AP

RIL

20

07

AFRICA FOCUS

PAGE 30Project visits to Kenya and Uganda by Marcel Desailly and Michael Johnson.

NELSON MANDELA

PAGE 3The Laureus World Sports Academy meets Nelson Mandela at the Laureus Academy Forum.

FIGHTING BACK

PAGE 32Martina Navratilova visits a Laureus Sport for Good Foundation project in the South Bronx, New York.

Messages from the Laureus World Sports AcademyACADEMYMEMBERSGiacomo AgostiniMarcus AllenSeveriano BallesterosFranz BeckenbauerBoris Becker Peter Blake (in fond memory)Ian BothamSergey BubkaBobby CharltonSebastian CoeNadia ComaneciMarcel DesaillyYaping DengKapil DevDavid DouilletEmerson FittipaldiSean FitzpatrickDawn FraserTanni Grey-ThompsonTony HawkMike HornMiguel IndurainMichael Johnson Michael Jordan Kip KeinoFranz KlammerDan MarinoJohn McEnroeEdwin Moses*Nawal El MoutawakelRobby NaishIlie NastaseMartina NavratilovaJack NicklausGary PlayerMorné du PlessisHugo PortaVivian RichardsBill Shoemaker (in fond memory)Monica SelesMark SpitzDaley ThompsonAlberto TombaSteve WaughKatarina WittYasuhiro Yamashita* Chairman

The mark of a great sportsperson is the

unwavering dedication and discipline they

have to their chosen field. It is heartening

to see how the Laureus World Sports

Academy members still possess these

qualities in their work for Laureus projects

worldwide. Academy members have been

forming active alliances with projects on

every continent and continue to show

how sport can be used as a tool for social

change. We are delighted to welcome

three new Academy members this year:

Marcus Allen, Marcel Desailly and Mike

Horn, who are already instilling the

‘spirit of sport’ into disadvantaged areas

through their support of the Foundation

and its projects. The city of Barcelona,

Host City for this year’s Awards, has

shown us exceptional support, which

in turn allows an ever-growing global

audience to learn more about the

important work of Laureus. Fundraising

activities will be an important part of

the Laureus agenda for 2007, as these

are necessary for sustaining both the

Academy and our projects worldwide.

Edwin MosesCHAIRPERSON

To see an idea grow, especially one that

touches the lives of so many children

worldwide, is immensely satisfying. The

launch of 10 new projects in 2006, added

to the existing projects, puts hope into

the lives of thousands of children. This

is a great achievement and a huge step

forward from the launch of the Laureus

Sport for Good Foundation seven years

ago. Once again the upcoming Laureus

World Sports Awards in Barcelona will offer

an opportunity to show the world the work

of the Laureus World Sports Academy

members within these projects. As well

as it being a prestigious global event, we

attend the Awards most importantly as

role models for young people who are

searching for someone to look up to. The

Laureus World Sports Academy, with the

involvement of so many great athletes,

is establishing a growing legacy for the

future and aims to show children living in

difficult situations that they too can find

inspiration and hope through sport. We

cannot change the world overnight but as

a group of sportspeople we are dedicated

to starting, one playing field at a time.

Nawal El MoutawakelVICE CHAIRPERSON

The Laureus World Sports Awards is

always a highlight in the Laureus calendar.

In fact, the prestige of the Awards has

grown to such an extent over the years

that they are now firmly established as a

special part of the global sporting calendar.

But it is also a time when all the members

of the Laureus World Sports Academy take

time to reflect on the inspiration behind

the event: the underprivileged children

around the world. They are the reason

we have all been driven to get involved

in the cause of Laureus, specifically the

Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Across

countries as diverse as Germany, India,

Australia and China, the Foundation rolls

up its sleeves to support projects and

help fight poverty, inequality, racial and

religious intolerance, and many other social

problems. The members of the Laureus

World Sports Academy are very proud to

play a part in helping to address these

issues globally, and continue to be inspired

by the courage and determination that

these childhood champions draw on to

overcome the problems facing them.

Boris BeckerVICE CHAIRPERSON

www. laureus .com3

From left (clockwise): Laureus Friend & Ambassador Deshun Deysel; Laureus World Sports Academy members Mike Horn, Daley Thompson, Franz Klammer, Ilie Nastase, Kapil Dev, Kip Keino; Discovery CEO Neville Koopowitz, Laureus Friends & Ambassadors ‘Baby’ Jake Matlala, John Robbie, Lucas Radebe; Laureus World Sports Academy members Bobby Charlton, Morné du Plessis, Edwin Moses (Chairman); MEC for Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture for Gauteng Provincial Government Barbara Creecy; Laureus World Sports Academy members Monica Seles, Martina Navratilova. Top: Nelson Mandela with (from left) Laureus World Sports Academy members Monica Seles, Edwin Moses, Morné du Plessis, Ilie Nastase.

Academy meet MandelaMEMBERS OF THE LAUREUS WORLD SPORTS ACADEMY MET IN SOUTH AFRICA FOR THE LAUREUS ACADEMY FORUM.

In an emotional day, Laureus World

Sports Academy members met former

President Nelson Mandela, Patron of

Laureus, at the Laureus Academy Forum

held in Gauteng, South Africa, from 5 to

9 November 2006.

The members attended the Forum

to discuss organisational issues, the

consolidation and growth of the Laureus

Sport for Good Foundation and the

development of the Laureus sporting

community through the enlistment of

Laureus Friends & Ambassadors – many

of whom were also present at the Forum.

Particular attention was paid to Africa,

where Laureus tackles a range of social

issues – from the environment, the AIDS

pandemic and homelessness to poverty,

racial issues and abuse.

The members who attended the

Laureus Academy Forum were: Chairman

Edwin Moses, Chairman of the Laureus

Sport for Good Foundation Trust South

Africa Morné du Plessis, Bobby Charlton,

Monica Seles, Kapil Dev, Kip Keino, Franz

Klammer, Nawal El Moutawakel, Ilie

Nastase, Martina Navratilova, and Daley

Thompson.

It was on the final day of the Laureus

Academy Forum that the Academy was

introduced to Mandela. It was Mandela

who framed the mission statement of

Laureus at the very first Laureus World

Sports Awards in 2000 when he said,

“Sport has the power to change the

world. It has the power to inspire. It has

the power to unite people in a way that

little else does. Sport can awaken hope

where there was previously only despair.”

• The Laureus Academy Forum was

supported by Discovery and the Gauteng

Provincial Government.

PROJECT LEADER HONOURED BY QUEENMatthew Spacie,

Chairman of the

inspirational

Magic Bus project

in Mumbai,

has been awarded the MBE in

the Queen’s 2007 Honours List.

Matthew has dedicated his efforts

full-time to his philanthropic work

with Magic Bus, a highly innovative

programme that helps thousands

of underprivileged children by

bringing sports and education to

urban neighbourhoods and slums.

He is the second Laureus Sport for

Good Foundation project leader

to receive an MBE. Luke Dowdney

from the Fight for Peace project

was awarded an MBE for his

services to the community

in 2005.

Two-time Formula One racing champion and

double Indy 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi

pushed back the years by taking to the grid

again this year. The 60-year-old racing ace,

who retired from racing in 1996, was one of the

legends racing in the GP Masters Series.

Back racing in his old number 7, Fittipaldi was

once again tackling Silverstone at speeds of

over 400 kph (250 mph) as part of a series

that saw him up against former racing legends

Nigel Mansell, Rene Arnaux and Ricardo Patrese

among others. A great champion of the Laureus

Sport for Good Foundation, Fittipaldi has carried

the Foundation’s marque as part of his racing

colours. As part of his return, Emo once again

sported his famous sideburns and returned to his

old race weight. “I haven’t felt this good since

1974,” he said in the pit lane at Silverstone.

Back on track

www. laureus .com 4

New members embrace the Academy idealsLAUREUS WELCOMES THREE NEW LAUREUS WORLD SPORTS ACADEMY MEMBERS.

From left (clockwise): Marcel Desailly; an ice-covered Mike Horn; Marcus Allen at the Laureus World Sports Awards 2006.

“Sport can achieve things that nothing else can. It has the ability to inspire youth living in difficult circumstances, and goes hand in hand with education and discipline.” Marcel Desailly

Marcus Allen, Marcel Desailly and

Mike Horn are the newest members

of the Laureus World Sports

Academy, bringing the total number

of members to 44.

MARCUS ALLEN, American

football legend and Pro Football

Hall of Fame inductee, said of his

election to the Academy, “This is

something I cherish and embrace.

My entire life has been devoted

to sport and the Laureus Sport for

Good Foundation reflects what I

would like to do with my life from

now on. We are made rich by what

we give, and poor by what we

keep. What makes me happy is

doing good and I’m excited to be

part of an organisation that has a

worldwide reach.”

Allen, considered to be one

of the greatest goal-line and

short-yardage runners in National

Football League history, added, “I

have a great appreciation for the

people involved in Laureus and

feel honoured to be a part of a

Foundation that consists of fellow

sportspeople where the common

denominator is the desire to do

good in the world, using sport

as means of change. We have all

achieved incredible heights in our

sport of choice but what is most

important is the legacy we leave

behind us.”

MARCEL DESAILLY, former

captain of the French football

team and a member of the 1998

World Cup-winning squad, is an

enthusiastic supporter of Laureus

and a Trustee of the Association

Laureus France. He has already

been actively involved in the work

of Laureus projects.

“I am very proud to be associated

with other champions who share

the same world view,” Desailly

said. “Now that I have retired,

I would like to dedicate my life

to charity – there are so many

qualities sportspeople can show and

encourage in youngsters, such as

determination and perseverance.”

Desailly recently visited a

Laureus project in Mathare, Kenya

with Academy member Michael

Johnson (see pages 28-29). “It was

a great experience,” he said. “I was

overwhelmed by what I saw. It gave

me so much pleasure to be able

to kick a ball around with some of

the kids from the project. This is a

classic example of how sport can

make a big difference to the lives of

so many young people.”

MIKE HORN, extreme

adventurer and recipient of the

2001 Laureus World Alternative

Sportsperson of the Year Award,

said: “The best aspect of

representing Laureus is being

able to promote adventure sport

– a sport where you compete

with nature and yourself, not with

others. This teaches you respect

for your environment and I intend,

using the knowledge I have

acquired, to improve environmental

awareness among children of the

Laureus Sport for Good Foundation

projects around the world.”

In 1999, Horn circumnavigated

the globe, following the equator,

without using any motorised

transport. The trip took 17 months

and 28 days. Horn said, “The role

of Laureus in the environment is

one I would like to improve on,

as I think this is crucial in moving

the world closer to our source of

life – nature and our planet. My

playing field is not a cricket pitch,

soccer field or athletics track, it’s

the world. Humanity is destroying

it and we need to teach our kids

how to look after our valuable

natural resources. I have walked

around the world twice and seen

the value of what we have. It

takes a conscious decision to start

this process; when you move your

mind your actions will follow. This

is what I hope to achieve through

adventure sports and my work

with Laureus.”

www. laureus .com5

Bid The Dream Tennis SoireeFOUR NEW LAUREUS FRIENDS & AMBASSADORS ARE ANNOUNCED AT THE BID THE DREAM TENNIS SOIREE HELD AT THE ORANGERY, KENSINGTON PALACE.

Four inspirational heroes of sport were

named as the newest members of the Laureus

Friends & Ambassadors UK programme. The

announcement was made by Edwin Moses,

Chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy,

at a Laureus EBS Bid the Dream dinner at

The Orangery at Kensington Palace, London,

attended by Laureus World Sports Academy

members and special guests in July 2006.

The new Laureus Friends &

Ambassadors are:

Dame Kelly Holmes – winner of 800m

and 1,500m gold medals in the 2004

Athens Olympics.

Henri Leconte – charismatic tennis star,

and member of France’s 1991 winning Davis

Cup team.

Barry McGuigan – former WBC featherweight

world champion and Boxing Hall of Famer.

Mansour Bahrami – the great entertainer of

tennis, and Champions Tour star.

All four were present at the Kensington

Palace event, which was hosted by EBS (ICAP

is a Global Corporate Supporter of the Laureus

Sport for Good Foundation, see below).

Also attending the dinner to welcome the

new Laureus Friends & Ambassadors were

Laureus World Sports Academy members Sean

Fitzpatrick, Ilie Nastase, John McEnroe and

Martina Navratilova.

Edwin Moses, Chairman of the Laureus

World Sports Academy, said, “This is a very

special day for Laureus and I am delighted to

be able to welcome four new Laureus Friends

& Ambassadors, all of whom represent the

highest ideals of sport and have already

been great supporters of Laureus. They are

all very passionate about their sport and

were tremendous competitors at the highest

level. I am delighted they have accepted our

invitation to join us at Laureus and I know

that they will be energetic workers for the

causes that Laureus supports.”

The evening was a Laureus-EBS Bid

the Dream initiative, which aims to raise

valuable funds to support the work of the

Laureus Sport for Good Foundation around

the world.

