About Laureus Sport For Good
Laureus’ core concept is simple, brilliant and daunting: to create global awards that recognise the achievements of today’s sporting heroes; to bring sportspeople together; united in achievement but divided by sporting code. Once that community is brought together, putting to work their reach and the support and investment of Laureus’ Founding Patrons and Partners, it creates a powerful message that can help social projects around the world who use sport as a tool for social change. That message, simply, is Laureus Sport for Good.Mission
“Using the power of sport as a tool for social change”
The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation’s goal is to help young people overcome the limitations imposed by challenging social issues including poverty, homelessness, war, violence, drug abuse, discrimination and AIDS. To do this Laureus supports and assists a worldwide programme of sports related community projects that have been working to educate children, protect the vulnerable from illness and even bring people from divided communities together in friendship for over ten years.
This mission was inspired by the words of Laureus Patron, Nelson Mandela. At the very first Laureus World Sports Awards in Monaco 2000, he said: “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair.”
History
It was in the early nineties that the idea that would eventually become Laureus first came to Johann Rupert, Chairman of luxury goods company Richemont. A noted sports enthusiast, Rupert was at a dinner with celebrated international photographer Monty Shadow and mused over the fact that there was no Nobel Prize or Oscars-style awards for sport.
It was not until 1998 that Richemont and Daimler teamed up to get the project off the ground. Two years later the Laureus World Sports Awards was launched in Monaco with Nelson Mandela as guest of honour.