With the World Cup in South Africa right around the corner, a global initiative called the Red Card Campaign is being launched to make the infamous symbol for poor sportsmanship on the field, a unifying symbol of zero tolerance for the risky behaviors that lead to HIV. 

The purpose of the Red Card Campaign is simple:  Connect with young people; Combat the spread of HIV.

                        Former Bafana Bafana captain Lucas Radebe participates in “Risk Field”

The organization behind the Red Card Campaign is Grass Roots Soccer ("GSR'), a non-profit that uses the power of soccer to fight against HIV and AIDS by providing youth with the knowledge, life skills and support to live healthier lives.   As Grassroot Soccer co-founder and Managing Director Kirk Friedrich explains, “With all the great events happening in South Africa, I can’t imagine a better time to mobilize the nation behind the Red Card as a means to inspire dialogue and discussion about this difficult topic. We believe the Red Card can become an enduring symbol of the fight against HIV and help change behaviors and save lives.”

                                                 FIFA president Joseph Blatter gives the final speach during the opening ceremonies of the Footbal for Hope Center in Khayelitsha, South Africa

The campaign, which officially launched on December 5, at the opening of the world’s first Football for Hope Centre, in Khayelitsha, South Africa, will use the Red Card symbol to create awareness for averting the leading risk factors for HIV transmission, like multiple partners and cross-generational sex.  To kick off the campaign, local kids participated in a game called Risk Field. The participants in the game would try to dribble around cones.  Each time a cone representing a risk factor was dribbled into, the Red Card was shown and the participant did a push-up. The idea of the campaign is to engage the children and educate them about HIV/AIDS in a fun way.  In the early phases of the campaign, Grassroot Soccer plans to integrate the Red Card into other curriculum activities focused on both boys and girls.

                            GRS Assistant Site Coordinator Gcina Mondi talks to the audience as he facilitates “Risk Field” on the brand new artificial pitch.

GrassRoots Soccer was started by Dr. Tommy Clark, who witnessed first hand both the devastation of HIV and the fanatical popularity of soccer while playing professionally in Zimbabwe.  He later joined forces with former pro soccer players Methembe Ndlovu, Ethan Zohn and Kirk Friedrich who had had similar experiences playing in Africa.  As an organization, GSR has impacted over 300,000 lives in 13 African countries and has a goal to educate 1 million youth through its programming by 2014.  They're looking for partners to help spread the word, so if you know someone who might be able to help, give them a holla at info@GrassrootSoccer.org