Laureus welcomes ICAPICAP IS A GLOBAL CORPORATE SUPPORTER OF THE FOUNDATION

Via its acquisition of EBS in 2006, ICAP became a Global Corporate

Supporter of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation last year.

ICAP donated the brokerage fees from the EBS FX dealing system

from last year’s annual global Charity Day to the Foundation. The

EBS and Laureus partnership was launched with the unique Bid the

Dream auction site, attended by Laureus World Sports Academy

members Lord Sebastian Coe, Sean Fitzpatrick and Michael Johnson

at the London Stock Exchange, the EBS Group’s former offices.

Above (from left): Laureus Friends & Ambassadors Mansour Bahrami, Henri Leconte, Barry McGuigan with Laureus World Sports Academy member Ilie Nastase. Below: The Orangery at Kensington Palace.

Above: Laureus World Sports Academy members Sean Fitzpatrick (second right) and Daley Thompson (left) at the ICAP Charity Day.

www. laureus .com 6

This year marks the launch of the book

Let the Children Play, a collaboration

between Laureus Founding Partner

IWC Schaffhausen and the Laureus

Sport for Good Foundation to showcase

the work of the Foundation’s projects

around the world. The book turns

the spotlight on 10 of the projects

supported by Laureus to illustrate the

active involvement of the Foundation

around the globe. Georges Kern,

CEO of IWC Schaffhausen, explains

the rationale behind the book: “This

illustrated book was initiated and

produced by IWC because of a sense

of deep commitment to increase

awareness of the magnificent, creative

effort on the part of the Laureus Sport

for Good Foundation in the cause of

underprivileged children.”

Let the Children Play, a hardcover

coffee-table book, published by IWC,

contains words and imagery from some

of the world’s leading journalists and

photographers and can be ordered

over the Internet at www.iwc.com. It is

a non-profit initiative and part of the

proceeds will go to the Laureus Sport for

Good Foundation. The book will officially

be launched during the Laureus World

Sports Awards 2007 in Barcelona.

IWC has also produced the second

Laureus Sport for Good Foundation

limited-edition watch. After last

year’s success, another drawing

competition was held to choose the

design engraved on the watch, with

children from all Laureus Sport for

Good Foundation projects asked to

submit their creations. The winning

artist was Jimena Mainé, an eight-

year-old girl, who takes part in the

Sports in Underdeveloped Areas

project in Uruguay. The drawing will

be replicated on the case back of the

limited IWC Pilot’s Watch Chrono-

Automatic Edition Laureus Sport for

Good Foundation, with some of the

proceeds from sales being donated to

the Foundation.

• For more on the IWC book and watch

see page 22.

Let the children playA BOOK HIGHLIGHTS THE LAUREUS SPORT FOR GOOD FOUNDATION’S WORK, THANKS TO IWC.

An image from the book Let the Children Play. Below inset: The book cover. Bottom: The winning drawing and the IWC Pilot’s Watch Chrono-Automatic Edition Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.

The Laureus Media Prizes Germany is

a joint initiative between Mercedes-Benz

and Boris Becker, Chairman of the Laureus

Foundation Germany, to help showcase the

work of Laureus. The annual Media Prizes were

presented for the second time in November

2006 at a ceremony in Munich.

The Spirit of Laureus category honours the

best reports by journalists in print media, TV and

photography that captures the idea and purpose

of Laureus. Stefan Frommann (Die Welt ),

Konstantin Sauer (NDR Television) and the Getty

Images Agency were each presented with a

Laureus Media Prize 2006.

Wortmann was named Laureus Media

Personality of the Year for his World Cup film

Germany: a Summer’s Fairytale, while the

Laureus Honorary Media Prize was presented to

Franziska van Almsick for her work as a Laureus

Friend & Ambassador and with the Laureus

Sport for Good Foundation in Germany.

The ceremony was held in front of more than

400 invited guests as part of the Witzigmann &

Roncalli dinner show in Munich. Guests included

host Boris Becker, Heiner Brand, Bruno Eyron,

Georg Hackl, Vitali Klitschko, Wladimir Klitschko,

Christoph Langen, Jochen Mass, Matthias

Sammer, Michael Teuber and Max Tidof.

In the newsLAUREUS GERMANY CELEBRATESITS SECOND ANNUAL LAUREUS MEDIA PRIZES.

Laureus Media Personality of the Year winner Sönke Wortmann, receives his trophy from host Boris Becker.

Fern

ando

Mol

eres

www. laureus .com7

Chukkas for goodARGENTINIAN POLO STARS PLAY IN IWC-LAUREUS POLO CUP TO RAISE FUNDS FOR LAUREUS.

World-class polo stars

Eduardo, Nachi and Pepe

Heguy and fellow Argentinian

star Adolfo Cambiaso played

in the highly successful IWC-

Laureus Polo Cup held at Ham

Polo Club, Surrey in June

2006. The event, inspired by

Laureus World Sports Academy

member and Fundación

Laureus Argentina President

Hugo Porta, was sponsored

by Laureus Founding Partner

IWC Schaffhausen and raised

funds for Fundación Laureus

Argentina.

Former Argentinian rugby

captain Hugo Porta said,

“This is a great day for the

Argentinian Foundation, not

only due to the loyalty and

solidarity of the Argentinian

community represented by the

polo players present today, but

also through the contribution

and support of individuals

with an enormous sense of

social responsibility from many

different nations.”

Fundación Laureus

Argentina currently supports

three projects. Unión y

Amistad de San Isidro in

Buenos Aires has set up

sports activity sessions and

educational workshops in

an area where crime, drugs,

alcohol, violence and the use

of firearms is prevalent. Cuidad

Oeste uses football, netball

and basketball to address

crime, delinquency and

drug abuse and to promote

community regeneration. The

newest project, Club Deportivo

Barracas will also benefit from

the funds raised at this event.

Simon Chambers of IWC

Schaffhausen UK said, “IWC

Schaffhausen is delighted

to support Laureus in this

worthwhile fundraising activity

for the benefit of such a

great cause.”

Also supporting the event

was Laureus World Sports

Academy Chairman Edwin

Moses and fellow Academy

member Daley Thompson,

who formally started two of

the match chukkas. The IWC-

Laureus Polo Cup Playoff

featured a match between the

IWC team and the Laureus

team. The four Argentinian

polo stars played with guests

Kassim Sharif, Mike Tripper,

Top Raksriaksorn and Vichai

Raksriaksorn.

The Playoff consisted of

four chukkas, resulting in

an exciting 8-8 draw. The

third chukka was particularly

thrilling with the IWC team

taking the lead with three

goals from the Raksriaksorn

family. The Laureus team

fought back in the fourth and

final chukka with goals from

Cambiaso and Heguy

to equalise.

The Playoff was followed by

prize giving, lunch for guests

and a silent auction. Guests

bid for a variety of items

including the IWC Portuguese

Chrono-Automatic Edition

Laureus Sport for Good

Foundation Watch (produced

in 2006).

Argentinean polo stands

head-and-shoulders above

the rest. It is almost as much

an obsession as football.

Indeed, the greatest players

in the world are Argentine.

World Polo Tour No. 1 Adolfo

Cambiaso and Eduardo

Heguy are both members

of the Laureus Friends &

Ambassadors programme

Fundación Laureus

Argentina has made great

strides since it was launched.

“We wanted to make a

difference,” explained Porta,

who along with his wife has

dedicated his life to helping

others. “Our own children

have grown up but we have

adopted over a thousand

young people, who are

now like our children. We

are talking of people right

on the breadline, people

who need to be included,

educated, stimulated. Some

of our children are so poor;

there are cases of mothers in

the countryside selling their

children for a pair of jeans. It

is that bad.

“When these children come

to our projects, all we want

to do is to make them smile.

So many of them do not even

know how to smile – or to find

any happiness in their lives.

Our job is to give them a start.

We are not looking for create

world champions in sport. But

if we can ignite the thought

in them one week, and they

think about coming back the

next, then perhaps they begin

to dream, and if they begin

to dream, then we are making

progress.”

NEWS FROM ARGENTINA

Above (from left to right): Top polo players and Laureus World Sports Academy members came together to raise funds for Laureus Fundacion Argentina; children from the Club

Deportivo Barracas project; polo action.

The French Foundation has adapted

its structure and changed its name

from Fondation Laureus – l’Institut de

France to Association Laureus France.

The change in the legal structure

was made for a number of reasons:

to work closer with the Laureus

Founding Patrons, the projects, the

athletes who support Laureus, and

to achieve greater independence and

generally increase the level of activity.

The new Board of Trustees

will include, among others,

representatives of the Founding

Patrons and Founding Partners,

as well as Laureus World Sports

Academy members David Douillet

and Marcel Desailly.

The Board members skills and

experience in sport and business will

all benefit Association Laureus France.

Another pool of sportsmen,

Friends & Ambassadors, are

designated by the Board of Trustees

to carry out the role of spokespeople

and representatives of Laureus. The

decision to appoint them will be

based on sporting performance, ethics

and integrity.

It is believed that the new

legal structure and dynamic team

will ensure a bright future for

Association Laureus France and

will help them meet their aims

and improve the lives of the many

children who are part of the

projects supported by Association

Laureus France.

www. laureus .com 8

Vive les Français!THE NATIONAL FOUNDATION IN FRANCE HAS BEEN RESTRUCTURED TO MEET ITS AIMS MORE EFFECTIVELY.

Above and top: Children from Golf Educatif.

NEWS FROM FRANCE

Spotlight: Golf EducatifA PROJECT USES THE RULES OF GOLF TO TEACH LIFE LESSONS.

Golf Educatif was established in 2000 by

Welsh professional golfer Bill Owens to

use golf as a tool to fight social exclusion

and reduce anti-social behaviour among

young people who live in the most

deprived areas in France.

It was originally established in a

suburb of Paris, but on 21 September

Golf Educatif launched in Vitrolles near

Marseille. Vitrolles is one of the poorest

cities in the south of France with high

levels of unemployment and violence.

Its philosophy is to demonstrate

how golf’s conventions can be applied

to everyday life. It teaches participants

the value of playing by the rules

and respecting the environment in

which they live and the people with

whom they interact. Golf Educatif has

adapted golf for suburban living by

using golf balls that are one third of

the normal weight to ensure that they

travel a shorter distance. The game

can therefore be played on smaller

golf courses making it ideal for urban

spaces. Above: Marcel DesaillyBelow: David Douillet

www. laureus .com9

Laureus joins an alliance for childrenAN INITIATIVE IN GERMANY SHOWS THAT TEAMWORK CAN YIELD RESULTS FOR NON-PROFIT ORGANISATIONS.

The Laureus Foundation Germany

was part of a remarkable initiative

called ‘United Kids Foundations – an

alliance for children’. For the first

time in history, six major German

NGOs teamed up for one goal: to raise

awareness for their work.

The Alliance raised €1.2 million which

will benefit several social initiatives

and organisations from the cities of

Braunschweig and Wolfsburg. A week of

events took place in the cities between

22 October and 1 November 2006.

The Laureus Foundation Germany

celebrated the charity week together

with hundreds of children at the

run4charity and a soccer tournament

for schools in the region. Laureus was

represented by Edwin Moses, Chairman

of the Laureus World Sports Academy.

Off the streetTHE LAUREUS SPORT FOR GOOD FOUNDATION GERMANY SUPPORTED THE FIRST STREETFOOTBALLWORLD FESTIVAL HELD IN BERLIN.

Fore!The second Mercedes-Benz

charity golf tournament to raise

funds for the Laureus Sport

for Good Foundation Germany

was held in Berlin in July 2006.

Players included Laureus World

Sports Academy members

Bobby Charlton and Boris

Becker, and Laureus Friend &

Ambassador Wladimir Klitschko.

(For more see page 20).

From 2-8 July 2006, 22 teams from five

continents played for the ‘Copa Andrés

Escobar’ in the first streetfootballworld

festival in Berlin, Germany. The trophy

was named after the Colombian

international who was murdered after

he scored an own-goal during the World

Cup in 1994.

Supported by the Laureus Foundation

Germany, the tournament was a huge

success with widespread coverage all

over the globe. 2006 Laureus Sport for

Good Award winner Jürgen Griesbeck

organised the gathering of 176 boys

and girls, from different countries

and projects. German-born Griesbeck

decided to demonstrate that football

could be used as a way to promote

peace.

A team of Laureus World Sports

Academy members and Laureus

Friends & Ambassadors – Sir Bobby

Charlton, Boris Becker, Daley Thompson,

Christoph Langen and Wladimir

Klitschko – joined the action and played

a friendly against a street football all-

star selection. The ‘Old Stars’ of Laureus

won the game 7-5.

Laureus World Sports Academy

Chairman Edwin Moses and Vitali

Klitschko supported both teams from

the stands.

Charlton was greeted with loud cheers

every time he touched the ball, and

played the entire game in boiling heat,

and three-time Wimbledon champion

Becker scored two goals and was named

man of the match.

Becker said, “Sport has its own rules.

Sport does not know skin colour or

religion, as was seen here today. That is

its greatest secret.”

