· Laureus Sport for Good announced as charity partner of the 2024 Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens, extending a partnership that began in 2018
· Laureus currently supports four programmes in Hong Kong, China in addition to over 300 worldwide
· Academy Member Ruud Gullit visits Inspiring HK, to showcase the work of Laureus in the region
· Laureus Sport for Good chair Sean Fitzpatrick: ‘None of this incredible work could take place without the platform our partnership with the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens has given us’
Hong Kong China Rugby (HKCR) and Laureus are delighted to announce an extension of their current relationship that will see Laureus Sport for Good continue as the official charity partner of the 2024 Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens. The partnership will help Laureus Sport for Good transform the lives of more children and young people in Hong Kong and across Asia through the power of sport.
Laureus Sport for Good became the first ever official charity partner of the Sevens in 2018 and since then HK$3million has been raised and donated by HKCR. The partnership has allowed Laureus to support a range of programmes in Hong Kong and the wider region, including Inspiring HK Sports Foundation, Deaf Rugby and ChildFund Pass It Back. In 2020, the partnership also provided the funding to kick-start the ‘Model City Hong Kong’ project - a collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach to using sport to improve youth mental health and wellbeing in Hong Kong.
Laureus Academy Member Ruud Gullit announced the partnership extension at the Cathay/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens Long Lunch fundraising event on Friday. Ruud has seen the positive power sport can have in uniting and inspiring, both during his sporting career and in his role with Laureus. Following the event, he visited the Laureus-supported Inspiring HK programme to experience first-hand the impact funds raised through the partnership will have.
Sean Fitzpatrick, Chairman of Laureus Sport for Good, said: “We were proud to be the first charity partner of the Hong Kong Sevens in 2018, and the extension of that partnership through 2024 speaks to the footprint we now have in the region. Our work in Hong Kong is the hub of our Asia strategy and has already changed the lives of a generation of young people at a time when they face an unparalleled mental health crisis.
“None of that incredible work could take place without the platform our partnership with the Hong Kong China Rugby has given us – and that’s because it is a unique event on the sporting calendar, a rugby party like no other, as much a celebration of the sport as it is an elite competition. For decades now, when rugby fans think of Sevens, they think about this great event in Hong Kong. As chair of Laureus Sport for Good, I’d like to extend our deepest gratitude to Hong Kong China Rugby for their continued support and friendship.”
Robbie McRobbie, CEO of HKCR, said: “We are delighted to be extending our partnership with Laureus – they have provided the inspiration and support for our own Rugby for Good Foundation to use sport to try and help tackle key challenges in our society here in Hong Kong, and I hope that our fundraising efforts will help them to support a growing number of projects which will positively impact on the lives of thousands of young people throughout Asia.”
Ruud Gullit, Laureus Academy Member and Ballon d’Or winning former AC Milan and Holland star, said: “It was a special privilege for me to see just a tiny part of the work done thanks to this Charity Partnership by Inspiring HK yesterday, and I learned a great deal about the advantages given to these programmes by the Model City Hong Kong Initiative. My sporting career was all about teamwork, so I absolutely understand the benefit of these different groups combining in this way to achieve common goals.”
Laureus Sport for Good first began its work in Hong Kong in 2005 and is committed to supporting sport for development across Asia as part of its mission to user the power of sport to change the world. Since its inception in 2000, it has positively impacted the lives of more than six and a half million children and young people. Today it supports more than 300 programmes in over 50 countries and territories across the globe.