Chevrolet to Bring 11 Mascots From Around the World to Manchester United Match
2016-09-21
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DETROIT — As part of its mission to inspire fans of all ages to make the most of life’s possibilities through football, for the third year in a row Chevrolet will host 11 children in Manchester, England, this week as mascots for Manchester United’s match versus Leicester City.
The children — ages 8 to 13 from China, Colombia, Mexico, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates and the United States — will meet with Manchester United players and the club manager, play with legends, attend Manchester United’s football school and tour the club’s stadium in the days ahead of Saturday’s match. Chevrolet selected these special children because they embody the spirit of play and have embraced football in a way that has changed their lives.
“Football inspires the kind of passion in people around the world that can transcend cultural and political differences and unite communities in a transformative way, and for our children it is a game that teaches them that anything is possible through hard work and dedication,” said Tim Mahoney, chief marketing officer, Global Chevrolet. “The 11 children chosen to be mascots this year truly embody the ‘never give up spirit’ that is at the core of everything we do at Chevrolet. We are proud to honor these remarkable children.”
The highlight of their once-in-a-lifetime experience will be walking onto the Old Trafford pitch with Manchester United’s first team on Saturday, with each player wearing a match shirt with the name of his mascot on the back. Moments before the match, Manchester United will remove their shirts and present them to the mascots, replicating one of the game’s most sporting traditions.
As part of its Beautiful Possibilities program, Chevrolet enables children to have greater, reliable and safe participation in football by working with local non-profit organizations to revitalize and transform communities, including building 10 pitches to date in countries including China, South Korea and the United States. During recent pitch revitalization projects, Chevrolet worked with local nonp-rofits to identify children for an opportunity to participate in this week’s special experience. Chevrolet also crowdsourced its fan community, asking fans to nominate the 11th member of its Starting XI — the winner came from Mexico.
“Chevrolet’s mascot moment is becoming a fine tradition in the Old Trafford calendar, an initiative that complements what the club stands for,” said Manchester United Group Managing Director Richard Arnold. “While we are proud of our global reach, we recognize that when our players take to the field, children around the world dream big, hence Sir Bobby Charlton famously described Old Trafford as the ‘Theatre of Dreams.’
“Thanks to Chevrolet, these 11 children will have an unforgettable, inspirational day. Our players will be proud to walk through the tunnel with some of our youngest fans, wearing their names and sharing their pride for football.”
In addition to its Beautiful Possibilities program, since 2012 Chevrolet has brought play to an estimated 45 million youth in underprivileged communities. Chevrolet has distributed more than 1.6 million ultra-durable footballs from One World Play Project in more than 90 countries. Chevrolet, the official sponsor of One World Play Project, has committed to distributing 2 million One World footballs, which the mascots will use to make penalty kicks at halftime during Saturday’s match.
This is the third consecutive year Chevrolet has brought children from around the world to Manchester to participate as mascots, an experience the brand plans to continue. Each child’s story is featured at www.ChevroletFC.com.
About Chevrolet in Canada
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, doing business in more than 115 countries and selling more than 4.8 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.ca, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/chevroletcanada or by following @ChevroletCanada on Twitter.
About Manchester United
Manchester United is one of the most popular and successful sports teams in the world, playing one of the most popular spectator sports on Earth. Through our 138-year heritage we have won 64 trophies, enabling us to develop the world’s leading sports brand and a global community of 659 million followers. Our large, passionate community provides Manchester United with a worldwide platform to generate significant revenue from multiple sources, including sponsorship, merchandising, product licensing, new media mobile, broadcasting and match day.
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