The Laureus team featured in their

side the only girl, Eliana, aged 21, from

Paraguay, who played side by side with

the legends and showed her strength

by scoring in the second half. “I still

can’t believe that I really played with

Bobby Charlton and all the others,”

she said.

Kenya beat South Africa in the final

4-3 in a penalty shoot-out. The Kenyan

team was from the Laureus-funded

MYSA project based in Mathare.

Above: Hundreds of Youngsters took part in the United Kids Foundations Run for Charity.

NEWS FROM GERMANY

Above: Boris Becker and Wladimir Klitschko play street football.

Below: Partners of United Kids Foundations – Edwin Moses, German singer Peter Maffay, German actress Veronica Ferres and Boris Becker.

www. laureus .com 10

It’s promo timeFONDAZIONE LAUREUS ITALIA HAS FILMED A PROMOTIONAL VIDEO FEATURING MANY OF THE LAUREUS WORLD SPORTS ACADEMY MEMBERS.

A 30-second promotional video has

been produced by Fondazione Laureus

Italia to help spread the message of

Laureus and to promote the value

of sport.

The promo was produced during the

three days of the Laureus World Sport

Awards 2006 in Barcelona, and features

some of the Laureus World Sports

Academy members and Laureus Friends

& Ambassadors including Chairman

Edwin Moses, Giacomo Agostini, Dawn

Fraser, Miguel Indurain, Robby Naish,

Monica Seles, Alberto Tomba and Italian

ice dancer Maurizio Margaglio.

Three versions of the short film were

produced, one of them in English so

that it can be used by other Laureus

national foundations around the world.

The promo used the sportspeople to

deliver a clear, personal social message

of fairness, tolerance and hope. The idea

was to produce a film that had a human

dimension as compared to the usual

television images, full of make-up and

without any defects.

The promo was shown from 27

October to 1 November at the 24th

edition of the international review

“Sport Movies & TV”, the international

festival devoted to sports television

held in Milan. The festival organised

by FICTS (Federation Internationale

Cinema Television Sportifs), is attended

by producers, directors, Olympic

committees, sporting federations, and

advertising agencies, with delegations

coming from 99 countries. It was also

shown by other Italian broadcasting

stations: La Repubblica online (the

web portal of one of the main daily

newspapers), La7, Telelombardia, Dj

Television and All Music, some of the

best-known channels for young people.

The promo was also sent to 150,000

people through mobile video phones,

thanks to mobile media company

3 Italia, during the summer of 2006.

Phone the football starsFONDAZIONE LAUREUS ITALIA HAS TEAMED UP WITH AC MILAN TO LAUNCH AN INNOVATIVE FUNDRAISING INITIATIVE BASED ON MOBILE PHONE TECHNOLOGY.

In an exciting move Fondazione Laureus

Italia have experimented with mobile

phone technology to raise funds.

Soccer giants AC Milan made their stars

available

so that

multimedia

content

of them

could be

produced

and then accessed through mobile media

company 3 Italia – with funds raised

going to Fondazione Laureus Italia.

In the campaign, which ran from 22

December till 31 January, customers sent

a text to receive a desktop image or a

short video for a donation of E2,5.

On 14 December 2006 Fondazione

Laureus Italia, together with a team of

video operators, was welcomed to the

sports centre Milanello, a place all AC

Milan soccer team fans dream of, to

record the images.

They were delighted to capture

photographs and videos of the young

Gourcuff, Davide Bonera in a Santa Claus

hat, Brocchi and Gilardino singing the

songs which their supporters usually

chant to them in the stadium, and Pippo

Inzaghi toasting a good new year

to everyone.

This innovative campaign was made

possible thanks

to AC Milan,

3 Italia giving

100 per cent of

the profit

to Fondazione

Laureus Italia,

and through

the hard work of Adriano Galliani,

Trustee of Fondazione Laureus Italia and

Vice President of AC Milan.

This is hoped to be the first in a series

of collaborations with mobile phone

companies in the field of corporate social

responsibility. Inzaghi

They were delighted to capture photographs and videos of the young Gourcuff, Davide Bonera in a Santa Claus hat, Brocchi and Gilardino singing the songs which their supporters usually chant to them in the stadium.

NEWS FROM ITALY

Gilardino

www. laureus .com11

The PeacePlayers International

(previously Playing for Peace) project

in KwaZulu-Natal received a double

bonus this year. Not only did they get

the opportunity to send 10 of their

project members to Northern Ireland

to participate in a cultural exchange

programme for a period of one

week, but they also received a visit

from Laureus World Sports Academy

member and cricket legend Kapil Dev.

Dev interacted with the kids during

their basketball drills and life-skill

sessions at the projects annual City-

Wide Tournament event and a few of

them took time out to entertain him

with some of their dance routines.

Big hitterLAUREUS WORLD SPORTS ACADEMY MEMBER KAPIL DEV VISITS THE PEACEPLAYERS INTERNATIONAL PROJECT.

GrowthtimeLAUREUS ANNOUNCES TWO NEW PROJECTS IN SOUTH AFRICA.

Two new projects have joined those supported by Laureus in South Africa. They are the Buffalo City Soccer School in East London, which uses soccer to address the social ills of drug and alcohol abuse in the communities of Duncan Village and Buffalo Flats, and Fight with Insight, a boxing project in the southern suburbs of Johannesburg, which targets young offenders. This takes the number of projects supported by Laureus in South Africa to nine.

Magnificent duo LUCAS RADEBE AND ERNST VAN DYK JOIN THE LAUREUS SPORTS FAMILY.

South African sports legends Lucas

Radebe and Ernst van Dyk were

unveiled as members of the Laureus

Friends & Ambassadors programme in

November 2006.

Lucas Radebe, who played for Bafana

Bafana, Kaizer Chiefs in South Africa

and Leeds United in England, said,

“When I look at the names of the great

sportsmen and sportswomen who are

part of the Laureus family, I know I am

very honoured.

I know from

personal

experience what

a difference sport

can make to an individual’s life. I had a

wonderful sports career, but if it had not

been for sport, it could have been very

different for me. I grew up in Soweto

during one of the most difficult times

in South Africa. I know how lucky I was,

but most young people are not. I want to

do what I can now to help young people

like that.” Radebe is also a Trustee of the

Laureus Sport for Good Foundation in

South Africa.

Ernst van Dyk won the 2006

Laureus World Sportsperson of the

Year with a Disability Award after

winning the wheelchair race in the

Boston Marathon for a record sixth

time. Even before his induction as a

Laureus Friend & Ambassador, Van

Dyk had shown his commitment to

Laureus by taking part in a project

visit to Alexandra last April.

The announcement was made at the

Laureus Academy Forum (see page 3).

Held at the same time was the fourth

South African Role Models’ Retreat, where

Trustees, Friends & Ambassadors, project

leaders and other stakeholders come

together to plan the future of Laureus in

South Africa.

“When I look at the names of the great sportsmen and sportswomen who are part of the Laureus family, I know I am very honoured.” Lucas Radebe

Above: Laureus Friends & Ambassadors Ernst van Dyk (left) and Lucas Radebe.

NEWS FROM SOUTH AFRICA

www. laureus .com 12

Proyecto Grumet EXIT in

Barcelona became the first

Laureus project in Spain. The

project offers young people

the opportunity to enhance

their educational prospects

through a maritime project

based at the renowned School

of Maritime Professions,

Consorci EL FAR, in Barcelona.

It offers education and

training through the sport of

traditional sailing.

The objectives of the

project are to teach sporting

values inherent in the practice

of traditional sailing and to

teach seafaring skills.

The project targets boys

and girls aged 14 to 16 in

their last years of secondary

education, who are at risk

of academic failure or who

have special educational

needs. The aim is to offer

opportunities to 900 students

over three years, the highlight

of which will be the chance

to sail on the 23-metre yacht

FarBarcelona, dating from

1874, which was restored by

students at EL FAR Shipyard

in Barcelona.

Founded in 1993, Consorci

EL FAR has mainly focused

on developing occupational

training activities aimed

at increasing employment

opportunities, especially

those linked to traditional

sailing and seafaring

activities. Consorci EL FAR

has many years’ experience

developing educational

programmes for schools,

particularly vocational

training, carried out in

the School of Maritime

Professions. For this reason

Consorci EL FAR was selected

to develop the first Laureus

Sport for Good Foundation

project in Spain

Proyecto Grumet EXIT

is promoted by the sports

department of the City

Council of Barcelona, and

is funded by the Fundación

Laureus España.

Spanish legacyFUNDACIÓN LAUREUS ESPAÑA IS LAUNCHED.

Members of the Laureus

World Sports Academy

and representatives of the

Founding Partners were all

present at the launch of the

Fundación Laureus España in

Barcelona in May 2006.

“It’s a legacy for the

good of Spain,” said Juan

Antonio Samaranch Salisachs,

the President of the new

foundation in Spain. “The

Laureus World Sports

Awards in Barcelona is just

the beginning,” added

Edwin Moses, Chairman of

the Laureus World Sports

Academy.

Samaranch, member of

the International Olympic

Committee, is working with

a distinguished Board of

Trustees, which includes

Laureus World Sports Academy

members Severiano Ballesteros

and Miguel Indurain, and

representatives of the

Founding Patrons, Carlos

Espinosa de los Monteros

(President of DaimlerChrysler

Spain) and Phillipe Guillaumet

(CEO of Richemont Spain).

At the launch Samaranch

commented that it was a

privilege for him to be the

President of the Fundación

Laureus España and that he

would like to create a legacy

for good through the work

done by the Foundation

with the support of local

partners.

The then Mayor of

Barcelona, Joan Clos, also

expressed his enthusiasm

about the Foundation and

particularly the work done

with Proyecto Grumet

EXIT in Barcelona. This is

the first project chosen by

Fundación Laureus España

and the pioneer programme

is already yielding excellent

results.

Ahoy there!THE FIRST LAUREUS PROJECT LAUNCHED IN SPAIN WAS THE PROYECTO GRUMET EXIT IN BARCELONA.

Above: Laureus World Sports Academy Chairman Edwin Moses, fellow Academy members Robby Naish (front) and Hugo Porta (left) with children from Proyecto Grumet EXIT.

NEWS FROM SPAIN

President of Fundación Laureus España Juan Antonio Samaranch Salisachs (centre) with Laureus World Sports Academy members Miguel Indurain (left) and Severiano Ballesteros.

Above: Robby Naish sets sail.

www. laureus .com13

Laureus tees off at The Bear’s ClubJACK NICKLAUS HOSTS THE FIRST LAUREUS CELEBRITY GOLF INVITATIONAL.

Laureus World Sports Academy member

Jack Nicklaus picked up his clubs again

to host the first Laureus Celebrity Golf

Invitational at The Bear’s Club, Jupiter in

Florida, in May 2006. The event raised

US$350,000 (€265,000) for the Laureus

Sport for Good Foundation USA. The

funds will benefit Foundation projects,

and will help launch a new partnership

with CampInteractive which will be

expanding its charitable activities to

South Florida this year. CampInteractive

introduces the creative power of

technology with the inspiration of the

outdoors to under-privileged inner city

youth. (See www.campinteractive.org)

In addition to Laureus World Sports

Academy Chairman Edwin Moses

and fellow Academy members John

McEnroe and Robby Naish, celebrity

players supporting the cause included

golf star and TV commentator Ian

Baker-Finch, baseball superstar Mike

Schmidt, three-time RE/MAX long-

drive champion Sean Fister, Olympic

gold-medal sprinter Tommie Smith,

former NBA star and current NBA coach

Greg Anthony, NHL hockey star Danny

Quinn, Olympic gold-medal gymnast

Shannon Miller; Olympic gold-medal

long jumper Bob Beamon and Olympic

multi-medallist swimmers Gary Hall Sr

and Gary Hall Jr.

Nicklaus’ announcement that he

would play once again produced a

US$100,000 donation from corporate

sponsor EBS, and the golfing great

showed he had lost none of his

skill and appetite as his team of

John Carrion, John Gaudio, John

Donnelly, and Colin Devereux won the

competition. Each member received an

IWC watch and they contributed their

winnings back to Laureus.

The tournament was played on

Nicklaus’ own course at The Bear’s Club,

founded in 1999. Presenting sponsors

IWC Schaffhausen and Hamilton

Jewelers hosted a cocktail buffet to

welcome players and guests and there

was a Mercedes-Benz vehicle on offer

for a hole-in-one at the 14th hole.

An auction was also held to raise

funds for the US Foundation.

Gallery of stars13 STARS JOIN THE LAUREUS FAMILY IN THE USA.

An impressive collection of some of

the finest names of American sport

were announced as members of the

Laureus Friends & Ambassadors

programme in the USA in

December 2006.

The 13 names were unveiled at

a fundraising cocktail party hosted

by Laureus World Sports Academy

member John McEnroe at his SoHo

art gallery in New York.

Edwin Moses, Chairman of the

Laureus World Sports Academy and

fellow Academy members Nadia

Comaneci and Dan Marino joined

McEnroe at the event, which was

supported by Laureus Founding

Partners Mercedes-Benz and

IWC Schaffhausen.

