London’s Gfinity Arena will host the War Child FC FIFA Championship on Thursday August 16th from 4pm.
This will see high-profile War Child supporters from the worlds of sport, music and showbiz compete alongside pro FIFA gamers in co-op matches. The event will be live-streamed exclusively via Gfinity’s Twitch channel.
Fans and viewers will be encouraged to get involved and donate during the live show, by text, through Twitch contributions, by purchasing the War Child FC kit and emblem in free-to-play mobile game Top Eleven, or creating their own football fundraising event.
The money raised will help War Child support war-affected children including through its new War Child Child FC programme, which provides coaching, life-skills and psychosocial support to help children recover from the effects of conflict and eventually thrive.
“Football is a fantastic way to provide support and for War Child staff to gain the trust of children living in war-torn countries who encounter atrocities as part of their daily lives.”
Shaun White, Gfinity
Game developer Nordeus is also supporting the launch by including a special edition War Child FC football kit and emblem in its game Top Eleven. Players can purchase the in-game kit with 100% of NET proceeds going to charity. The kit will launch in-game alongside the War Child FC tournament on August 16th.
Shaun White, Head of Communications at Gfinity, said: “It’s a privilege for Gfinity to partner with War Child UK on such an important initiative. Football is a fantastic way to provide support and for War Child staff to gain the trust of children living in war-torn countries who encounter atrocities as part of their daily lives.
“Our hope is the FIFA 18 tournament and subsequent events go some way in helping to raise both awareness and money for this incredible initiative and we are proud to become part of War Child FC.”
Nick Scott, Head of Partnerships at War Child UK, added: “War Child UK has a proud history of cutting-edge partnerships across music and gaming and we’re delighted to be announcing our launch into sports and football.
“We’re honoured to be partnering with both Gfinity and Nordeus on this exciting initiative, without the generosity of our partners we wouldn’t be able to support children whose lives have been torn apart by war.”
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
