Young Malaysian Footballers Get A Master Class From Top Coach André Villas-boas At Piala Mamee 1mala

 

KUALA LUMPUR, February 27, 2014 – Some of Malaysia’s most talented young footballers were given the thrill of a lifetime when they met Laureus Sport for Good Foundation Ambassadors Mick Doohan and André Villas-Boas and took part in a lively discussion on the subject of ‘Overcoming challenges through sport’.

 

Top football coach André Villas-Boas, who has managed FC Porto, Chelsea and Tottenham, and five-time 500cc world motor cycle champion Mick Doohan, spent time with the players at the Piala Mamee 1Malaysia Under 19 football tournament, the finals of which are being held in Bangi, and also handed out prizes to the third and fourth placed teams.

 

The football tournament, which is supported by charity Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia (YR1M), has been taking place across Malaysia and has now reached the final stages. The visit came just days after Laureus World Sports Academy Chairman Edwin Moses had been in Kuala Lumpur to announce an innovative tie-up between Laureus and YR1M to benefit young people in Malaysia through the use of sport.

 

André Villas-Boas said: “I am passionate about how football can help in the community and Laureus has shown over the years that it understands how to make a difference to young people’s lives through sport. It was great to spend time talking and listening to the players. Malaysia is a wonderful country and I am glad that the Laureus World Sports Awards are being held here next month. That will be a great success, I know, but just as important is the fact that Laureus is working with YR1M to help young people and to ensure that we leave a legacy far beyond the Awards.”

 

In the future, the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, which currently supports more than 140 sports-based community projects in 34 countries, will be developing social programmes in Malaysia in collaboration with YR1M.

 

Mick Doohan said: “Laureus is founded on a belief in the inspirational power of sport and we have seen how it can transform lives all over the world. Laureus has proved time and again that sports projects are highly effective when it comes to giving young people self-esteem and better hope for their futures. Working with such excellent partners as YR1M will allow us to extend our activities in Malaysia and

 

Ung Su Ling, Chief Executive Officer of Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia, said: “We are very pleased with today’s visit with André Villas-Boas and Mick Doohan. This cements the relationship between our two organisations. It is clear that international sports stars like the two Laureus Ambassadors are able to inspire our Malaysian youth and make a big difference to their lives.”

Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia is a charitable foundation dedicated towards benefitting Malaysians from all walks of life in line with the principles of 1Malaysia. The Foundation’s activities are geared towards engaging and helping Malaysians, particularly the less fortunate and those in need, and to equip them with building blocks to achieve a better quality of life. Towards this end, the Foundation focuses on three areas – Improving quality of life, education and sports.

The Kejohanan Bolasepak Piala Mamee 1Malaysia football tournament, is one of the elements of the sports programme, and has seen 1,440 players, aged between 17 and 19 in 80 teams competing across the country. Now the top ten teams have reached the Grand Finals in Kuala Lumpar, which Moses attended. 

 

Mick Doohan and André Villas-Boas are members of the Laureus Family who volunteer their time to act as global ambassadors for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, whose mission is to use sport as the means to combat some of the world’s toughest social challenges facing young people today such as juvenile crime, gangs, HIV/AIDS, discrimination, social exclusion, lack of education, landmines awareness and health problems such as obesity.

 

The 15^th Laureus World Sports Awards, which recognise sporting achievement during the calendar year 2013, will be unveiled at a globally televised Awards Ceremony staged at the Istana Budaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Wednesday, March 26. Proceeds from the Laureus World Sports Awards directly benefit and underpin the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Since its inception, Laureus has raised over €60 million to support community sports projects around the world.

 

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The first Patron of Laureus was Nelson Mandela.  At the inaugural Laureus World Sports Awards in 2000, 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 once there was only despair.” This has become the philosophy of Laureus; the driving force behind its work.

 

Laureus is a universal movement that celebrates the power of sport to bring people together as a force for good.  Laureus is composed of three core elements - the Laureus World Sports Academy, the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and the Laureus World Sports Awards - which collectively celebrate sporting excellence and use sport as the means to promote social change.

 

The Laureus World Sports Awards is the premier global sports awards honouring the greatest sportsmen and women across all sports each year.  The winners are selected by the ultimate sports jury - the 46 members of the Laureus World Sports Academy, the living legends of sport honouring the great athletes of today.  The Awards are presented at an annual Awards Ceremony, attended by global figures from sport and entertainment, which is broadcast to 120 countries and territories.  