As well as being the platform

to announce the new Laureus

Friends & Ambassadors USA, the

evening also raised funds for the

work of the Laureus Sport for Good

Foundation USA.

Jim Bouton, Gale Sayers and

Tommie Smith were honoured

for their work for social change

through sport and each was

presented with an IWC Aquatimer

watch. Renowned photographer

Reed Davis set up a studio and

took individual photographs

of guests with their favourite

sportsmen and women to raise

additional funds.

Moses said, “This is a very

special day for Laureus and I am

delighted to be able to welcome

our new Laureus Friends &

Ambassadors USA. They are all

very passionate about sport and I

am delighted they have accepted

our invitation. I know they will be

energetic workers for the cause

that Laureus supports: to help

underprivileged young people

around the world.”

Jeremy Bloom – Olympic skier and wide receiver for NFL team Philadelphia Eagles.Jim Bouton – pitcher with the NY Yankees and author of bestseller Ball Four.Len Elmore – former player, now President of the NBA Retired Players Association. John Franco – pitched for the NY Mets in the 2000 World Series.Jerry Kramer – 11 years with NFL’s Green Bay Packers, now bestselling author.Earl Monroe – basketball legend who scored over 17,454 points in his career. Donna Orender – President of the Women’s National Basketball Association.Gale Sayers – American Football icon, subject of legendary TV movie Brian’s Song.Tony Siragusa – NFL Pro Bowl star, TV personality and commentator.Dr Tommie Smith – Olympic gold-medal-winning sprinter and social activist.John Starks – former NBA star with NY Knicks.Amani Toomer – wide receiver for NFL’s NY Giants.Nelson Vails – cyclist who won silver at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

Laureus Friends & Ambassadors USA

Top: Event host Jack Nicklaus Above: John McEnroe (left) and Jeff Ward from EBS.

NEWS FROM THE USA

www. laureus .com 14

Barcelona 2007BARCELONA WILL HOST THE LAUREUS WORLD SPORTS AWARDS 2007 AS IT CONTINUES TO BUILD ON ITS SPORTING LEGACY FOR GOOD.

The vibrant, exciting city of Barcelona will

again be the host as sports stars, celebrities and

business people come together to pay tribute

to the year’s greatest achievers in sport at the

annual Laureus World Sports Awards. Judging

by the success of last year’s Awards, also held in

Barcelona, the event will be spectacular.

The Awards will be one of a series of events to

mark the beginning of the city’s Year of Sport,

which celebrates the 15th anniversary of the highly

successful 1992 Summer Olympic Games that took

place in Barcelona. The recently opened Olympic

and Sports Museum has become an important

symbol of this sporting heritage. The museum is

situated on Montjuïc, a hill that was the site of

several venues of the 1992 Olympics, including

the Olympic stadium. A focal point of this

museum is the private sports collection of Juan

Antonio Samaranch, honorary president of the

International Olympic Committee. It also contains

a Hall of Fame and areas dedicated to the history

of sport as well as the Olympic spirit. The City

has also accepted an offer from Laureus Founding

Partners Mercedes-Benz of the loan of the 1998

Formula One show car of Mika Häkkinen, a

semi-automatic McLaren-Mercedes MP4-13.

Two main aims of the city’s Year of Sport are to

www. laureus .com15

promote sport as a tool for improving

health and social integration, and to

showcase Barcelona as a centre for

high-profile international sporting

events.

As Jordi Hereu i Boher, Mayor

of Barcelona, said, “Sport is close

to the hearts of all the people of

Barcelona and we are delighted to

welcome the Laureus World Sports

Awards to the city once again.

Barcelona is a city with a proud

sporting tradition and has staged

many important sporting events. The

city offers world-class infrastructure,

backed by superb organisational

talent, which makes it the ideal

venue for events of global stature

such as the Laureus World Sports

Awards.”

Edwin Moses, Chairman of the

Laureus World Sports Academy,

considered the 2006 Laureus Awards

ceremony in Barcelona to be one of

the best ever. “Barcelona is a superb

sporting location and staged a truly

unique event. I am delighted that

we will be returning to play a major

part in Barcelona’s Year of Sport and

I look forward to another memorable

gathering of the great names in

sport,” he said.

Last year’s Laureus World Sports

Awards, with guest of honour His

Majesty The King of Spain, was

attended by global figures from

sport, entertainment, business and

fashion. His Majesty The King of

Spain also attended the Sport for

Good Breakfast held at the Arts Hotel

on the morning before the ceremony,

where he met national foundation

managers from around the world

and stressed the important work of

the Foundation.

The staging of the 2006 Awards

also created a lasting legacy

for good in Barcelona. The first

Laureus project in Spain, Proyecto

Grumet EXIT, was launched when

Moses and fellow members Robby

Naish and Hugo Porta met some

of the young people involved in

the project and joined them for

a sail in the harbour. This unique

maritime programme offers young

people the opportunity to enhance

their educational and job prospects

through the art of sailing.

This year’s Laureus World Sports

Awards, which will be televised to a

global TV audience estimated at 700

million viewers in over 190 countries,

will be staged at the Palau Sant

Jordi on the evening of 2 April 2007.

These awards not only honour great

achievements in the world of sport,

but also serve to raise the global

awareness of Laureus – how Academy

members and projects harness the

power of sport to promote social

change worldwide.

Opposite: The 1992 Barcelona Olympics closing ceremony. Clockwise from above: Barcelona waterfront; Academy members on stage at the Laureus World Sports Awards 2006; Founding Partners Mercedes-Benz loaned the 1998 Formula One show car of Mika Häkkinen to the Olympic and Sports Museum in Barcelona.

“Sport is close to the hearts of all the people of Barcelona and we are delighted to welcome the Laureus World Sports Awards to the city once again.” Jordi Hereu i Boher, Mayor of Barcelona

www. laureus .com 16

“Sport, has the power

to change the world,

it has the power to

inspire, it has the

power to unite people

in a way that little

else does. It speaks to

youth in a language

they understand.

Sport can create hope

where once there

was only despair.

It is more powerful

than governments in

breaking down racial

barriers.”

Nelson Mandela,

speaking at the Laureus

World Sports Awards

2000.

LAUREUS WORLD SPORTS AWARDS

B A R C E LO N A 2 0 0 7

www. laureus .com17

LAUREUS WORLD SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR

AFAFA POWELL (Jamaica) Athletics

Commonwealth Games gold-medal winner.

FERNANDO ALONSO (Spain) Motor Racing

Won Formula One World Championship.

MICHAEL SCHUMACHER (Germany) Motor Racing

Winner of seven Formula One World Championships.

ROGER FEDERER (Switzerland) Tennis

Three-time winner of this category.

TIGER WOODS (United States) Golf

Winner of 12 championship victories.

FABIO CANNAVARO (Italy) Football

Captained Italy’s 2006 World Cup winning team.

LAUREUS WORLD SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR

AMELIE MAURESMO (France) Tennis

Won two Grand Slam singles titles.

JUSTINE HENIN (Belgium) Tennis

Winner of the French Open.

LAURE MANADOU (France) Swimming

Won four gold medals in the European Championships.

MARIA SHARAPOVA (Russia) Tennis

Won two Grand Slam titles at the age of 19.

YELANA ISINBAYEVA (Russia) Athletics

Rated the world’s best female pole vaulter.

CAROLINA KLUFT (Sweden) Athletics

No. 1 multi-discipline female athlete in the world

2007 NOMINEES

Laureus World Sports Awards

LAUREUS WORLD SPORTS AWARDSB A R C E LO N A 2 0 0 7

LAUREUS WORLD BREAKTHROUGH OF THE YEAR

AMELIE MAURESMO (France) Tennis

Won two Grand Slam singles titles.

GHANA MEN’S FOOTBALL TEAM (Ghana) Football

Won the FIFA Most Improved Team of the Year award.

LEWIS HAMILTON (United Kingdom) Motor Racing

Will become the first black Formula One driver this year after winning the G2 title.

MA XIAOXU (China) Football

AFC Women’s Player of the Year and Asian Young Footballer of the Year.

XAVIER CARTER (United States) Athletics

Won four titles at the NCAA Championships and recorded the second fastest 200m time ever.

BRITTA STEFFEN (Germany) Swimming

Won four gold medals at the European Championships.

LAUREUS WORLD COMEBACK OF THE YEAR

BEN CURTIS (United States) Golf

Claimed his first tournament win in three years.

MIAMI HEAT (United States) Basketball

Won the NBA Finals after losing first two games.

ROY JONES JR (United States) Boxing

Fought his way back to the American light-heavyweight title.

SERENA WILLIAMS (United States) Tennis

Won her third Australian Open after coming back from a serious knee injury.

ZINEDINE ZIDANE (France) Football

Came out of retirement to captain France to the World Cup Final.

DREW BREES (United States) American Football

Returned after injury to lead NFL with passing yards.

www. laureus .com 18

LAUREUS WORLD TEAM OF THE YEAR

ALL BLACKS (New Zealand) Rugby Union

Won the Tri-Nations Championship for the seventh time.

EUROPEAN RYDER CUP TEAM Golf

Achieved three straight victories over the USA.

ITALY MEN’S FOOTBALL TEAM (Italy) Football

Won the 2006 World Cup in Germany.

RENAULT FORMULA ONE TEAM (France) Motor Racing

Won a second Constructors’ World Championship.

SPANISH BASKETBALL TEAM (Spain) Basketball

Won the World Cup in Japan.

FC BARCELONA (Spain) Football

Won the UEFA Champions League for the second time.

LAUREUS WORLD SPORTS AWARDS

B A R C E LO N A 2 0 0 7

LAUREUS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

This award is given to an individual who has achieved outstanding sporting success in his or her chosen field over many years – a legend in sport and a person whose activity goes beyond the boundaries of sporting achievement and who has contributed significantly in other areas of human endeavour.

LAUREUS SPORT FOR GOOD AWARD

Sport has the power to change the world. This award goes to an individual who has brought that simple, elemental truth to life; an individual who has used this theme as an inspiration for his/her work; a person who has made an outstanding contribution to society through the medium of sport over many years and who has made a difference to the lives of young people in local communities.

LAUREUS WORLD ACTION SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR

AARON HADLOW (United Kingdom) Kiteboarding

Retains title as the world’s best freestyle kiteboarder.

GISELA PULIDO (Spain) Kiteboarding

At age 12 has won numerous national titles.

HANNAH TETER (United States) Snowboarding

Won an Olympic gold medal at Turin.

KELLY SLATER (United States) Surfing

Won an unprecedented eight World Championships.

KEVIN PRITCHARD (United States) Windsurfing

Won the Professional Windsurfers Association Wave World Championship.

SHAUN WHITE (United States) Snowboarding/skateboarding

Competed in and won 12 events during 2006.

TRAVIS PASTRANA (United States) Freestyle Motorcross

Executed the first double backflip in motocross history.

LAUREUS WORLD SPORTSPERSON OF THE YEAR WITH A DISABILITY

EDITH HUNKELER (Switzerland) Athletics

Won three gold medals at the IPC Athletics World Championships

JAVIER PALACIOS OTXOA (Spain) Cycling

Recovered from a coma with victories at the IPC Cycling World Championships.

KAZEM RAFABI (Iran) Powerlifting

Overcame polio to set two new world records

KURT FEARNLEY (Australia) Athletics

Won the New York City Wheelchair Marathon.

MARTIN BRAXENTHALER (Germany) Alpine Skiing

Won three gold medals at the Paralympic Winter Games.

ESTHER VERGEEER (Netherlands) Wheelchair Tennis

Remains undefeated for three straight years.

www. laureus .com19

LAUREUS WORLD SPORTS AWARDSB A R C E LO N A 2 0 0 7

www. laureus .com 20

Mercedes-Benz

has supported

Laureus

from its

inception in 1999. It works

actively to raise funding and

awareness, lending financial

and logistical support to the

organisation, especially the

good work of the Laureus

Sport for Good Foundation,

both internationally and in

Germany.

It has been a particularly

busy year for Mercedes-Benz

and Laureus, with a number

of events held to promote the

work of the Foundation.

In July, for the second

time, Mercedes-Benz invited

customers and friends to

Berlin to play in a charity

golf tournament to support

the Laureus Sport for Good

Foundation Germany. The

competition was played at the

Golf Club Seddiner See, near

Germany’s capital, during the

final week of FIFA World

Cup 2006.

Laureus World Sports

Academy members Boris

Becker and Sir Bobby Charlton

teed up under hot conditions

and Charlton joked under the

midday sun, “This is the worst

golf I have ever played. I have

never been so depressed in my

whole life but it’s for a good

cause, so we fight through.”

Laureus Friend &

Ambassador Wladimir

Klitschko, whose handicap

(36) was slightly over those

of the two legends added,

“Surprisingly I came back with

more balls than I started with!

I found a lot of older balls in

the rough but not my own

ones.”

The charity golf event was

preceded by a get-together

of 200 guests on the evening

before at the ‘in’ club

40seconds and a glamorous

gala event for more than 250

guests at the Mercedes-Benz

dealership Salzufer in Berlin

Charlottenburg.

