Spirit of Football (SOF) is an award-winning, nonprofit organization based in Germany, England and Brazil. Since 2005, SOF has been running programs using football as a tool to tackle the most pertinent challenges facing societies and the planet. SOF operates under three principle pillars of “diversity”, “respect”, and “teamwork”.
Every 4 years since 2002, “The Ball” (one football) has travelled overland from Battersea Park in London, where the first official football match took place, to the FIFA World Cup using a common call to action: “One Ball, One World”. The Ball is more than just a journey; Spirit of Football works closely with multiple partners along the way on specific social and environmental topics. From exchange platforms to policy change, The Ball brings together a diverse group of stakeholders from governments, schools, the football industry & civil society.
In 2022 and 2023, for the first time ever, The Ball is traveling to the FIFA Women’s World Cup in New Zealand and Australia, delivering workshops to identify local environmental problems, demonstrate their global relevance and showcase possible solutions to climate change. This time The Ball uses the positive power of the world’s most popular sport to encourage people to commit to climate action.
