- PepsiCo brands Lay's® and
Gatorade® unite in Bilbao, Spain, around the UEFA Women's
Champions League Final with programs that instill young female
athletes with confidence and provide resources to fuel their
participation in sport
- Lay's RePlay unveils its 11th pitch in
Bilbao, with world class
talent: Manchester City Player Laia Aleixandri and former
Spanish footballer Fernando
Llorente
- Gatorade hosts 5v5 tournament in Bilbao, featuring Confidence Coaches: former
English footballer Rachel Yankey
alongside Laia Aleixandri and Fernando
Llorente
PURCHASE, N.Y., May 25, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Two of
PepsiCo's most iconic brands – Lay's and Gatorade – join forces to
fuel global grassroots initiatives, champion equal opportunities
for women on the pitch and continue PepsiCo's longstanding support
of women in sport through its partnership with UEFA.
Ahead of the UEFA Women's Champions League (UWCL) Final,
Lay's and Gatorade seamlessly brought together the power, scale and
resources of the two brands to launch a series of community
initiatives in this year's host city of Bilbao, Spain, to give young female athletes
more access to football – including hosting an action-packed
Gatorade 5v5 tournament on a newly unveiled Lay's RePlay pitch this
weekend.
Despite the rise in popularity of women's sports – particularly
women's football – there is still a way to go until female players
receive the same level of support as their male equivalents.
PepsiCo, a proud partner of UEFA Women's Football, continues to
invest in initiatives across its brand portfolio to drive
engagement and conversation within the women's game, while
inspiring women's opportunities and participation in the sport from
grassroots to professional levels.
Lay's RePlay, a global initiative created in partnership with
the UEFA Foundation for Children and Common Goal, aims to bring joy
and access to play to deserving communities by creating
environmentally friendly football pitches partially made of reused
chip bags. Gatorade reaffirmed its commitment to supporting amateur
footballers across the world by leveraging the newly opened Lay's
RePlay pitch for its 5v5 program, a grassroots tournament designed
to promote and showcase equal opportunities for young talent.
23 MAY: Lay's RePlay Pitch – Bilbao, Spain – Errekalde Sports
Center
On May 23rd, Lay's
RePlay unveiled its 11th pitch with a variety of local
activations for the Bilbao
community, including a female artist-designed mural to represent
and inspire the community and an unveiling of the centre circle, as
an homage to UWCL opening ceremonies, to unveil the brand-new
pitch. Manchester City player Laia
Aleixandri and former Spanish professional footballer Fernando Llorente connected with young athletes
on-site, speaking to their personal experiences in football,
emphasizing the benefits associated with playing and encouraging
the girls to join the program to learn and grow on the pitch and
beyond.
In selecting Bilbao as the
program's next impact epicenter, Lay's RePlay and partners, Common
Goal, 'Bilbao Kirolak' (Municipality) and Fundazioa (Athletic Club
Foundation), will offer inclusive sports programming for young
migrant women footballers in the communities of Errekalde and
Ibaiondo. This initiative provides access to sports training,
educational resources, and a safe place to play, aiming to support
socio-emotional growth and community building while fostering
belonging, teamwork, and collaboration. In celebration of the
initiative's Bilbao debut,
participants, their families and the entire community came together
at the new facility for a day filled with football fun
and inspiring words from football icons Laia Aleixandri and
Fernando Llorente.
Lay's RePlay leverages the power of play and innovative
sustainability to deliver positive outcomes for both the planet and
people. To create a Lay's RePlay pitch, empty packs of chips are
collected and made into pellets that form the underlying layer
beneath the AstroTurf.
With pitches spanning the globe throughout communities in
South Africa, Italy, Brazil, the United
Kingdom, Colombia,
Mexico and more – the program is
already making a lasting impact, with 1.5K participants (per month) directly impacted
through 8K hours of Lay's RePlay
educational programming, and a further 2.3K (per month) wider community members
indirectly impacted through general use of the pitch, special
community events or families of the participants. Lay's RePlay
builds on the work done by Lay's and the UEFA Foundation for
Children that delivered three artificial football fields in the
Za'atari and Azraq Refugee Camps in 2017 and 2018 and have since
provided 35,000 people access to the sport.
24 and 25 MAY: Gatorade 5v5 Tournament on Lay's RePlay Pitch
– Bilbao, Spain
On May 24th, the latest
iteration of Gatorade's 5v5 tournament took place on the new Lay's
RePlay pitch in Bilbao, in tandem
with the brand's global initiative, "Confidence Coaches," which
connects football legends with youth players. Understanding the
common barriers women in sport face, chosen "Confidence Coaches"
share stories and advice that fuels these up-and-coming players
with the confidence they need to keep kicking. This year in
Bilbao, Gatorade Confidence
Coaches featured world class talent, including former English
footballer Rachel Yankey, alongside
Laia Aleixandri and Fernando
Llorente. At the UWCL final on May
24, the trio met with the final girls' teams of the 5v5
tournament to talk confidence and self-esteem in competitive
sports.