The event was held to

raise funds for the Laureus

Sport for Good Foundation.

Speaking at the golf day, Dr

Olaf Göttgens, Vice President

Brand Communications

Mercedes-Benz Passenger

Car, emphasised the strong

commitment from Mercedes-

Benz to the Laureus Sport

for Good Foundation and

expressed his appreciation to

all players and partners.

Recently Laureus World

Sports Award winner Valentino

Rossi tested a DTM car for the

first time at Hockenheim. The

27-year-old Italian impressed

with consistently fast lap times

with Mika Häkkinen’s 2006

AMG-Mercedes C-Class. As a

gesture of appreciation from

Rossi the car and his overalls

were branded with the

Laureus logo.

The superstar of motorcycle

Grand Prix racing, who received

the Laureus Spirit of Sport

Trophy last year, adjusted

quickly to the AMG-Mercedes

C-Class. After testing a Ferrari

Formula One car last winter,

this DTM test was another

opportunity for the multiple

MotoGP champion to gain

experience with a race car.

Rossi, a DTM fan, had asked

Mercedes-Benz for the

opportunity to test the car.

Valentino Rossi can draw on

16 years of racing experience.

He started racing karts in

1990 and changed from four

to two wheels one year later,

participating in minibike races

at the age of 12. It took him

just five years to become a

Grand Prix driver and in his

debut year in the 125cc World

Championship he won his first

Grand Prix. The next year he

became world champion in this

category. For ten consecutive

years since then he has never

finished lower than second in

the overall rankings of three

different classes. He became the

250cc world champion in 1999

and one year later the 500cc

titleholder. From 2002 until 2005

Rossi clinched the MotoGP title

four times in a row.

After the test, Rossi

said: “It was great fun. The

AMG-Mercedes C-Class is

an impressive race car and it

can almost be driven like a

Formula One car. I don’t know

yet if I will ever race on four

wheels; however, it is good to

know that I wouldn’t look so

bad doing so, and

I thank Mercedes-Benz for this

opportunity.”

Mercedes-Benz also

continues to support the

work of the Laureus Sport

for Good Foundation through

events it is involved in, such

as the first streetfootballworld

festival which was held in

Berlin in July, and the week

of events held in November

to raise funds for United Kids

Foundations – an alliance for

children, an initiative where

six organisations teamed up.

(See page 9 for more on these

stories).

FOUNDING PARTNER REPORT MERCEDES-BENZ

HEROES OF SPORT RAISE AWARENESS AND FUNDS FOR THE LAUREUS SPORT FOR GOOD FOUNDATION

CommitmentThe Laureus Media Prizes Germany is a joint initiative between Mercedes-Benz and Boris Becker, Chairman of the Laureus Foundation Germany, to help showcase the work of Laureus. Here, Vitali Klitschko (left) and his brother Wladimir Klitschko, both Laureus Friends & Ambassadors, congratulate Franziska van Almsick.

Valentino Rossi at the DTM testing, Hockenheim

www. laureus .com21

The world’s greatest sporting eventsTHE FIFA WORLD CUP THE OLYMPIC GAMES

How many watch it?

When did it all start?

How often is the event held?

How many days is the event held over?

How many matches/ events does it include?

How many countries participate?

The cumulative audience for all matches (64) in Germany 2006 was

26.29 billion. Games were broadcast to 214 countries and territories.

(Source: FIFA)

The first World Cup was held in

Uruguay in 1930.

The Finals are held every four years but qualifying matches start

up to three years before that. The first qualifying matches for

South Africa 2010 kick off in August 2007.

South Africa 2010 starts on 11 June

and concludes on 11 July.

There were 64 matches in the

Finals and 847 qualifying matches

leading up to Germany 2006.

All 207 member associations have been invited to participate

in qualifying for South Africa 2010. The host nation qualifies

automatically. 13 teams took part in the first World Cup.

The cumulative audience for the

Athens Olympics 2004 was estimated

to be 40 billion. (Source: IOC)

The Olympics were held from 776BC until

393AD but the first modern Olympics

was held in Greece in 1896.

The Olympic Summer Games are held

every fours years. The Olympic Winter

Games are also held every four years.

The 2004 Olympics was held

over a period of 17 days.

301 events were

held in 2004

202 took part in 2004.

This compares to just 14 in 1896

”It is marvellous to see these matches with the best players in the

world. At the same time, our game of football has the potential

to promote peace and understanding among the many different

cultures. For me, the FIFA World Cup has a special mission when

it comes to this. In 2006, the mission was accomplished.” – Franz

Beckenbauer, Chairman World Cup 2006 Organising Committee and

member of the Laureus World Sports Academy.

“There are so many, really. Playing my first World Cup in 1966 was

such a tremendous experience, especially the final versus England.

Winning it all in 1974 was unbelievable. And then of course 1990,

when I coached Germany to the World Cup. But I know that I’ll

never forget the Fan Feste in 2006. It was great to see people

from all different nations and cultures celebrate together – with so

much joy and completely peaceful. That’s the way God wanted the

world to be.” – Franz Beckenbauer.

“The Olympics are special because the magical atmosphere

and uplifting spirit distinguishes them from any other

sporting event, creating an electrifying experience for

competitors and spectators. However, it is their power to

inspire that makes them truly special. London 2012’s vision

is to capture the imagination of young people around the

world and inspire them to take up sport.” – Sebastian Coe,

Chairman of the London 2012 Organising Committee and

member of the Laureus World Sports Academy.

“It is hard to choose one

but I think it would be Daley

Thompson winning his

second Decathalon

Gold medal in Los Angeles

in 1984.” – Sebastian Coe.

What is your greatest memory of the event?

What makes the tournament so great?

www. laureus .com 22

Swiss watch

manufacturer IWC

Schaffhausen joined

forces with Laureus

in 2005. Georges Kern, CEO

of IWC Schaffhausen explains

the company’s motivation

for the partnership: “The

privileged people on this

planet – and we are among

them – must do something to

help those who are socially,

physically or economically

disadvantaged. This applies

not only to individuals but

also to the economy as a

whole. We as a company bear

a social responsibility. Today,

people expect companies to

give them authenticity and to

represent genuine values, and

solidarity with underprivileged

individuals is one of these

values. In the Laureus Sport for

Good Foundation, which helps

underprivileged children and

adolescents to help themselves,

IWC has found the ideal partner

for active social commitment.”

As founder, IWC

Schaffhausen has played a

particularly important role in

setting up the Swiss branch

of the Laureus Sport for Good

Foundation, which will be

officially launched in June

2007. IWC strongly believes

in the work of Laureus and

provides not only financial

support but also offers its

worldwide network to Laureus.

In the book Let the Children

Play, IWC outlines the work

of the Laureus Sport for Good

Foundation by focusing on 10

of the Foundation’s projects.

With contributions from leading

photographers and journalists,

the book captures the lives of

children in ground-breaking

projects supported by the

Foundation from Sarajevo to

Sri Lanka.

Kern said, “This illustrated

book was initiated and realised

by IWC out of a sense of

deep commitment to increase

awareness of the magnificent

creative effort on the part of

the Laureus Sport for Good

Foundation in the cause of

children.”

Let the Children Play

includes the work of famous

reportage photographers like

James Nachtwey, Juan Medina,

Ivo Saglietti, Abbas, Fernando

Moleres among others.

Internationally renowned

journalists and authors such

as Roger Cohen, Eduardo

Galeano, Tahar Ben Jelloun,

Predrag Matvejevic lent their

keen powers of observation

to tell the stories of children

facing poverty, discrimination,

war, alienation and physical

handicaps.

The authors and

photographers visited Hong

Kong, Spain, Sri Lanka,

Germany, Morocco, Italy,

Bosnia, USA, Brazil and Kenya

in order to produce the book.

As His Majesty The King

of Spain and Laureus World

Sports Awards Patron said:

“Sport generates hope,

instilling in young people the

drive to achieve new goals

and turn dreams into reality.”

It is this hope which the book

aspires to capture.

Let the Children Play, a

hard-cover coffee table book,

published by IWC in English

and containing 276 pages, can

be ordered at www.iwc.com. It

is a non-profit making project

and part of the proceeds will go

towards the Laureus Sport for

Good Foundation. The book will

be officially launched during

the Laureus World Sports

Awards 2007 in Barcelona.

IWC has also produced

the second limited-edition

Laureus Sport for Good

Foundation watch. After last

year’s success another drawing

competition among children

of Laureus-supported projects

was initiated to find the

design to be engraved on the

watch. The winning artist was

Jimena Mainé, an eight-year

old girl, who takes part in the

Sports in Underdeveloped

Areas programme in Uruguay.

Jimena’s drawing, called simply

‘Basketball’ depicts the joy and

happiness of three girls playing

basketball in the sunshine.

The drawing was replicated on

the case back of 2,500 limited

edition pieces of an IWC Pilot’s

Watch Chrono-Automatic.

IWC Schaffhausen has

been producing professional

timepieces for pilots and

passengers since the mid-

1930s. It was designed to

survive in the cockpits of

the aircrafts of the time. The

optimally legible dials with

their high-contrast luminous

hands for day and night

have always been regarded

as exemplary in terms of its

functionality. The Pilot’s Watch

Chrono-Automatic Edition

Laureus Sport for Good

Foundation will be officially

launched in April 2007

during the SIHH Watch Fair

in Geneva. Notable features

include the intense blue of

the dial and the blue crocodile

leather strap that corresponds

perfectly with the face. And

of course the watch contains

all features for which the IWC

Pilot’s watches are known:

maximum readability, soft-

iron inner case for protection

against magnetic fields and

resistance against sudden drop

of air pressure.

A substantial sum of the

sales proceeds of the limited

edition will be donated to

the Laureus Sport for Good

Foundation.

FOUNDING PARTNER REPORT IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN

A BOOK AND WATCH ARE TWO NEW EXCITING PROJECTS AS IWC SCHAFFHAUSEN CONTINUE TO SHOW THEIR VALUED SUPPORT TO THE WORK OF THE LAUREUS SPORT FOR GOOD FOUNDATION.

Inspiration

Above: images from Let the Children Play.

Abba

sJa

mes

Nac

htw

ey

www. laureus .com23

Speed KingsWHY ARE WE ADDICTED TO GOING FAST? WE PROFILE FOUR LAUREUS WORLD SPORTS ACADEMY MEMBERS WHO KNOW MORE THAN MOST ABOUT SPEED.

Klammer won gold in the

Alpine Skiing Downhill for

Men at the 1976 Winter

Olympics in Innsbruck. In

1975 he won eight of nine

World Cup Downhill races.

On two skis. Klammer recorded an average speed

of 102.82 kph (63.89 mph) in his 1976

Olympic run.

“It’s about pushing the limits, finding where the

limit is. The worst thing is being cocky. Yes, push

the limit but be aware of the danger so you can

overcome the fear. You have to be proactive

when going fast not defensive. I got to the point

where I felt as if I was going in slow motion.”

FRANZ KLAMMER

Claim to fame How do you move fast?

How fast do you move? Describe the thrill of speed…

GIACOMO AGOSTINI Agostini won 15 world

Grand Prix titles in his 17-

year career (eight in 500cc

and seven in 350cc), 12

Isle of Man TT titles, 122

Grands Prix.

On two wheels. Agostini made the MV Augusta bike

famous by winning multiple world

championships. In August 2006 the

MV Augusta F4 became the fastest

production 1000cc bike in the world with

a speed of 299.14 kph (185.88 mph).

“There is something inside some of us that

craves speed. Some people just can’t go fast

enough. For me, it makes me excited when I am

going fast; I know I am pushing the limits and

proving to myself that I can do something that

is difficult.”

MICHAEL JOHNSON Five times Olympic champion

(200m, 400m and 4x400m

relay), nine times world

champion and the first

man to hold both the

200m and 400m world

records.

On two legs. In the 1996 Olympics Johnson set a

world record time of 19.32 seconds

in the 200m, an average speed of

37.26 kph (23.15 mph).

“Human speed is a feeling of freedom with no

boundaries and no constraints and I believe

that is why I have loved to run since I was a

child. But it is also pushing your body to the

absolute limit while simultaneously trying to

accomplish an efficiency of movement.”

EMERSON FITTIPALDI Fittipaldi won the Formula

One championship in 1972

and 1974 with 14 Grand

Prix wins. He also won the

Indianapolis 500 twice.

On four wheels. In 1990 on his way to winning the

Indianapolis 500, Fittipaldi completed

the 91st lap in 40.43 at a speed of

358.18 kph (222.57 mph).

“My most memorable experience was when

driving a racing car on a superspeedway. Driving

the car at its limit and approaching each curve

at over 400kph, within centimetres of the wall

and knowing that any little mistake at these

incredible speeds would not be forgiven, was an

amazing thrill.”

Michael Johnson’s legendary gold running shoes.

www. laureus .com 24

A1 GRAND PRIX Brazil Emerson FittipaldiTeam manager

2007 A Laureus world of sport year 2007 is a major year for world sport and where there are world sporting events you are sure to find members of the Laureus World Sports Academy involved.

