unity Experience and honour PUMA's heritage
in African football, the sportlifestyle
company has launched a series of companion
Unity products which are available to consumers.
A portion of the profits
from the sale of the Unity products will
be allocated to programs that support biodiversity
in Africa, via UNEP's 2010 International
Year of Biodiversity and the 'Play For Life'
partnership. Replica Unity jerseys will
be available online and at retail worldwide
beginning May 15th. PUMA Unity t-shirts
and shoe "lacelets" designed by
artist Kehinde Wiley are also part of the
product pack.
In a bid to curb the
unprecedented loss of the world's species
due to human activity - at a rate some experts
put at 1,000 times the natural progression
- the United Nations has marked 2010 as
the International Year of Biodiversity.
Africa alone is home to some one quarter
of the world's 4,700 mammal species and
eight of the world's 34 biodiversity hotspots
are on the continent. But Africa is now
facing a massive loss of biodiversity as
habitats are becoming threatened by human
activity, putting many species in danger
of extinction.
Notes to Editors:
About PUMA
PUMA is one of the world's
leading Sportlifestyle companies that designs
and develops footwear, apparel and accessories.
It is committed to working in ways that
contribute to the world by supporting Creativity,
SAFE Sustainability and Peace, and by staying
true to the principles of being Fair, Honest,
Positive and Creative in decisions made
and actions taken. PUMA starts in Sport
and ends in Fashion. Its Sport Performance
and Lifestyle labels include categories
such as Football, Running, Motorsports,
Golf and Sailing. Sport Fashion features
collaborations with renowned designer labels
such as Alexander McQueen, Mihara Yasuhiro
and Sergio Rossi. The PUMA Group owns the
brands PUMA, Cobra Golf and Tretorn. The
company, which was founded in 1948, distributes
ist products in more than 120 countries,
employs more than 9,000 people worldwide
and has headquarters in Herzogenaurach/Germany,
Boston, London and Hong Kong. For more information,
please visit http://www.puma.com
About UNEP
The United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) is the voice for the environment
in the UN system. Established in 1972, UNEP's
mission is to provide leadership and encourage
partnership in caring for the environment
by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations
and peoples to improve their quality of
life without compromising that of future
generations. UNEP is an advocate, educator,
catalyst and facilitator promoting the wise
use of the planet's natural assets for sustainable
development. It works with many partners,
UN entities, international organizations,
national governments, non-governmental organizations,
business, industry, the media and civil
society. UNEP's work involves providing
support for: environmental assessment and
reporting; legal and institutional strengthening
and environmental policy development; sustainable
use and management of natural resources;
integration of economic development and
environmental protection; and promoting
public participation in environmental management.
International Year of
Biodiversity
In a bid to curb the
unprecedented loss of the world's species
due to human activity - at a rate some experts
put at 1,000 times the natural progression
- the United Nations is marking 2010 as
the International Year of Biodiversity,
with a slew of events highlighting the vital
role the phenomenon plays in maintaining
the life support system on Planet Earth.
The UNEP-PUMA 'Play
for Life' campaign will support the International
Year of Biodiversity by:
• Raising awareness
worldwide about biodiversity and the International
Year of Biodiversity among football fans
and the general public during football events
including the African Nations Cup and international
friendly games
• Raising awareness
through Public Service Announcements featuring
football stars
• Encouraging the public
to take action to conserve biodiversity
• Raising funds through
the Africa Unity Kit and other PUMA Unity
football products under the Yellow "life"
label to support biodiversity projects in
Africa.
