Nathan Redmond - the boots that change the world

To mark International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, and to shine a light on being an Ambassador for Right To Play, Southampton FC player Nathan Redmond wore customised boots during the Southampton FC vs Wolverhampton Wanderers game on Saturday, 13 April and scored two goals for the club.

Nathan’s adidas boots have been exclusively designed by Graffia Customs, a business his teammate Danny Ings is involved with.

The boots feature Right To Play’s logo and ‘We Rise’ slogan which will draw football fans and Nathan’s supporters to a series of powerful Right To Play films which show us a world where children are given hope through education and play-based learning.

Right To Play is an international organisation that uses sport and play to protect, educate and empower over 1.9 million disadvantaged children every week across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

The date of the game, 13 April, marked exactly one month before Nathan Redmond travels to Ghana to see Right To Play programme’s first-hand.

Nathan Redmond said: “I’m proud to be an Ambassador for Right To Play. Through sport you learn about respect and hard work, you learn about trust and working together, you grow confidence in yourself and learn that you can make a difference and shape your own future.”

During the off-season, Nathan will spend three days in Ghana’s capital, Accra to meet children whose lives have been transformed through sport and play. He will join in with learning activities that help children focus on literary, numeracy and life skills inside and outside the classroom.

Nathan will also take part in a Right To Play mixed-sex football match to promote gender equality, teamwork, leadership and self-confidence.

About the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP)

The International Day of Sport for Development and Peace - a global initiative celebrated annually on 6 April – evolved from a belief that play has the power to transform the world and is an effective tool in humanitarian, development and peace building efforts. Alongside the United Nations and other global bodies, Right To Play has worked tirelessly for play to be recognised as a development goal in its own right.

Right To Play’s unique approach uses the power of sport and play to deliver against the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals focused on Health, Education, Peace and Gender.

As a leader in the Sport for Development and Peace movement we know that sport and play has the ability to transform children's lives. Playing creates a safe arena for children to engage and interact.

Something as simple as a game of football creates common ground and a sense of equality, levelling the playing field by breaking down complex social barriers, promoting teamwork and creating acceptance around differences such as gender, race and religion. Sport and play helps children put their differences aside. Most importantly, it provides the platform for their long-term personal development.

When the children in Right To Play programmes learn about conflict-resolution and team-building skills through a game of tag or by making up a skit to act out for their peers, not only are they happier and more engaged because they are having fun, they are also learning and retaining valuable lessons about equality, acceptance and respect.

We play on a global stage! Key Right To Play stats:

· Right To Play educates, protects and empowers 1.9 million disadvantaged children every week.

· Right To Play has programmes in 15 countries and seven national fundraising offices across Europe and North America.

· Right To Play works in 52 Refugee camps in Ethiopia, Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories, Thailand and Uganda.

· 50% of the children and young people in Right To Play programmes are girls.

· Right To Play operates in 2,630 schools globally.

· 32,000 Right To Play teachers and coaches across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

· 67% of Right To Play teachers and coaches are female.

· 1,200 play-based learning and teaching games.