Mastercard has unveiled The Pledge Ball with Gareth Bale to highlight the power of football and inspire climate action ahead of the UEFA Champions League Final.
The Pledge Ball has been created by British designer Helen Kirkum from recycled boots and engraved with sustainable pledges from the football community to inspire collective action ahead of the UEFA Champions League final on 1 June. The ball features pledges from fans, clubs, players, sponsors, charities, supporter groups and UEFA Champions League Legend Gareth Bale
Mastercard teamed up with British artist Helen Kirkum, famed for making art out of recycled shoes, to create the football. Preloved boots from children’s football charity Bloomsbury Football have been stitched together to create a patchwork for the planet, illustrating how individual pledges to take action on sustainability can add up to a much larger collective impact.
The Pledge Ball, created in celebration of Mastercard’s 30 years of sponsorship of the world’s greatest football club competition. Was inspired by Mastercard’s work with sustainability and sports charity Pledge Ball for Champions Innovate - UEFA’s inaugural programme for sponsors and start-ups to enhance the social and environmental impact of the 2024 Champions League Final’s and leave a lasting positive impact on the host city, London.2 of 4
Five-time UEFA Champions League winner Gareth Bale is supporting the campaign and added his pledge to “drink plant-based milk alternatives” to the Pledge Ball.
His former club Real Madrid faces Borussia Dortmund in the final at Wembley on Saturday 1 June. At a Mastercard panel on the power of football to inspire change, Gareth Bale said: “I’ve been lucky enough to achieve my goals in football, score a few too, and think it’s important that we all try to set personal goals for the things that are important to us. It's why I’ve given my pledge to the Mastercard Pledge Ball, and I hope the 450 million fans set to watch the final next week are inspired to do the same. If football has a superpower, it’s teamwork, and I think that’s exactly what our planet needs a bit of right now.”3 of 4
