Hyundai Motor Kicks in Funding for Common Goal’s Equal Play Effect

Hyundai Motor Company announced its support for Common Goal’s Equal Play Effect, a women empowerment program, during the final weeks of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which runs through August 20, 2023, in Australia and New Zealand.

The contributions take effect during the final weeks of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which runs through August 20, 2023, in Australia and New Zealand, building on Hyundai Motor‘s proud tournament sponsorship since 1999.

Through its continued support, the company advocates for women’s football and equal rights and opportunities for girls, women and non-binary individuals through its partnership with Common Goal and contribution to Equal Play Effect.

The Equal Play Effect initiative aims to create concrete strategies, resources and roadmaps across community football, and it has already been implemented in various regions, including East Africa, Latin America and North America, providing tools, financial support and accountability to accelerate gender equality.

Equal Play Effect provides an impact framework to support community organizations to increase access and promote safer sports spaces for girls and women. In 2023, the collective project is set to expand to Asia Pacific, the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup region.

“The primary focus is to ensure that every young girl has a female role model in her community worldwide as we seek to enable girls and women to become leaders themselves in their communities,” said Jürgen Griesbeck, Co-Founder of Common Goal. “It’s not just about getting more girls to play football, rather, it’s about making sure the places they play are set up to help them thrive, and we are ecstatic that Hyundai, as a long-term supporter of women’s football, also supports our program to advance gender equality in football.”

Sungwon Jee, Senior Vice President & Global Chief Marketing Officer at Hyundai Motor Company, added, “This year, our ‘Goal of the Century campaign expands on its previous efforts to create a sustainable world by focusing on social inclusivity for women.

While girls and women face systemic barriers playing football around the world, together with Common Goal, we want to help increase visibility but also help create strategic frameworks for local grassroots organizations by contributing to their programs.”

By contributing to Equal Play Effect, Hyundai Motor also supports young women accessing intercultural dialogue and gender equity movement-building in sport for good organizations across the Asia-Pacific region through Equal Play Effect. The program’s launch occurred in Indonesia in July 2023 in a convening gathering of young women leaders from seven regional nations.

“The Equal Play Effect Contextual Convening provided Football for Good organizations across the Asia-Pacific region with an exceptional opportunity to drive systemic change in gender equity,” said Eve Wilcox from Creating Chances, one of the expert organizations leading the implementation of the project that aims to implement the Equal Play Effect methodology in various organizations across the Asia-Pacific region.

Wilcox added, “It’s a privilege to lead coach education sessions, where we delved into innovative strategies to increase access and provide safe environments for girls to participate in sports. This collective approach to changing the game reinforces Equal Play Effect’s commitment to paving the way for transformative and sustainable change across the region. We’re excited to continue to drive impact together through this project.”

Arpana Pradhan, the young We United, Nepal leader, added, “I feel empowered to take away all the learnings back home and implement everything in my community.”

Moreover, Hyundai Motor sponsors Festival 23, the eight-day youth celebration of Common Goal’s Football for Good organizations that bring together role models and game-changers in women’s football. Through panels, inspirational talks, workshops, networking and a photo exhibition, Festival23 aims to inspire through shared experiences and take action in paving the way for generations to come.

Festival 23 is being held in Sydney during the final stage of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, embracing values of equality and the inclusive spirit of women’s football. It celebrates the potential of football not just to benefit the lives of athletes but also to build the capacity of young people to advocate on important issues, such as employment, social cohesion, inclusion, gender equality and climate action.

The renewed partnership is part of Hyundai Motor‘s global campaign platform ‘Goal of the Century,’ which has continued during the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Last year, the company allocated 1% of its 2022 FIFA World Cup sponsorship fee to the Common Goal movement. It activated a partnership with UNESCO ambassador and football star Nadia Nadim.