This year there are at least four major world championships. They start in the pool in Melbourne, Australia then on to the sunny cricket pitches in the West Indies for their inaugural hosting of the Cricket World Cup.

France is host to the Rugby World Cup, one of the fastest growing sporting world championships and in Shanghai in October, the year ahead of the Beijing Olympics in 2008, China will also host the Special Olympics World Summer Games.

And that’s all without mentioning the iconic global sporting events of the Championships at Wimbledon, the US

Masters at Augusta and the Superbowl in Miami.

Members of the Laureus World Sports Academy will be involved in all of the above, some integrally such as IRB member Hugo Porta and the illustrious members of the IAAF Council. Add the preparations underway to hosting the Summer Olympic Games, a bid to host the Winter Olympics and managing a motor racing team, and that’s just some of the year in the life of the Laureus World Sports Academy.

LAUREUS WORLD SPORTS AWARDS Barcelona 1-2 April Laureus World Sports Academy

Ian BothamCommentator

Kapil DevCommentator

Viv RichardsFormer West Indian manager and captain

CRICKET WORLD CUP West Indies March 11 – April 28

Steve WaughFormer winning World Cup captain

THE US MASTERSAugusta, Georgia2-8 AprilGary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Severiano Ballesteros

Former champions

SUPERBOWLMiami, FloridaFebruary 4Marcus Allen

OLYMPIC GAMES LONDON 2012London Sebastian CoeChairman

MANCHESTER UTDManchester Bobby CharltonDirector

www. laureus .com25

2014 WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES SALZBURG BID AustriaFranz Klammer Chairman

Sergey BubkaIAAF Council Member

Nawal El MoutawakelIAAF Council Member

Sebastian CoeIAAF Council Member

Kip KeinoIOC Member

IAAF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS OSAKAJapan 25 August – 5 September

Boris Becker Commentator and former champion

John McEnroe Commentator and former champion

WIMBLEDONCHAMPIONSHIPS Wimbledon 25 June – 8 July

Hugo PortaIRB member and former Argentinean captain

Sean Fitzpatrick Commentator and former New Zealand captain

Morné du Plessis Former SouthAfrican captain and manager

RUGBY WORLD CUP France 7 September – 20 October

SWIMMING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS Melbourne 17 March – 1 April Mark SpitzGuest, former Olympic champion and world record holder

SPECIAL OLYMPICS WORLD SUMMER GAMES SHANGHAI 2-11 October Nadia ComaneciGlobal Ambassador

OLYMPIC GAMES LONDON 2012London Sebastian CoeChairman

MANCHESTER UTDManchester Bobby CharltonDirector

www. laureus .com 26

The bus ride through the Atlas

Mountains saw us wind through narrow

mountain passes. Through the gaps

in the rock the plains to the Sahara

stretched out beneath us like quilted

mats.

We had left the bustle of Morocco’s

Marrakech behind us and driven out

at breakfast to the foothills of the

mountains. We were all dressed the

same, ill-fitting khaki shorts, cheap

trainers and dark blue Laureus T-shirts.

That is except for one immaculately

turned out American, who sported the

latest in one of the world’s most famous

track-shoe manufacturer’s designs.

The rest of us had arrived the night

before from the Laureus World Sports

Awards. Our luggage unfortunately

hadn’t. The first real chance of speaking

to two-time Formula One champion and

racing legend Emerson Fittipaldi was in a

crowded shopping aisle on the outskirts

of Marrakech while he was holding up a

pair of shorts.

Also in the aisles looking for socks,

shoes and toothpaste was the greatest

hurdler to have ever graced a race track,

Edwin Moses, and next to him, the

inspirational woman who won the same

event, the 400m hurdles, at the same

Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Nawal El

Moutawakel.

Back in the hotel meanwhile,

unpacking his safely arrived luggage and

a pair of smart trainers, was the greatest

200m and 400m runner of all-time

– Michael Johnson.

Less than a day before, these amazing

athletes were standing on stage at the

Laureus World Sports Awards, in the

presence of their legendary Laureus

World Sports Academy counterparts,

the greatest sports heroes of today and

the worlds of sport, fashion, film and

business to honour the achievements of

the year’s great sportsmen and women.

Now, as we wound our way up the

hillside, these ambassadors for the

Laureus Sport for Good Foundation were

reflecting on how, despite their collective

reputation, their personal belongings

added up to three pairs of shorts and

shoes and a bag of plastic razors. Where

they were going, and they knew it, these

items were luxuries.

This is typical of a Laureus project

visit, where the observer stands between

the greatest legends of sport and

children who are born into some of the

worst social conditions imaginable. It is

the very mission of Laureus in action,

to support, through sport as a tool for

social change, children around the world.

It is a bold mission and the legends

of the Academy realise that there can be

no magic formula. Nawal El Moutawakel

sums it up best: “We can’t change the

world overnight but we can start one

playing field at a time.”

Swapping the bus for donkeys, the

Laureus party made its way up steep

paths to a small Berber village. When

they arrive at the village, they are greeted

by a wash of colour and noise. Children

from one of the world’s most ancient

The spirit of LaureusFROM MOROCCO TO INDIA TO BOSNIA TO BRAZIL THE WORK OF THE LAUREUS SPORT FOR GOOD FOUNDATION IS ABOUT TOUCHING THE LIVES OF CHILDREN, REPORTS DAVID BUTLER.

www. laureus .com27

communities who have only ever known

separate developments join together in

classrooms. There is a football match with

the local village children and a girls’ cross-

country race across terrain that would

make a yak baulk. Behind the initiative

however, is education and integration.

Solar panels bounce sunlight off

whitewash village walls centuries old. The

life of shepherd children for the first time

is opened up to the wonders of internet.

The kaleidoscope that is the world of

Laureus can repeat scenes like this across

the globe. It is important to visualise

them and to paint their picture. It is

important to put names and faces to

the project leaders, heroes who provide

beacons of hope to children whose

bravery alone deserves to make them

Olympic champions in their own right.

Across the world in India, a red

‘Magic Bus’ arrives at the foot of a

tenement block that stands opposite

a slum that stretches from the side

of the road across acres of Mumbai’s

hinterland. The magic bus is a symbol,

and it is indeed magic, at

least for the 20 or so girls

who hop on board and are

taken to a playing field

where they can do what

children should have as their daily right

– the ability to play beneath the sky

in peace and safety. This is the idea

behind Magic Bus and the vision of its

founder, Matthew Spacie.

The girls are all immaculately dressed,

as, despite the heat and dust, nearly

everyone seems to be in India – and they

are smiling. But they are not ordinary

little girls. Many are orphans, some

were left on the doorstep, others have

escaped from factories and brothels,

others found on railway tracks or under

boxes and rubbish.

Beneath their bright smiles, their eyes

have been mirrors to untold difficulties

and horrors.

A dozen flights above in the tenement

their 20 pairs of shoes lie neatly outside

a metal grille door. Inside a young

woman in her 20s has turned her flat

into a school. There is orchestrated

pandemonium and a map of the world

to which Academy members Morné du

Plessis and Hugo Porta point to their

respective homes in Cape Town and

Buenos Aires. Points on a map a million

miles from this little room high up in the

heart of Mumbai.

In fact this room in Mumbai is a

million miles away from anything most

of us would consider to be normal. The

children share a dorm with small windows

high up on the walls, the only chance

of the outside entering in. This is their

world – or at least it would be were it

not for the Magic Bus that can take

them somewhere in safety. Were they to

wander out alone, the chances are they

would be snatched and run across the

road to the slum where they might be

forced into child slavery in the factories

– or worse.

Yet in Bosnia, it is the wide-open

spaces that provide the danger to

young children. Millions of landmines

lie undetected as a result of the chaotic

conflict whose horrors seemed to know

no boundaries. Retrieving a lost ball

brings with it the threat of standing in

a minefield. A metal object, a plaything

for most children, brings with it a

mortal danger.

Here, where not that long ago local

populations were once forced down a

mine shaft and shot, or held in factories

for systematic execution a dozen at

a time, Scotty Lee and the Spirit of

Soccer project uses a football as a way

of bringing children together to educate

them on the dangers of the mines

through a bright, simple and visual mine-

awareness programme.

The imagery works, with a drastically

reduced rate of child mortality due to

landmine accidents in the areas where

Scotty teaches his mine-awareness

course.

As Bobby Charlton, as ever unable to

resist the temptation of kicking a few

crosses said on his visit to the minefields,

“Wherever I travel in the world, a football

has the same affect. It brings people

together. It inspires a common language,

from the World Cup Final to a playing

field in Bosnia. Here that language

speaks out to literally save lives.”

Crossing to South America to the

favelas of Rio de Janeiro another brave

social entrepreneur, Luke Dowdney, is

also trying to save lives. He has built

a centre within a community that is

torn apart by violence and the drugs

cartels. Ironically the Fight for Peace

project brings young people together

through the ropes of a boxing ring

and in return for the training and the

kudos and the club spirit, the children

undergo citizenship classes. They have

also created a reputation for pugilistic

excellence. Taking their community’s

name to matches around Brazil, they

return with winners’ medals and

recognition for the right reasons.

Picture a street scene not unlike a

Lowry painting but in bright Brazilian

colours. It is afternoon and the

neighbourhood is bustling. Men sit at

corner shops and play cards. Children and

dogs run free.

The sound of a jukebox fills the air

with the beat of Brazilian rap. Scooters

whistle through the narrow gaps in the

drug-cartel-made road bumps that halt

the progress of any police vehicles.

Then picture the same scene after a

day’s training. Night has fallen; metal

tables stand at street corners full of bags

of white cocaine powder. Kids in football

tops and headscarves holding AK47s

stand next to them. A teenager waving a

machine pistol hops onto the back of a

scooter. A boy, no older than 14 taps his

gun on the windowpane of the car.

Imagine kids coming to the gym late

and tired for class because the machine

gun fire kept them awake all night.

Imagine shaking a kid’s hand, holding

the pads for him in a ring while he throws

combinations of swirling leather-clad

punches in bare feet – and then imagine

hearing a month later that he was killed

by machine gun fire in a shoot out on

the street.

The Laureus Sport for Good

Foundation is the mission of Laureus. It

is what binds the Academy together and

sits as the soul of a young organisation.

Its message is clear and repeated by

Academy vice-chairperson, Boris Becker:

“Laureus celebrates the universal power

of sport to bring people together as a

force for good” he says, “as Academy

members we carry that message with us

wherever we go.”

One cannot understand Laureus

without understanding the world in

which those involved in the Foundation

live and the work in Morocco, India,

Bosnia and Brazil is the tip of the iceberg.

It is a magical concept that affects

all that it touches. It brings people

together and unites them for sport is

a universal language that unites and

inspires. Its message is simply: Sport

for Good.

This is typical of a Laureus project visit, where the observer stands between the greatest legends of sport and children who are born into some of the worst social conditions imaginable. It is the very mission of Laureus in action, to support, through sport as a tool for social change, children around the world.

www. laureus .com 28

by the inhabitants of Nairobi’s more

affluent suburbs.

Johnson is no stranger to poverty,

having been involved with the work

of the Laureus World Sports Academy

– 44 iconic sports figures who since

2000 have brought their considerable

collective weight and influence to over

40 similar areas of the world’s most

troubled areas – and wears a deep,

permanent frown as we spend two

hours meeting, greeting, and witnessing

at first hand the realities of existence

where the average life expectancy is

35. Johnson admits that he found the

squalor unbelievable, and yet equally,

was humbled and impressed by the

group of 50 dedicated individuals

from the slum itself who work for the

Mathare Youth Sports Association

(MYSA). Founded in 1987, MYSA has

transformed the lives of an estimated

40,000 youngsters – using sport as

a motivational tool. “I have travelled

through real areas of poverty before,

appalling poverty in the poorest places

in India, and in China, but what I

witnessed in Mathare hit me to the

core,” explained Johnson. “When I

reflected on it, and learnt that there is

Michael Johnson conquered the

world and earned global acclaim with

five Olympic gold medals and nine

world championship gold medals in

a near-perfect 10-year sprint career.

The 39-year-old American now wants

to use his name – and influence

– to transform lives through sport.

He admitted, however, that nothing

could have prepared him for the

life-changing experience he felt in

Nairobi’s Mathare slum, on his mission

as an ambassador for the Laureus

Sport for Good Foundation in October

2006.

Johnson said that many times

on his visit he felt like crying and is

determined that lives will continue

to be transformed through sport in

the world’s most poverty-stricken

communities.

The Mathare slum, an area that

sprawls over seven kms on the

outskirts of Nairobi, is one of the

largest and poorest in Africa. Sixty per

cent of Nairobi’s 2.3 million population

live in squatter communities, 300,000

of them in Mathare. I joined Johnson

on his ambassadorial visit to an area of

the slum, where tiny, tin-roofed adobe

shelters have sprung up, alongside

the stench of open sewers running

through them. After heavy rains,

the sewers often flood into the tiny

homes.

