Four-year partnership between Laureus Sport for Good and Hong Kong Rugby Union to enable more young lives to be transformed through sport
- Funds raised at and around the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens to support work of Laureus in Hong Kong and throughout Asia.
- Laureus Ambassadors Schalk Brits, Schalk Burger and Annabelle Bond in Hong Kong to announce partnership extension
Laureus Sport for Good has today announced an extension of its charity partnership with the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens until 2023. The partnership will help Laureus Sport for Good to transform the lives of more children and young people in Hong Kong and across Asia.
Laureus Sport for Good became the first ever official charity partner of the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens in 2018 and since then HK$2million has been raised and donated by the Hong Kong Rugby Union. 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 will also see funds committed to ‘Model City Hong Kong’ - a collaborative, multi-stakeholder approach to using sport to improve youth mental health and wellbeing in Hong Kong.
Laureus Ambassadors and South African Rugby World Cup winners Schalk Burger and Schalk Brits were joined by fellow Ambassador Annabelle Bond in Hong Kong to announce the partnership extension at the Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens Long Lunch fundraising event. Schalk, Schalk and Annabelle have seen the positive power sport can have in uniting and inspiring, both during their sporting careers and in their roles as Laureus Ambassadors. Following the event, Schalk Burger will visit Laureus-supported Inspiring HK programme to experience first-hand the impact funds raised through the partnership will have.
Laureus Academy Chairman Sean Fitzpatrick, said: “I’d like to thank the Hong Kong Rugby Union for their continued support. Becoming the first ever charity partner of the flagship event on the international Sevens circuit was a huge honour for us, and extending that partnership for the next four years will give us a huge boost in what is an important region for Laureus Sport for Good in Hong Kong and across Asia.
Robbie McRobbie, CEO of the Hong Kong Rugby Union, said: “We are delighted to be extending our partnership with Laureus – they have provided the inspiration and support for our own HKRU Community 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.”
Laureus Ambassador Schalk Burger, said: “As Nelson Mandela said famously said at the 2000 Laureus World Sports Awards, sport has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. We’ve seen that in South Africa in the aftermath of the Rugby World Cup and I’m excited to experience the same thing on my visit to Inspiring HK here in Hong Kong. Our partnership with the Union here is going to help us continue to use sport to unite and inspire, and continue Mandela’s legacy here in our 20th anniversary year and beyond.”
The 2020 Cathay Pacific/HSBC Hong Kong Sevens will be held on April 3-5 at Hong Kong Stadium.
Laureus currently supports 12 programmes in eight countries across Asia, using sport to transform the lives of more than 6000 disadvantaged young people. Advocating for the work Laureus supports in Hong Kong are nine Hong Kong Ambassadors; including former world champion windsurfer Lee Lai Shan, world champion cyclist Wong Kam Po, badminton star Amy Chan Lim Chee, triathlete Daniel Lee Chi Wo, athlete Malina Ngai Man Lin, swimming stars Alex Fong Lik Sun, Sherry Tsai Hiu Wai and Vivian Lee Ying Shih and fencer Ron Lee Chung Man.
Globally, Laureus Sport for Good works with more than 160 programmes in over 40 countries, offering both funding and knowledge-sharing. Each programme Laureus supports is measured against charitable standards set out by the United Nations, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals.