Hyundai Motor Company, as one of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa sponsors, has announced a programme called one million dream balls for Africa, which will donate one million footballs to African children.
The first ball will be donated by Yuna Kim, South Korea’s figure skating gold medallist. The balls will be distributed through organisations such as the United Nations, and will be delivered under the names of people who buy a Hyundai car from the company’s worldwide sales networks, or those who sign up on the FIFA World Cup micro-site.
The project will last until the one millionth Hyundai fan in the world participates, the company said. The project is intended to contribute to the African society, where football symbolises hopes and dreams to children, and will distribute balls in 50 African countries.
Meanwhile, Hyundai kicked off its FIFA 2010 World Cup South Africa™ extravaganza with a pan-European road show, giving football lovers all over Europe the opportunity to come together in celebration of this summer’s football showpiece – and even win tickets to attend the finals in South Africa.
The tour is taking place in each of the 12 European countries represented at the tournament, engaging with the fans and sharing the passion of the year’s biggest sporting event. One of the six official partners of the FIFA 2010 World Cup™, Hyundai launched a 52-vehicle convoy from its European head office in Offenbach, Germany. The fleet comprises i20 and i30 cars and ix35 compact SUVs, all dressed with graphics and images depicting the event. After setting off, the cars split into four groups taking the excitement of the spectacle to the masses.
One group of vehicles will be travelling around Germany; another will tour France, Spain and Portugal. A third group is scheduled to visit the UK, Denmark, Switzerland and Holland, while the fourth group of cars will take in Italy, Slovenia, Slovakia and Greece. Each of the convoys will complete the last leg of the tour coinciding with the start of the knock-out phase of the tournament on 26 June. The road show will continue until the end of the tournament in the countries which qualify for the latter stages.
At each city stop Hyundai will be staging a range of interactive games and events for fans. The World Cup™-liveried cars will parade through each of the hosting venues, as well as being displayed in dealer showrooms and being available for test drives.
Competitions and activities, including table soccer, will be run at dealerships, with great prizes up for grabs. Fans can win football goodies ranging from a vuvuzela and a bang-bang to t-shirts and official World Cup™ footballs.
Matches will be televised from South Africa at Hyundai Fan Parks on huge screens in major public spaces, and concerts will be held in conjunction, giving fans the chance to really soak up the party atmosphere.
Hyundai is one of the six official partners to the FIFA 2010 World Cup South Africa™, a prestigious honour that builds upon the strong relationship developed between Hyundai and international football dating back to the FIFA 2002 World Cup Korea / Japan™.
Allan Rushforth, Vice President at Hyundai Motor Europe, says, “Hyundai is very proud to be an official partner to this summer’s World Cup celebrations, further cementing our position as a dynamic global brand and a supporter of football. All the teams have worked extremely hard to get to South Africa, and for the millions of fans across Europe, Hyundai wants to ensure that as many people as possible can take part in the month-long celebrations. This World Cup promises to be a truly captivating spectacle, and we wish all the teams the best of luck throughout June and July.”