Several football stars have been named as nominees for the Socrates Award for their charity and humanitarian works in the year under review.
Marcus Rashford, Vinicius Jr, Alex Morgan, Antonio Rudiger and Asisat Oshoala have been nominated for the prize.
Manchester United forward Rashford was nominated for the Socrates Award due to his remarkable contributions in the United Kingdom.
The 25-year-old is helping combat hunger among children, with the Child Food Poverty Task Force.
France Football unveiled the nominees on their social media platforms and for the Englishman they wrote:
“During the 2020 COVID 19 crisis and the lockdowns, Marcus Rashford became a national hero as well as international inspiration when he started a campaign to end child food poverty.
“Drawing from his experience, he rallied for policy makers to act and inspired many to donate and get involved.”
Real Madrid ace Vinicius Jr, who passed through a lot during the 2022/23 season was also included due to his immense contributions in Brazil.
Vinicius’ foundation, Instituto Vini Jr, is offering solutions on major issues affecting the society, most especially in the area of education.
On the Brazilian’s nomination, France Football wrote: “While Brazil is facing strong social inequalities, which manifest in the access to quality education for all, Instituto Vini.Jr. proposes innovative pedagogical solutions to act on this major issue.
“All the actions of Insituto Vini.Jr aim to reduce the digital divide in Brazil between the public education system and public schools, a divide that was accentuated during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
USWNT Star Alex Morgan Is Among Nominees For The Socrates Award
For United States Of America Women’s National Team star, Alex Morgan, she was nominated due to her immeasurable contributions through her foundation in the U.S.
The objective of Alex Morgan Foundation is to identify issues facing girls and women and to assist in solving them.
Regarding her nomination for the Socrates Award, France Football wrote:
“The Alex Morgan Foundation aims to identify challenges facing girls and women and invest in programs that make a difference on personal and systemic levels, by working on three core areas that are sports equity, empowering girls and supporting mothers.
“The foundation chose to start it’s actions locally, focusing on the San Diego Community as it believes this is the key to true social impact.”
Charity works of Antonio Rudiger didn’t go unnoticed as he was also nominated for this prestigious award.
Rudiger is amongst the five players nominated and he was also included for his efforts with his foundation.
His charitable foundation has some ambitious targets that focus primarily on education, infrastructure and inclusivity in sports.
The defender also looks to achieve broader education and literacy in Sierra Leone.
On his nomination, France Football, the French weekly football magazine shared the objectives of the foundation.
They wrote: “The Antonio Rudiger Foundation aims to help the underprivileged in Sierra Leone, through working on several dimensions such as education, literacy, infrastructure or even inclusivity in sport, by financing projects addressing those challenges”.
Super Falcons, Asisat Oshoala was also Nominated
Nigeria and Barcelona star, Asisat Lamina Oshoala is also amongst the nominees for the Socrates Award and her contributions through her academy was spotlighted.
The Lagos-born footballer is giving back to the society where she was raised, empowering the girl child through sports and Education.
Oshoala’s academy is located in Lagos, Nigeria and it was established in June, 2022.
France Football shared the objectives of the Asisat Oshoala Academy in a post which they shared on Twitter and it reads:
“The Asisat Oshoala Academy aims to give access to its beneficiaries to high quality football training as well as education on life skills.
“The organisation’s will is to empower young women through both sport and education, and to turn the beneficiaries into role models for the community and ambassadors of the values and skills they learnt.”
Senegal International Sadio Mane was the first recipient of the award, winning it in 2022 for his remarkable contributions, assisting people in his home country.
The Socrates Award was launched in 2022 by France Football and rewards players for valuable contributions to the society either through charity or some other social contributions.
