Western Union has announced its partnership with UNICEF in turning every successful pass in the UEFA Europa League competition into funding that supports education for young people around the world.
The PASS initiative is fronted by former French international Patrick Vieira.
The PASS initiative is expected to run for the three years of Western Union’s sponsorship of the Europa League until 2015. Through the program, Western Union will support education in select countries around the world.
The collaboration with UNICEF will initially focus on education programmes in Nigeria, Jamaica and Turkey.
Funding will support UNICEF projects including teacher training and curriculum development; financial literacy, vocational and life skills training for adolescents; school improvements; and more.
Chelsea and Nigeria striker, Victor Moses, who had contributed 161 passes prior to the final on Wednesday, said: “Western Union’s PASS initiative has done a great job in helping bring education to the most underprivileged countries. I’ve been honoured to be a part of such a fantastic campaign.”