Sportlifestyle company PUMA and the non-profit organisation Peace One Day urge football fans across the globe to tackle violence head-on by organising matches to mark Peace Day on 21 September.

On Peace Day 2009, the organiser Peace One Day and PUMA – through its PUMAVision program puma.peace–want to see matches played in every country of the world. People of all levels of sporting skill can get involved–they just need to get teams together and register the game on www.peaceoneday.org. The first match registered from each country will win a free PUMA fair trade One Day One Goal football and PUMA T-shirt for the captains of each team.

Each match will celebrate cooperation, unity and the power of football to bring people together in peace. The aim of the ‘One Day One Goal’ initiative is to encourage people to play football all over the world, whether in major stadiums, local pitches, in the streets, on the beach, in the office, at home - it doesn’t matter. 

“We are delighted to support the Peace One Day campaign,” Jochen Zeitz, CEO and chairman of PUMA said. “We want to make a contribution to the generation of global peace and we are proud to be a strong and long-term partner of this exemplary initiative.”

Through the PUMAVision program puma.peace, PUMA launched the initiative “One Day One Goal” at the African Cup of Nations in Ghana in 2008 to help raise visibility and awareness of Peace Day with puma.peace being the primary sponsor.  More than 400 football matches took place in more than 180 countries; the Iraqi army vs. the Kurdish Peshmerga; Tijuana vs. California, to name just two.

“I am delighted to be working with PUMA once again on One Day One Goal,” says Jeremy Gilley, founder of Peace One Day. “It represents the perfect opportunity for individuals, communities and nations to rise above violence, conflict and differences to celebrate a shared passion and a common goal.”

Gilley has been campaigning tirelessly towards Peace Day for 10 years–in 2001 he convinced all United Nations member states, resulting in a resolution being passed establishing 21 September as Peace Day–and the event is growing in strength every year.

“One Day One Goal is a vital part of this global event,” says Gilley, “There will also be a peace concert in Paris, educational activities and film screenings to spread the message that peace really can happen.”