“Could you all please stand behind the line, back behind the carpet please.”  Security shuffled us further back as we tried our luck at getting just that bit closer so James could get that perfect shot of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan, Arsene Wenger, Sir Bobby Charlton, Aaron Mokoena, Alan Shearer, Sol Campbell, and Marcel Desailly walking down the stairs. We kid thee not.

 

 

The buzz was more than audible, you could feel the excitement and energy as you saw the tips of Queen Rania’s elegant black shoes coming down the stairs, but of course I’d notice that, while James had to control himself as his childhood dream was coming true, being more than an arm’s-length away stood the soccer kings of past and present, and not forgetting one of the most powerful world leaders Gordon Brown.

 

Only one thing could get so many high profile people into one building, Arsenal’s The Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, a very good cause. And, without a doubt, 1GOAL is exactly that.

 

 

The concept is so simple that the brilliance of it seems unreal: for the first time in soccer history the 2010 Soccer World Cup will be taking place on African soil, and it just so happens that half of the 75 million children who are denied an education live in Africa. 1GOAL believes that education beats poverty, and they’re not after your money, they’re just after your support.

 

With all eyes on South Africa during the 2010 World Cup they thought, ‘Why not make use of all that media attention to get all football fans from across the world to support educating children – 1 goal, 1 child.’ And with FIFA, Queen Rania, Bono, Thierry Henry, Rio Ferdinand, David James, Hilary Clinton, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon and many other football stars, celebrities and world leaders already having pledged their support and chalking up their signatures – that dears, is a recipe for campaign success. 

 

When Queen Rania went up on stage one part of her speech really made me sit up and think, she said. “…So how much will it cost to get children from low-income countries into early childhood programmes, primary schools, and literacy classes? $11 billion – what the world spent last year on computer games, or £7 billion – what one British bank raised for its investors in 2008. If one industry and one bank have that much money how can the worlds richest countries not find the same amount?”

 

And making a mark for supporting education Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced in his speech that representing the British Government in the next few years, every year, they will contribute £1 billion to educating children in Africa and the rest of the world, he also called on all countries who are sending players to the World Cup to respond to this call for an education for all.

 

With the 2010 World Cup taking place in South Africa we were lucky enough to score some interview time with the Captain of Bafana Bafana Aaron Mokoena (aka Axe, for his tackling style) and get his perspective on why a campaign like this is so important, “There are young children from my country that want to go to school but can’t afford it, so it means a lot to me to represent my country and be an ambassador for 1GOAL, and hopefully with everyone supporting this campaign African leaders will take note and start building those classes, employing teachers and providing a comfortable, secure place for African children to learn in.”

 

All it takes is to pledge your support along with your football heroes and world leaders. Not much to ask.