Nobel laureate Yunus launches partnership with World Football Summit

Professor Muhammad Yunus, the founder of the Grameen Bank and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, has launched a long-term partnership with one of the world’s largest business platforms in the football industry, the World Football Summit.

According to a press statement issued by Yunus Centre on Monday, Muhammad Yunus launched the partnership with an aim to help solve human and environmental problems via the world’s most popular sport.

The partnership will begin its journey at the 2022 World Football Summit event, on September 28 and 29.

The press statement noted Muhammad Yunus, Founder of the Grameen Bank and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, has long advocated for the world’s most significant institutions to solve human and environmental problems.

“As the pioneer of the global social business movement, Professor Yunus has spent the last 30 years working with social entrepreneurs all over the globe to build and grow enterprises that help others out of poverty and are not measured purely by profit.”

“Recognising the unique power of sport to galvanise the world, in 2018 Professor Yunus launched the Yunus Sports Hub; a social business itself. In 2021, he became only the second recipient of the Olympic Laurel, recognising his extensive work in sport for development with organisations including the International Olympic Committee and the Paris 2024 Organising Committee,” the Yunus Centre said in the release.

It also informed that Professor Yunus and the Yunus Sports Hub will participate in different activations, both before and during the 2022 World Football Summit.

In this context, Professor Yunus said, “Football - as the world’s most popular sport - has a unique power to galvanise individuals. I truly believe that social business can be the most efficient tool to unleash this power and that our partnership with the World Football Summit can be a platform for industry change.”

Professor Yunus also promised a pro-bono programme of entrepreneurship and social business for all athlete nominees for the Marcus Rashford Award at the World Football Summit 2022.

“The Award, first announced in 2021 to reaffirm the legacy of Marcus Rashford MBE’s child food poverty campaigning, will this year be given to athletes and organisations who have used their profile to drive positive societal change,” the Nobel laureate was quoted as saying in the statement.

Co-Founder of the Yunus Sports Hub Yoan Noguier said, "At Yunus Sports Hub, we see this partnership as a unique opportunity to promote the potential impact of joining the football industry with social business. Together we will create social solutions to human problems in and through sports.”

Co-Founder of World Football Summit Jan Alessie said, “Being able to partner with an organisation such as the Yunus Sports Hub, led by Professor Mohammad Yunus, a global figure I have personally admired for so many years, is an honour and a wonderful opportunity to give voice to those social entrepreneurs who are changing the world through sport in front of the main stakeholders in the football industry.”