In alignment with Gatorade's People and Planet priorities, the
Bilbao 5v5 tournament was executed
with sustainability in mind, including all clothing and medals for
the tournament produced as sustainably as possible (both materials
and production).
Now in its seventh year, 5v5 continues to deliver positive
formative sporting experiences to thousands of young amateur
athletes, ages 14 to 16, from diverse backgrounds, giving over
151,000 boys and girls (and counting!) the chance to excel in the
sport they love.
Gatorade's "Confidence Coach" initiative, launched in 2023, aims
to inspire future generations by partnering with iconic football
players to serve as Confidence Coaches, who share their own
experiences to help motivate aspiring players. Gatorade is thrilled
to give young adults better opportunities to play sport and realize
their potential and is committed to helping 2.5 million teens
worldwide access the life changing power of sport by
2030.
Mustafa Shamseldin, Category
Growth Officer and CMO International Foods, says: "Lay's
RePlay illuminates both the human and sustainability elements
behind PepsiCo's mission of creating local activations that propel
impact on a global scale. The opening of this pitch in Bilbao demonstrates the ongoing efforts and
greater impact PepsiCo has on supporting women in sport – providing
resources to educate, facilitate and inspire young women globally
to pursue their passion for the beautiful game – and its fierce
commitment to sustainability efforts – opening its 11th
pitch, partially made of reused Lay's chip bags. Lay's and
Gatorade joining forces in Bilbao
to drive change for women in football is a prime example of what
PepsiCo can accomplish with the Power of One."
Mark Kirkham, SVP and CMO
International Beverages, says: "Gatorade's 5v5 tournament
provides an incredible opportunity for girls in grassroots
football, and we know how important it is to facilitate truly
inclusive participation for all genders. We give the talented
players everything they need to succeed and play their best,
including access to our inspiring Confidence Coaches. It was
incredible to see how football legends Rachel, Laia and Fernando
inspired the girls by giving them the confidence to win!"
Laia Aleixandri, Manchester City Footballer, says:
"The UWCL Final is always an exciting time for me. However,
being able to be a part of the Lay's Replay and Gatorade 5v5
programs' shared vision of empowering women in football makes this
year's Final extra special! Working alongside these amazing brands,
I'm thrilled to be a role model for young female football players
everywhere, showing them that dreams are worth chasing. Together,
we're not just playing the game, we're changing it – making sure
that every girl who loves football knows she belongs on the
field."
Fernando Llorente, Former
Professional Footballer, says: "Lay's Replay and
Gatorade 5V5 are amazing initiatives that go beyond the game - it's
about making a difference for women athletes. Seeing both of these
programs come to life in Bilbao
during the UWCL Final is a special moment—it shows how far we've
come in making soccer more inclusive, especially for women. Teaming
up with brands that share my passion for inclusivity allows me to
not only inspire young female players but also to be a supportive
ally in their journey. Together, we're rewriting the rules and
creating a future where every player has an equal shot at
success."
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Paul Bromley,
paul.bromley@pepsico.com
About PepsiCo
PepsiCo (NASDAQ: PEP) products are enjoyed by consumers more than
one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories
around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $91 billion in net revenue in 2023, driven by a
complementary beverage and convenient foods portfolio that includes
Lay's, Doritos, Cheetos, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Mountain Dew,
Quaker, and SodaStream. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide
range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including many iconic
brands that generate more than $1
billion each in estimated annual retail sales.
Guiding PepsiCo is our vision to Be the Global Leader in
Beverages and Convenient Foods by Winning with pep+ (PepsiCo
Positive). pep+ is our strategic end-to-end transformation that
puts sustainability and human capital at the center of how we will
create value and growth by operating within planetary boundaries
and inspiring positive change for planet and people. For more
information, visit http://www.pepsico.com, and follow
on X (Twitter), Instagram, Facebook,
and LinkedIn @PepsiCo.
Photo -
https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2421963/Friday_highlights_20_PepsiCo.jpg
Photo -
https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2421964/Friday_highlights_11_PepsiCo.jpg
Logo -
https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2418848/4722099/pepsico_logo.jpg
View original
content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/pepsico-brands-lays-and-gatorade-strengthen-commitment-to-supporting-women-in-sport-in-celebration-of-uefa-womens-champions-league-final-302155607.html