Kicking Girls are stars of Laureus Sport for Good Weekend in Munich
The third annual Laureus Sport for Good Weekend in Munich is underway. Hosted by Laureus Academy Members and Ambassadors, it is a two day charity event, kicking off with a visit to the Kicking Girls project, followed by the Laureus Golf Tournament and ending in style with an Oktoberfest celebration for the Laureus family and its partners.
Part one of the Laureus Sport for Good Weekend began this afternoon with the Kicking Girls project visit. It is a nationwide project under the patronage of Laureus Ambassadors Jens Lehmann, Nia Künzer and Birgit Prinz, which gives young girls of immigrant backgrounds the chance to join football clubs in their schools and take part in tournaments. They get the chance to complete a training to become coaches and be able to act as mentors and role models.
The start of the school year saw Kicking Girls partnering with Bad-Soden-road primary school in Milbertshofen, just outside Munich. Two other schools in Munich plan a long term involvement as well.
Laureus Ambassador Jens Lehmann, who along with Boris Becker, Fredi Bobic and Axel Schulz, visited Kicking Girls in Munich said:
"I am very pleased that “Kicking Girls” is now being implemented in Munich. It is a great project because the girls are coached by female coaches and can play in their school, a very familiar environment for them. This increases their chance of participation, especially for girls with immigrant backgrounds. After a career spent on the football field, I can tell you from experience that it does not matter what colour of skin you have, which country you come from or what religion you believe in, the only thing that matters is the team spirit.”
Paul Schif, the new managing director of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation Germany/Austria explained:
"Kicking Girls is our biggest Laureus project. More than 3,600 girls play football every week in 220 locations throughout Germany. It has been a great success and we thrive on all the children and young people we support. The donations we’ll collect this evening at the Laureus Sport for Good Night and tomorrow at the Laureus Golf Tournament will go a long way towards ensuring the continued success of projects like these.”