 

The Laureus Academy Members volunteer their services as global ambassadors for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, which was set up to promote the use of sport as a tool for social change. The Foundation addresses social challenges through a worldwide programme of sports related community development initiatives. Since its inception, Laureus has raised over €60 million for projects which have helped to improve the lives of more than one-and-a-half million young people.

 

The mission of the Laureus Foundation is to use sport as the means to combat some of the world’s toughest social challenges facing young people today such as juvenile crime, gangs, HIV/AIDS, discrimination, social exclusion, landmines awareness and health problems like obesity. The Academy is supported in its work by the members of the Laureus Ambassadors programme, a select group of current and retired sportsmen and sportswomen who have achieved sporting greatness, plus non-sporting personalities who have made significant contributions to the sporting community during their careers. 

 

The members of the Laureus World Sports Academy are: Giacomo Agostini, Marcus Allen, Franz Beckenbauer, Boris Becker, Ian Botham, Sergey Bubka, Bobby Charlton, Sebastian Coe, Nadia Comaneci, Yaping Deng, Marcel Desailly, Kapil Dev, Mick Doohan, David Douillet, Emerson Fittipaldi, Sean Fitzpatrick, Dawn Fraser, Cathy Freeman, Tanni Grey-Thompson, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Mika Häkkinen, Tony Hawk, Mike Horn, Miguel Indurain, Michael Johnson, Kip Keino, Franz Klammer, Dan Marino, Edwin Moses (Chairman), Nawal El Moutawakel, Robby Naish, Ilie Nastase, Martina Navratilova, Alexey Nemov, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Morné du Plessis, Hugo Porta, Steve Redgrave, Vivian Richards, Monica Seles, Mark Spitz, Daley Thompson, Alberto Tomba, Steve Waugh and Katarina Witt.

There is a two-part voting process to find the winners of the Laureus World Sports Awards.  Firstly, a Selection Panel of the world’s leading sports editors, writers and broadcasters from over 120 countries votes to create a shortlist of six Nominations in various categories, including Laureus World Sportsman of the Year, Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year, Laureus World Team of the Year, Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year and Laureus World Comeback of the Year.  Then the members of the Laureus World Sports Academy vote by secret ballot to select the Award winners from the shortlist. The Laureus Academy Members also vote for the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disabilityand the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year, the Nominations for which are made by specialist panels.  

 

Laureus was founded by its Patrons Richemont and Daimler and is supported by its Global Partners Mercedes-Benz and IWC Schaffhausen.

 

Mercedes-Benz, the world’s oldest automaker, can look back on a unique tradition. It is the most valuable automotive premium brand which stands for quality, safety, comfort, design and sustainable mobility. Mercedes-Benz enjoys an excellent reputation, particularly in the field of safety. Many pioneering technical innovations that are standard automotive features today were first seen in a Mercedes-Benz car. The Mercedes-Benz engineers will in the future consistently reinvent the automobile – with the same enthusiasm and innovation as Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz in 1886. Moreover, Mercedes-Benz has been actively supporting professional and amateur sport for decades and has become established as a dependable partner in the fields of motor sport, football, golf, horse riding and tennis.  Mercedes-Benz is a Global Partner of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Since the beginning of the Foundation's operations in 2000, Mercedes-Benz has shared and supported the goals and values of this worldwide charity programme where sports play the core role in the fight against social issues - Laureus has become a vital element of the corporate social responsibility programme of Mercedes-Benz.

 

With a clear focus on technology and development, the Swiss watch manufacturer IWC Schaffhausen has been producing watches of lasting value since 1868. The company has gained an international reputation based on a passion for innovative solutions and technical ingenuity. One of the world's leading brands in the luxury watch segment, IWC crafts masterpieces of haute horlogerie at its finest, combining engineering and precision with exclusive design. As a Global Partner since 2005 and as part of its corporate social responsibility, IWC is one of the driving forces behind the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Since 2006, the Swiss watch manufacturer has launched several limited editions in honour and support of the Foundation. These watches are destined to be collector's items as each edition features an exclusive engraving on the back based on a drawing by one child involved in a Laureus project.

 

Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia (the “Foundation”) is a charitable foundation to benefit Malaysians from all walks of life in line with the principles of 1Malaysia. The Foundation is geared towards engaging and helping Malaysians, particularly the less fortunate and those in need, and to equip them with building blocks to achieve a better quality of life. Towards this end, the Foundation focuses on three areas – Improving the quality of life of the less fortunate, Education and Sports.