One morning, six weeks before our

visit to this area, the charred remains

of four bodies, and one of a headless

woman were found in an alleyway.

Pigs feed on the sewage and in the

tiny alleyways, strewn with litter and

effluence. Even embryos have been

found washed up in the sewage. HIV

and AIDS are rife. Most families live

on less than one US dollar a day. It is

a place where even a mafia operates,

drugs are prevalent, and small firearms

can be bought for US$20. The gangs

operating here even sell water to

the locals at four times the rate paid

Hope amid despairLAUREUS WORLD SPORTS ACADEMY MEMBER MICHAEL JOHNSON FINDS A LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE ON HIS VISIT TO A LAUREUS SPORT FOR GOOD FOUNDATION PROJECT IN KENYA, REPORTS GARETH A DAVIES.

Michael Johnson

www. laureus .com29

little Government support for the most

incredible work, I felt angry. You want

to blame someone because you look

at the children there and feel there is

no reason why they should live in such

conditions. It is so difficult to smile at

seemingly happy children, when you

see sewage running through people’s

homes. What can you say when you

have sewage running past someone’s

house, bubbling up, and mothers are

sitting beside, on the floor, cooking pig

intestines to feed her children.”

“In the US, I’m running

with wipes as soon as

my six-year-old son has

touched the ground. Many of them

have no reason to be hopeful, but they

keep going. People don’t understand

in our countries. I could literally get joy

from helping just one of those kids.

Coming to a place like this is addictive.

I want to help more. The things I saw

have left a deep impression on me.

Even more incredible is when you

meet people like Peter Karanja, the

director of MYSA, who has grown up

in Mathare, the son of a single mother.

He is the embodiment of what can be

achieved. He is running an organisation

on small donations and changing

thousands of lives.”

Indeed, MYSA’s young sportsmen

and women are busy making footballs

from plastic bags wrapped in twine,

gleaned and cleaned from the rubbish

tips, slowly enrolling team after team

of youngsters from the hundreds of

thousands of inhabitants from the slum

for football and volleyball training. The

discipline of sport has transformed

many lives here. Today, 17,500 girls and

boys from the slum make up over one

thousand football teams, playing in 90

leagues. But their work does not end

when the whistle blows. This football

league is not just about winning

trophies. Teams earn extra points in their

leagues for organising refuse collections

every weekend, and part of enrolling in

a football team is signing up to take on

60 hours of community service a month,

then later becoming educators and

coaches in the community. The process

has saved thousands from being drawn

into gangs, crime, and more often than

not, an early death.

Since 2000, the Laureus Sport for

Good Foundation has been donating

funds to MYSA, which has helped

them to buy their own pitch, a training

facility, an office area and a repair area

for garbage trucks and tractors which

are used in clean-ups. In 2003 MYSA

was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

“With what I have seen of the Mathare

Youth Sports Association’s work, I can

understand why they were nominated

for a Nobel Peace Prize,” said sports

icon Johnson. “I don’t know if we

can eradicate completely the poverty

that exists in continents like Africa.

We are already trying. Look at what

Bono and Bob Geldof have done, using

their medium of the music industry to

leverage the G8 leaders into action. No-

one has changed the world completely.

No-one at the UN or within G8 can just

wave a wand and change the entire

world. Poverty is the result of a chain of

events. Will Laureus ever be able to help

all the people who are living in poverty?

No. I’m not saying we cannot radically

change poverty in Africa, but we must

support projects which are clearly doing

wonderful, life-changing work, like

MYSA. It is so humbling to experience

it. I was blown away in the Mathare

slum. I would have cried if I had walked

through there on my own. I’ve been to a

lot of places and to see that was just so

shocking. It blew me away.”

Johnson added: “I will always be

involved, whether it is travelling to these

places physically, or simply by lending

my name to them. Listen, the three

and four year old kids who met me

never saw me win an Olympic or World

Championship gold medal, but they

know that I am considered ‘someone

special’, who came to where

they live, held their hand,

gave them attention. They

don’t know what Laureus does with

MYSA, supporting their community, but

they know someone special is there who

cares, wants to see them, and wants to

make difference. Their real role models

are the guys from MYSA, and from their

communities who show them what can

be done on the ground, and who are

blossoming in front of them. The role

people like myself can play is to bring

the reality of the life these people are

enslaved in to the attention of the

global media.”

• Gareth A Davies is a sports journalist

for The Daily Telegraph.

This photo: Michael Johnson. Left: MYSA training.

“You want to blame someone because you look at the children there and feel there is no reason why they should live in such conditions.”

www. laureus .com 30

Into AfricaLAUREUS WORLD SPORTS ACADEMY MEMBERS MICHAEL JOHNSON AND MARCEL DESAILLY VISIT LAUREUS PROJECTS IN AFRICA, REPORTS GARETH A DAVIES.

Kabete Children’s Remand Home,

in Nairobi, Kenya, houses teenage

murderers, thieves, former drug runners

and orphans under the same huge

corrugated tin roof. But it has not

stopped the Mathare Youth Sports

Association (MYSA) from turning child

offenders into formidable footballers, and

thence into beacons of one of the most

poverty-stricken communities

in Africa.

Marcel Desailly, the former France

and Chelsea footballer, and a World Cup

winner in 1998, joined Michael Johnson

on a four-day visit to Kenya and Uganda

as ambassadors for the Laureus Sport for

Good Foundation.

Laureus assists over 150,000 young

people in troubled areas, through sport,

providing funding since the year 2000,

now in 48 different projects worldwide.

The inaugural project Laureus backed

was MYSA, a huge, sprawling slum, with

its open sewers and tiny adobe shacks,

home to 300,000 people, and where the

average life expectancy is 35.

In spite of being of African origin,

and well aware of the plight of many in

developing countries, Desailly openly

admitted he was in shock at what he

witnessed in the slums of Mathare. The

former Chelsea full-back, whose family

hail originally from Ghana, supports

an orphanage of 140 children in that

West African country, but he was both

moved and shocked by his

visit to Kabete Children’s

Remand Home, where he

oversaw a football match

between two highly-

competitive, bare-footed teams. “Yes,

I was born in Africa but grew up in rich

neighbourhoods in Europe. I had never

imagined there existed such conditions.

It is terrible. It is difficult for the kids

in Mathare. There is a better place for

this youth and it is through sport,”

Desailly said.

Even the football shirts made it clear

why the children were there. Printed

on their backs were ‘remand centre’.

The rules on the wall spell out the harsh

regime. It is a spartan place, the dorms

locked during the day, the only luxury

a television, inside a padlocked tin box

mounted on the wall. Beside the television

are enscribed the remand home rules.

“Escaping is not permitted”. “No girls in

the boy dormitories”. “No smoking – no

drugs”. “No one is permitted to carry an

axe or knife”. What the Mathare Youth

Sports Association is attempting to do,

is rehabilitate young offenders through

the discipline and team-work involved

in sport. Desailly learnt the stories of

several children who had come to Kabete

with horrific childhoods and had been

transformed through sport. Maria, a 12-

year-old girl, is an exceptional volleyball

player. She is in the remand home for

murdering her boyfriend, who was also

12. They had a child together, and a

few months ago, when she found

him in bed with another girl, she took

her revenge. The next night, when he

was sleeping, she stabbed him to death.

Grief-stricken to be separated from

her own child, Maria went into a deep

depression. Sport has been her salvation.

Likewise, Simon, a 17-year-old who is

a gifted centre-forward. He murdered

his grandmother after his own mother

persuaded him that they would able to

inherit her money. Hollywood script-writers

might raise their eyebrows at the validity

of these histories, and yet this is real, raw

life from the Mathare slum.

“I am very proud to be a part of this

movement,” said Desailly. “The part these

people are playing in transforming this

society is so important. I’m from Africa,

I am used to poverty, but these people

need the chance of a better

future.”

• Gareth A Davies is a

sports journalist for The

Daily Telegraph.

In spite of being of African origin, and well aware of the plight of many in developing countries, Desailly openly admitted he was in shock at what he witnessed in the slums of Mathare.

Laureus World Sports Academy member Kip Keino (in blue) also visited MYSA and Kabete in July 2006.

www. laureus .com31

England football legend

Sir Bobby Charlton

launched a Laureus Sport

for Good Foundation

project in August 2006

based at Old Trafford,

the home of Manchester

United, which aims to save

young people’s lives.

Charlton, a Director of

Manchester United and

a member of the Laureus

World Sports Academy,

unveiled It’s a Goal! @ The

Theatre of Dreams, an

initiative that will combat

depression in young men.

It’s a Goal! estimates

that each year around

1,300 young men in Britain

commit suicide because

of depression, while

two million people take

anti-depressant drugs,

including over 100,000

children. One in three

people will suffer from

depression at some time

in their lives, yet it is an

incredibly difficult illness

to treat as people tend to

withdraw from society. It’s

a Goal! project combats

this with a non-clinical

programme based on

football and operated from

a football stadium with the

aim of appealing to these

hard-to-reach groups.

Charlton said, “Young

men who are resistant and

even fearful of going into

a mental health unit are

much more likely to walk

It’s a Goal!SIR BOBBY CHARLTON LAUNCHES LAUREUS PROJECT THAT ‘WILL SAVE LIVES’.

into a football stadium.

Once they are here, we

can offer them the kind

of therapeutic help they

just cannot get anywhere

else. I really believe this

can be a life-saver. This

is a major breakthrough

and I am delighted that

my club Manchester

United is able to help

with this. We all know

sport has the power to

change lives, and maybe

in this case it can save

lives.”

It’s a Goal!, devised

by Malcolm McClean,

a businessman and

social entrepreneur

based in Alderley Edge,

Cheshire, has just

completed a two-year

evaluation scheme

at Cheshire football

club Macclesfield

Town. McClean said,

“Depression is a clinical

condition which is

debilitating, and which

can turn into a killer

illness.

“We are achieving

some amazing results.

There is a football

stadium in every town

and city in the world.

The opportunities are

enormous. The power

of Laureus sporting

ambassadors such as Sir

Bobby to lend credibility

to ground-breaking new

ideas like this is great.”

Edwin Moses, Chairman of the

Laureus World Sports Academy,

joined track legend Frankie

Fredericks and South Africa’s

wheelchair racing star Ernst van

Dyk both Laureus Friends &

Ambassadors, on a memorable

visit to Laureus Sport for Good

Foundation projects in Alexandra,

South Africa, in May 2006.

The three sports personalities were

welcomed to Alexandra by Morné

du Plessis, Chairman of the Laureus

Sport for Good Foundation Trust

South Africa, and took part in sports

coaching workshops with children

from the Laureus-supported Little

Champs and Starfish Sports projects.

Children from the nearby Free

the Youth and Alexandra Football

Academy projects also took part in

the event, which took place at The

Altrec Centre in Alexandra.

Fredericks, who became a

member of the Laureus Friends

& Ambassadors programme in

December 2005, was joined in

Alexandra by fellow members Deshun

Deysel, the celebrated mountaineer,

South African boxing legend Baby-

Jake Matlala and radio presenter

John Robbie.

Ernst van Dyk received a hero’s

welcome in Alexandra after winning

the wheelchair race in the Boston

Marathon for a record sixth time

in April.

Moses said, “The work done by

Laureus in South Africa is inspiring

and a shining example to the rest

of the world. Under the leadership

of Morné du Plessis and with the

backing of so many great South

African sports personalities and

the support of Country Patron

Discovery, great progress has been

made. Future plans for expansion

will enable Laureus to help even

more underprivileged young

people.

Teams get togetherLAUREUS WORLD SPORTS ACADEMY MEMBERS AND FRIENDS & AMBASSADORS VISITS SOUTH AFRICAN PROJECTS.

PROJECT REPORTS

www. laureus .com 32

Tennis legend Martina

Navratilova thrilled an

audience of children and

young adults as she took

part in a jiu-jitsu coaching

session for at-risk New

Yorkers at the Fight Back

project in the South Bronx

in July 2006.

The Laureus World

Sports Academy member,

who announced she would

retire from competitive

tennis at the end of the

season, was making her

first visit to the project

which focuses on domestic

and gang-related violence

in the East Tremont

neighbourhood.

Navratilova, who won

58 Grand Slam titles in her

career, including 18 singles

championships, said: “I

could probably play on

for another five years if I

wanted to, but I don’t. It

was time to move on to my

next life. An important part

of that will be my work for

Laureus. All the members

of the Academy want to

give something back to

society and it was uplifting

to be here to meet the

people who participate

in the project and those

who donate their time to

running it.”

Gang violence is

prevalent in this area of

South Bronx. The main

work of the project is

to keep children out of

gangs and on track with

positive alternatives. The

support of the Laureus

has also enabled the

project to start working

with abused women,

teaching them jiu-jitsu for

self-defence.

The Peres Center for Peace project’s busy year

culminated in a momentous Peace Match, on 26

December in Andalucia, Spain between a mixed

Palestinian-Israeli Peace Team and a Andalucia XI.

