OL Reign Joins UN Football for the Goals

OL Reign today announced that the club has joined Football for the Goals, a United Nations initiative that provides a platform for the global football community to engage with and advocate for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The initiative is an opportunity to build on football’s powerful and influential reach across the globe and to work together to become agents of change by aligning messaging, strategies and operations with the aspirations of the SDGs. OL Reign is the first NWSL club to join this initiative.

Sustainability has been at the forefront of OL Reign’s mission and culture, as a topic of growing importance, environmentally, socially and economically. Championed by players and staff from the club, the club is committed to focusing on sustainability now and in the future, through a variety of intentional efforts, including this initiative.

“Becoming a member of the United Nations Football for the Goals (FFTG) initiative is a very big achievement for the club given the purpose, mission and vision the club has and is committing to for the coming years. It’s very important for us to be the best on and off the pitch, and being the 6th club in the world, first NWSL team and first women’s club to join this initiative is something to be proud of,” said OL Reign associate general manager Santiago Gallo.

“As part of our membership, we will keep focusing on sustainability policies and practices, implementing and advocating the Sustainable Development Goals, implementing a human rights approach where we address discrimination and advocating for equality and equity and climate action. We will be working in partnership with the United Nations to go beyond the sport and create a better world.”

This initiative encourages the global football community (confederations, federations, clubs, players, fans, and others participating in the football ecosystem) to use its own visibility and outreach power via its tournaments, its players, corporate brand exposure, media rights holders and fan communities to raise the profile of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through amplification and advocacy. Members commit to the principles of sustainable development and to mainstreaming sustainable practices throughout their businesses and activities.

The 17 Sustainable Development Goals were adopted by world leaders at the historic Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015. Encompassing everything from health to gender equality and education, the Goals are mobilizing efforts around the world to end all forms of poverty, fight inequalities and tackle climate change by 2030, while ensuring that no one is left behind.

This initiative will inspire and guide the world of football – from confederations, national associations, leagues and clubs to players’ associations, organized fan groups, as well as media and commercial partners – to build on existing sustainability approaches and to implement SDG strategies that lead to behavioral change.

Members may not only aspire to develop sustainable practices but may also act as champions of the SDGs during the Decade of Action (2020-2030). Members will use their visibility and outreach power via tournaments, players, corporate brand exposure, media and fan communities to raise the profile of the SDGs through amplification and advocacy. They will inspire action by demonstrating how these sustainable practices can be mainstreamed through any business model, including sport.

We encourage fans to learn more and take action. We are in a climate emergency, and nothing is immune - not even football. At the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP27 – one of the world’s largest and key convenings around taking concerted action on climate change – we urge leaders to adopt the values teamwork & solidarity, for people & planet. In the fight for #ClimateAction we either all win or we all lose.

The conference opened on Sunday, November 6 and is expected to run until Friday, November 18. It is a crucial moment for efforts to address the climate emergency. Taking place in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, the conference aims at securing greater ambition and action from national governments to cut greenhouse gas emissions, increase financing for climate action, boost efforts to build resilience and adapt to climate impacts, and address loss and damage. The world is watching and demanding that national leaders rise to the moment.