PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN LAUREUS AND MERCEDES-BENZ LAYS FOUNDATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT OF YOUNG PEOPLE THROUGH SPORT IN CHINA

• Laureus aims to support 150,000 children and young people in China
• ‘We are very confident that, with the support of Mercedes-Benz, this Foundation will be a great success in this great nation’ – says Laureus World Sports Academy Chairman Edwin Moses

SHANGHAI, April 15, 2015 - A partnership between Laureus and Mercedes-Benz will bring about the development of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation in China, benefitting hundreds of thousands of young people throughout the country.
On the eve of the 16th annual Laureus World Sports Awards in Shanghai, the announcement lays the foundations for the development of young people through sport in China. This will mark the first steps towards the creation of the first national Laureus Sport for Good Foundation in Asia.
With the support of Mercedes-Benz, the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation in China will target the improvement of the quality of physical education for young people across the nation. Through the core projects such as the Laureus Leaders Programme and the Hope School Sports Training Inititaive, the Foundation will reach out to 150,000 young people. We will train over 1,000 PE teachers at Hope Schools nationwide by late 2016, covering 129 schools, thereby improving the quality of physical education for young students.
Dr. Edwin Moses, Chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy, welcomed the announcement ahead of the Laureus World Sports Awards. He said: “As Laureus' global partner, Mercedes-Benz has been supporting us in our Sport for Good programmes around the world. China has a long history in sport. We expect to employ our unique expertise as an international sport charity to contribute to China's use of sports for youth development. We are very confident that, with the support of Mercedes-Benz, this Foundation will be a great success in this great nation. And will contribute much to our international work.”
Mr. Hubertus Troska, Chairman and CEO of Daimler Greater China, said: "As a founding partner of Laureus, Daimler fully recognizes and supports its practice of promoting social development, addressing social problems and giving teenagers in trouble the opportunity to change their lives through a range of sports charity programmes. Over the past 15 years, our 150 sports charity programmes worldwide have benefited over millions of juveniles and children."
The Laureus Sport for Good Foundation uses the positive power of sport to tackle society's most pressing challenges around the globe, supporting projects on every continent. Laureus currently supports more than 150 projects around the world which have helped to improve the lives of millions of young people.
Projects worldwide striving to improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of individuals are supported by the Global Foundation and a growing network of subsidiary National Foundations. Laureus in China will join a growing family of Laureus National Foundations in Argentina, Germany, Italy, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, The Netherlands and the United States.