SKF paves the way to Soccer Event.

The Swedish ball bearing giants SKF funded a football tournament last month for under privileged children across the world. The “Gothia Cup” saw nearly 1,600 teams with over 35,000 children from 70 countries and regions converge on Gothenburg for this now annual event.

The tournament has been around since 1975 but has been sponsored by SKF, the world’s largest ball bearing manufacture, since 2006. In terms of its actual participants, which range from 11 to 19 year olds, the Gothia Cup is the world’s largest football tournament.

SKF also help organise the preliminary rounds, which are called “Meet the World.” The company hosts the Meet the World soccer tournaments in advance of the Gothia Cup and sponsors the winning team from each local tournament. They also provide registration fees, accommodation, food and transport to the main event in Sweden.

Tom Johnstone, President and Chief Executive Office of SKF Group said:

“We supported the Gothia Cup and held Meet the World for several years because our company shares the same values inherent in the tournaments: teamwork, responsibility, equal opportunities, an enjoyment in what we do and a commitment to the future."

The Gothia Cup has been praised across the world for creating a place where young people from all over the world, regardless of their background and ethnicity, can come together and enjoy sport.

This year’s tournament was a hotly contested event which was eventually won by Karanba from Brazil, who narrowly defeated Madrid in the final and showed that in any format of the game, the samba kings remain the team to beat. A 1 all draw was eventually settled 6-5 in a dramatic penalty shoot-out watched by over 3000 spectators.

Meet the World is SKF’s single biggest corporate social responsibility project and one that looks set to continue for many years to come. The 2012 event looks set to be the biggest yet with one team signing up within 14 seconds of the registration opening date. As of September 13, 247 teams had been registered from 20 different nations such as Tanzania, Syria, Cameroon, Canada, England & Belgium. The 2012 event will be played between the 15th and 21st July and continues to be a big feather in the SKF cap, as well as a wonderful chance for those in areas of high poverty to play football on a global stage.