Global Protect the Goal Ball arrives in Ghana

The global Protect the Goal Soccer Ball has arrived in Ghana for a four-day stopover.

It touched down at the Kotoka International Airport in Accra on Wednesday from Morocco.


The Ball will tour around 32 countries and regions that have qualified for the 2014 World Cup.


While in Ghana, the tour ball will be signed by President John Dramani Mahama at the Flagstaff House to symbolize his renewed commitment to accelerate the UNAIDS vision of a world with Zero New HIV Infection, Zero Discrimination and Zero AIDS-related deaths.


Other activities lined up to receive the world tour include screening a film entitled “Love or Something Like That”, which is themed around HIV prevention, condom use, discordant couples, and the devastating effects of HIV-related stigma on individuals and their relationships.


There will also be an online discussion on HIV prevention with particular emphasis on the Ghana chapter of the Protect the Goal messages as well as a press interaction, meeting with youth leaders and paying courtesy calls on selected Ghanaian officials.


Protect the Goal was first launched at the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa as a campaign to raise awareness of HIV prevention and encourage young people to get actively involved in both the national and global response.

The objective of the global launch was to use the popularity and convening power of sports to unite the world for the goal of an AIDS-free generation.


The “Protect the Goal” campaign follows a three-pronged approach: a world tour, the global launch, and a rollout plan.


The global launch of the “Protect the Goal” campaign by UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe is scheduled for June 9, this year, in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil’s third most populous city.


It will consist of an official event at the Teatro Castro Alves and a wide range of advocacy and public outreach activities fostering HIV prevention messages.


The campaign in Ghana has as its partners the Ghana Football Association (GFA), UNAIDS, Ghana AIDS Commission, ministries of Youth and Sports and Education.