• New
  York football programme to be honoured at tomorrow evening's Laureus World
  Sports Awards in Berlin
• South
  Bronx United use football to inspire, empower and improve lives of young people
  from underserved communities in the Bronx
• Landmark
  20th anniversary Laureus World Sports Awards will celebrate a 'Sport Unites Us'
  theme
• For
  images of South Bronx United in action, click here

BERLIN, GERMANY - Media OutReach - February 17, 2020 - One day ahead of landmark 20^th
anniversary Laureus World Sports Awards, South Bronx United, a programme who
use the sport of football to change the lives of young people from underserved
communities in New York, have been announced as the recipients of the 2020
Laureus Sport for Good Award.

South Bronx United Win 2020 Laureus Sport for Good Award

In Berlin to make the
announcement at a press conference were Laureus Academy members Sean
Fitzpatrick, Michael Johnson and Missy Franklin and Laureus
Ambassador Jens Lehmann.

South Bronx United have been
recognised by the Laureus World Sports Academy for their transformational work
in supporting disadvantaged and marginalized young people living in some of New
York's most underprivileged communities. The programme uses football as a tool
for social change, and aims to help youth build
character, teamwork, and leadership so that they can achieve success in high
school, college, their careers and communities, and beyond.

The Laureus Sport for Good Award is awarded to an organisation or
individual who, in the opinion of the members of the Laureus World Sports
Academy, have used sport to reduce the impact of violence, conflict and
discrimination, to enhance social and emotional development, to inspire healthy
behaviour change and to increase educational achievements and employability
skills.

Laureus Sport for Good supports
programmes around the world that use sport to combat violence, discrimination
and disadvantage faced by young people. The 2020 Laureus World Sports Awards
will showcase Laureus Sport for Good's work for the past two decades in
uniting, inspiring and changing the lives of young people around the world. Of the 319,000+ children and young people that Laureus Sport for Good and
partners reached in 2019 through these programmes, 47% were girls and young
women, significantly above global averages for sports-based programmes.

Laureus Sport for Good has
raised more than €150m for the Sport for Development sector over the last 20
years. Together with our partners, Laureus Sport for Good has reached and
helped change the lives of almost 6 million children and young people since
2000. Laureus Sport for Good currently supports more than 200 programmes in
over 40 countries that use the power of sport to transform lives.

In Berlin to accept the Award at tomorrow's landmark 20^th
anniversary Laureus Awards are South Bronx United co-founder and Executive
Director Andrew So, and two
inspirational participants who have directly benefitted from the
transformational work of the programme. Mohamed
Konate,
18, was born in the Ivory Coast to parents who had fled Guinea. He moved to the
United States as a child leaving some family members behind. In his eight years
at South Bronx United, he has become a leader in the organization and his
community. 

Joining
Mohamed in Berlin is another 18-year-old programme participant, Maria Martinez. Maria emigrated from
Mexico to the United States with her mother, in search of a better life and
better opportunities. As well as her footballing and educational endeavors,
Maria is also a referee and training as a coach at South Bronx United. Mohamed
and Maria are both seniors in high school. With the support of South Bronx
United, both have already received several acceptances to college and they plan
to begin studying towards college degrees this year.

South
Bronx United was founded in 2009 on an idea that young people needed an
engaging program to connect to and keep them off the streets, and that youth
passionate about soccer should have a program in which to develop. Over the
past decade, SBU has grown in response to the needs of the community, the
challenges facing youth, and the synergy between soccer, education, mentoring, immigration,
and support services.

Sean
Fitzpatrick, Chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy: "On behalf of the Laureus World
Sports Academy, I would like to commend South Bronx United for their
outstanding work in using sport as a tool for social change. In 2000, our Patron
Nelson Mandela said 'Sport has the power to
inspire, it has the power to unite people in a way that little else does' and
tomorrow evening, Andrew, Mohamed and
Maria will stand on stage as proof that those words still ring true today. They
are an inspiration and as Academy Members, we are so proud to celebrate their
success."

Reflecting on receiving the Laureus Sport for Good
Award, South Bronx United Executive
Director Andrew So, said: "Sport is an incredible tool for positive
change and at South Bronx United, we have been fortunate enough to see a
positive change in the hundreds of young people who have come through our
programme in the past 10 years. Through football, the young people we work with
build confidence, self-esteem and form relationships and friendships. I would
like to thank the Laureus Academy for recognising our work, which is required
more than ever. This Award will act as motivation to continue using sport to do
good for the next decade and beyond."

Adam
Fraser, Chief Executive of Laureus Sport for Good,
said: "At Laureus Sport for Good, we are
proud to support programmes around the world who are using sport as a tool to end
violence, discrimination and disadvantage. Our grantees and partners helped the
children and young people they serve to overcome a host of challenges in 2019,
and the work Andrew and his team at South Bronx United are doing is a wonderful
example of how those programmes can change lives. Monday's landmark 20^th
anniversary Laureus Awards will celebrate the greatest sporting triumphs of
2019 but Andrew, Mohamed and Maria will be at the heart of those celebrations --
that's what Laureus is all about."

It
was at the inaugural Laureus World Sports Awards in 2000 that Laureus Patron,
Nelson Mandela, spoke the words which sparked the creation of the worldwide
Sport for Good movement. 20 years on,
these words still guide Laureus today - 'Sport has the power to change the
world; to unite people in a way little else does'. From sports stars to
sports fans and the young people in Laureus Sport for Good programmes around
the world: Sport Unites Us.

For more information on the Nominees and to stay
updated in the build-up to the 2020 Laureus World Sports Awards, visit laureus.com/world-sports-awards and follow #Laureus20 on social platforms.

NOTES TO EDITORS