Africa
Orange holds first Pan-African football tournaments enabling youth to be actors of positive change, to tackle plastic waste, via their passion for football
Orange Sponsors Change
Orange Sponsors Change helps educate young people about environmental issues through football
DOUALA, Cameroon, January 6, 2022 / APO Group / –
Africa Cup of Nations Total Energies Cameroon
The Africa Cup of Nations Total Energies Cameroon 2021 is a major event on the continent and this year’s edition is eagerly awaited after being postponed in 2021 due to the Covid crisis. In the run-up to the big event and as an official sponsor, Orange (www.Orange.com) has held a series of ‘Orange Sponsors Change’ regional soccer tournaments across its footprint that allow 12-13 year olds to play soccer. football and collect plastic waste. in exchange for rewards and the chance to take place during the AFCON final on February 6. All winners of the regional tournament will be invited to the international final of ‘Orange Sponsors Change’ next spring for an unforgettable experience.
Ivory Coast
The competition, which will run from January 9 to February 6, 2022, will take place in six stadiums in five cities across the country. Of the 24 teams classified, 11 belong to a country where Orange is present: Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone, Mali, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia.
Passion with a purpose: the genesis of the “Orange Sponsorship Change”
Total Energies Cameroon
The Total Energies Cameroon 2021 Africa Cup of Nations provides Orange with the opportunity to reiterate its environmental commitments. Plastic waste is now one of the world’s biggest problems and Orange believes they can play a role in fighting this problem.
Orange Sponsors Change
“Orange Sponsors Change” is a unique program that was first launched in 2018 in Liberia and Cameroon and then successfully rolled out in 2019 to Egypt and Tunisia. With fan passion for soccer and a participatory approach at its core, ‘Orange Sponsors Change’ gives all soccer fans and young players the opportunity to enjoy their passion for soccer while having a positive impact on their communities and the planet. Fans are encouraged to collect and recycle their plastic waste through recycling bins during tournaments and in return for their recycling efforts, Orange works with local businesses to recycle collected plastic and return it to fans and their communities in form of soccer jerseys. balls and even soccer fields built exclusively with recyclable materials.
“Orange Sponsors Change”, premiere of a pan-African program
Orange Sponsors Change
This year, Orange wanted to take advantage of its association with the largest African sporting event to extend and promote Orange Sponsors Change in 12 countries of the continent (Morocco, Sierra Leone, Mali, Liberia, Cameroon, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Guinea). Conakry, Guinea Bissau, Burkina Faso, CAR, DRC) and give it a new pan-African dimension.
This first Pan-African edition encouraged young people aged 12-13 to participate in local qualifying tournaments while collecting plastic waste, and the first local tournaments mobilized thousands of young people and their families and achieved tons of plastic waste collection, for example:
Orange Sponsors Change
In Cameroon, soccer players participating in Orange Sponsors Change joined forces with Orange’s Clean Up Your City initiative to collect waste in seven cities across the country. In total, 1,300 volunteers roamed the streets to collect 14 tons of plastic that will be transformed into soccer equipment and redistributed to soccer academies in Cameroon. In Côte d’Ivoire, 500 players from 50 different clubs across the country participated in the competition, collecting more than 19 tons of plastic that will be transformed into construction equipment.
During AFCON
The stadiums will be filled with orange taps allowing fans to support their team and share their passion. This year, all faucets will no longer be made from plastic, but from recycled biodegradable potato starch, reflecting Orange’s commitment to reducing plastic waste. Additionally, Orange will provide young players along its footprint with 20,000 balls made from recycled rubber, so they can continue to enjoy their passion for soccer long after the big event.
Executive Director of Communication
Béatrice Mandine, Executive Director of Communication, Brand and Engagement said: “At Orange, we support the main sporting events in the countries where we operate by putting the focus of our strategy on the fans: we offer them the means to enjoy their passion. “Orange Sponsors Change” adds another brick to this promise: combining a passion for football and a commitment to the environment. It is a great action that will leave a positive legacy ”.
Alioune Ndiaye
Alioune Ndiaye, Executive Director of Orange Africa and the Middle East, explains: “Africans are very passionate about football. Orange Sponsors Change helps educate young people about environmental issues through football; this is a great proof of the Orange Group’s commitment to society and the planet ”.