Significantly for the Middle East project, which aims

to break down religious barriers, the match took

place in the historic city of Seville. The city’s history

witnessed the fusion of the three monotheistic

religions, all who lived together peacefully under

Muslim rule for some 500 years.

The Andalucia team, which won 3-1, included

Reyes and Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Juanito

(Real Betis) and Jesus Navas (Seville). Maccabi

Haifa star Abbas Suan played alongside a selection

of Palestinian soccer players from the Palestinian

Authority, and along with Israel’s former star

player Chaim Revivo and Dudu Awat who plays for

Spain’s Deportivo. The Peace Team was coached

by Abraham Grant, Technical Advisor for England’s

Portsmouth, and Guy Levy and Jamal Hadada.

The Peres Center for Peace and the Al Quds

Association for Democracy and Dialogue joined

forces in forming a delegation of Palestinian and

Israeli government members, political affiliates,

sports personalities and soccer players, all of whom

traveled to Seville in support of regional peace.

Vice Premier of Israel Shimon Peres proudly kicked

off the Peace Match alongside Former National

Security Advisor to the PA President and Member

of Fatah Committee Jibril Rajoub, President of

the Israeli Football Federation Itzhak Menachem,

former Israeli soccer prodigy Mordechai Shpigler and

FIFA Executive Committee Member and ex-French

international soccer star Michel Platini.

The four players representing Seenigama regularly play volleyball competitions back at home supported by Laureus. In Jersey they competed against 12 other teams in a weekend-long competition, playing in 10 matches. Despite one of them having a mild case of chicken pox and one having a not-entirely healed sprained ankle they won all of their matches and pulled through an extremely close final to come out as champions. This is the first time that three of the team had ever been on a plane, let alone travel as far as the UK, so it’s no surprise that the team were treated to a heroes’ welcome when they returned home.

On the soccer field, peace is possibleSEVILLE PEACE MATCH, DECEMBER 2006

Fight BackLAUREUS WORLD SPORTS ACADEMY MEMBER MARTINA NAVRATILOVA VISITS THE FIGHT BACK PROJECT.

Digging deepA BEACH VOLLEYBALL TEAM REPRESENTING THE SEENIGAMA SPORTS PROGRAMME IN SRI LANKA BEAT 12 OTHER TEAMS IN A COMPETITION IN THE UK.

PROJECT REPORTS

www. laureus .com33

A boxing team consisting of fighters

from Brazil and boys from across

Belfast combined for a unique boxing

tournament at the Holy Family Gym,

North Belfast in 2006.

The team fought an All Star

Selection from the English Midlands,

managed by Birmingham’s Frank

O’Sullivan at the Laureus Fight for

Peace Night.

The Lord Mayor of Belfast hosted a

special dinner for the teams after the

weigh-ins at City Hall, Belfast.

The Laureus Fight for Peace event,

supported by the Laureus Sport

for Good Foundation, was initiated

at Laureus World Sports Awards in

Portugal 2005, where Belfast’s Gerry

Storey received the Laureus Sport for

Good Award for his services to sport

and the community.

Also attending the event was Laureus

project leader Luke Dowdney, an

inspirational community worker who

has pioneered research into youth

gang violence and created the Luta

Pela Paz (Fight for Peace) project in

Rio de Janeiro’s Complexo do Mare.

At the project they use a combination

of boxing, citizenship classes and

educational activity to lure young people

away from the all-pervasive influence

of the local drug cartels. Dowdney was

recognised by the Queen two years ago,

aged 31, and awarded the MBE for his

work in Brazil, and Luta Pela Paz has

become one of the Laureus Sport for

Good Foundation’s flagship projects.

“Fight for Peace is a sanctuary

amidst an area where drug trafficking

and organised armed violence

dominate,” said Dowdney, whose

young fighters constantly live among

the fear of machine gun street battles

between rival factions and police.

The Intensive Sport and Life Programme pilot project in the East London borough Newham was held from 10 September until 3 December 2006. The programme was a partnership between three organisations: Community Links, British Milers Club, and Laureus Sport for Good Foundation.

The aim of the project was to offer a programme to youth that are on the verge of getting into trouble either in school or on the streets and to help and motivate them to aim higher. The strategy underlying the project is one of prevention, diversion and education in a large variety of life skills.

The project uses intensive sports training, with a focus on athletics, and professional coaching in combination with a large number of contact hours with youth workers to produce behavioural change among the target population. It also has an indirect impact on the families of participants through their

involvement in the programme. Fourteen members of the Newham Youth

Inclusion Programme participated in this project, through which they learned how to lead a healthier life, manage their own time, work in a team towards common objectives, and dedicate time and effort to achieving their own personal goals. The commitment required from the participants was considerable but the rewards were obvious to everyone, not least their schoolteachers, their parents and to themselves.

The project culminated in a Community Mile – with just under 100 participants – organised by the participants themselves. This taught them organisational and teamwork skills as well as providing them with an opportunity to give back to the community. Through this event they were seen as leaders among their peers, boosting their self-esteem and self-confidence.

Boys from Brazil (and Belfast)BOXERS FROM BRAZIL AND BELFAST COMBINED TO FORM A LAUREUS TEAM IN THE LAUREUS FIGHT FOR PEACE EVENT.

Community MilePILOT PROGRAMME IN EAST LONDON IS A BIG SUCCESS.

www. laureus .com 34

“Sport has the power to change the

world,” declared Nelson Mandela at

the Laureus World Sports Awards in

2000. Nowhere is this more apparent

than in the many Laureus Sport for

Good Foundation projects around the

world.

Mandela no doubt had people

such as Michael Johnson in mind

when making his speech. Johnson

was the ultimate vision of speed on

the athletics track – he still holds two

world records that have yet to be

beaten – and is an inspiration to young

people everywhere. Johnson said, on

the other hand, “Mandela inspired

people like me.” Which just goes to

show that even people at the top of

their field need someone to look up to

for inspiration.

Tennis champion Ilie Nastase

recognises the importance of finding

inspiration in the people around you.

“My biggest challenge in life has been

to be number one like other sporting

greats I saw around me. There were

times when I wasn’t sure of getting

there but my passion and love of

tennis allowed me to enjoy the game

along the way, and I had fun doing it,”

he said.

The pure enjoyment of sport is

a crucial factor many sport stars

acknowledge. The global influence of

sport is another. “Sport is probably the

only language everybody understands,”

said Nastase. “When you talk sport, it

doesn’t matter which language you’re

speaking; people understand you. I’ve

seen proof of this in the Laureus Sport

for Good Foundation projects around

the world. As Laureus World Sports

Academy members we believe that

each child in the world has the right

to play sport. We take time to give

back to children around the world by

inspiring them through sport.”

Monica Seles didn’t have the luxury

of watching Wimbledon or the French

Open on TV for inspiration, as so

many youngsters do these days. Her

father was a tennis champion and he

inspired and nurtured her. “My father

was a good athlete and was my main

inspiration,” she said. “At the age of

12 I started winning tournaments and

realised that I had a talent for tennis.

I started playing professionally at age

14 and it was then that I realised I

was good at something and that my

love for the game might be more than

just a hobby.” Seles believes that no

matter the level at which you play, you

will learn valuable lessons. “Sport in

general teaches you teamwork, self-

confidence, discipline and so much

more that go beyond the realm of

sport. Young people should really pick

any sport they enjoy playing, that is

the key.”

Seles also acknowledges the

difference in attitude towards sport

depending on where you live, “In the

US there is so much emphasis on the

glitz and the glamour of sport, and

high expectations are created of what

you should become one day. There

are wonderful opportunities to get

a great education and a job within

sport without becoming a professional

player. Sport also gives you tools with

which to tackle the rest of your life. I

think it’s important to only play sport

if you love it. You should follow your

passion, whatever it is – be it arts or

science or anything else.”

Laureus World Sports Academy

Chairman Edwin Moses never really

thought of himself as a sportsman

while growing up and also didn’t

have any steady role models. He

acknowledged, however, “There were

some inspirations which any 10-year-

old could not have failed to notice

at the time, such as athlete Tommy

Smith and boxer Muhammad Ali who

achieved things that I will remember

for the rest of my life.

“Ongoing commitment is important

if you want to achieve greatness,”

Moses said. “I put in the same

amount of work and discipline into

my athletics career – from my teenage

years right through to when I went to

the Olympics in 1976. I always had a

professional approach to my training

and looked at it from a serious point of

view,” he said. “The way I saw it then,

I was the horse and the jockey: I rode

and I was ridden. This self-discipline

has kept me going outside of sport.

When I involve myself in something,

I like to do it with the same passion

that I did with my sports training,

Since retiring from professional

LAUREUS WORLD SPORTS ACADEMY MEMBERS TALK ABOUT WHAT INSPIRES THEM AND HOW THEY HAVE EXPERIENCED THE POWER OF SPORT. GRANT SCHREIBER REPORTS.

The inspiration of sport

sport, my work for Laureus has

become something I have engaged in

passionately.” Moses believes sport is

a great equaliser, something everyone

has in common and something to be

enjoyed by everyone.

Rugby legend Morné du Plessis

was blessed with parents who inspired

him to achieve greatness in sport

– especially his father. As a boy he

saw the respect his father got from

being a national sporting hero (he

captained South Africa) and wanted

to be like him one day. His father,

though, realised that motivation has to

come from inside each person. “Even

though he achieved greatness he never

tried to pressure me into achieving

what he had accomplished. Ambition

was never discussed with my parents.

They led by example,” said Du Plessis.

“I was inspired by athletes such as

Muhammad Ali, Edwin Moses and

Daley Thompson who I admire for their

consistency and sporting genius, and

who had also inspired a generation of

young people.”

Du Plessis stopped playing rugby

at a time when sport in South Africa

became more than just the game

– with politics playing a big part in

the sport. He said, “I felt the need

to re-motivate myself and train as

I had when I first felt passionate

about playing rugby. I also wanted to

transfer this passion to something else

– something I managed to do quickly.

Once you’re motivated in a field such

as sport, you transfer that passion very

easily to other occupations – in my

case doing the work of the Laureus

Sport for Good Foundation around the

world, among other things.”

“I believe that every child is a

better human being when given the

opportunity to partake in some form of

physical activity. Sport teaches valuable

lessons such as discipline, sharing,

learning to lose and, at best, an

opportunity to travel and meet people

you would normally never meet. Sport

breaks down racial barriers and gives

us an opportunity to judge ourselves to

see how we react under pressure. Sport

can build a nation,” says Du Plessis.

Physical strength and training is only

one part of becoming successful says

Du Plessis, “A big mental challenge

in sport is not to become crippled by

the fear of losing. The importance of

winning – especially in a team sport

– can put huge pressure on you as a

player to perform. You can become

almost overwhelmed by the fear of

losing. Try to not take the game too

personally and do your best to shake

off the weight of expectation which

can effect your performance.”

The Laureus World Sports Academy

has become the ultimate “world

sports team”, encompassing athletes

from across the spectrum of sport.

Who could have guessed that the 44

members of this team – who each

drew inspiration from their peers at the

height of their sporting careers – would

in turn inspire a child soldier in Sierra

Leone, a physically disadvantaged

wheelchair athlete in Italy, an HIV-

positive child in Uganda or a struggling

immigrant teenager in France?

Perhaps Laureus World Sports

Academy vice-chairperson Nawal El

Moutawakel sums it up best: “When

you are part of a team you say ‘we’

and not ‘I.’ ”

www. laureus .com35

The pure enjoyment of sport is a crucial factor many sport stars acknowledge. The global influence of sport is another. “Sport is probably the only language everybody understands,” said Nastase. “When you talk sport, it doesn’t matter which language you’re speaking; people understand you. I’ve seen proof of this in the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation projects around the world.”

Opposite: Morné du Plessis is carried off the field after a 1980 Test Match. Top (clockwise): Edwin Moses clears a hurdle in 1989; Ilie Nastase at Wimbledon, 1975; Monica Seles during the 1989 Wimbledon Championships.

Speed ace Valentino Rossi teamed up with the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation at a recent DTM testing day in Hockenheim, wearing the Foundation’s marque as part of his livery.

The multiple world champion on two wheels impressed with consistently fast lap times in Mika Häkkinen’s 2006 AMG-Mercedes C-Class.

Last year, the 27 year old Rossi received the Laureus Spirit of Sport Award from the Laureus Academy.

For this king of speed no doubt it won’t be his only appearance on the Laureus stage.

THE BIG PICTUREValentino Rossi

For donations to the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation cheques can be made out and posted to: Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, 460 Fulham Road, London SW6 1BZFor general enquiries please e-mail foundation@laureus.com

Editorial Director: David ButlerNewsletter enquiries: Emma ChesworthTel: +44 (0) 20 7514 2730e-mail: emma.chesworth@laureus.com

This is the official newsletter of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, which was established by the Founding Patrons of Laureus, DaimlerChrysler and Richemont in partnership with the Laureus World Sports Academy as an innovative charitable venture. The Foundation is financed by the two Founding Patrons and their designated brands, Founding Partners Mercedes-Benz and IWC Schaffhausen.

Mon

ty S

hado

w