Media Contact:
John Votava, Sprint
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John.2.Votava@sprint.com
Sprint works with Make-A-Wish® Greater Bay Area, Salesian Boys & Girls Club and
Soccer Without Borders Oakland to bear flags during soccer tournament pre-game ceremonies
SAN FRANCISCO – June 2, 2016 – A total of 64 Bay-area teens, ages 14-16, will have the unique opportunity to experience the historic 2016 Copa América Centenario games directly from the field. Sprint (NYSE:S, news, filings), the official sponsor of Copa América Centenario has teamed up with Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area, Salesian Boys & Girls Club and Soccer Without Borders, allowing members of these groups to represent the Bay Area as flagbearers during the pre-game ceremonies for the matches on June 3, 6, 13, 18 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
“Sprint is proud to involve the teens from local Bay Area organizations for this once-in-a-lifetime experience during the 100th anniversary of this international tournament,” said Suehyun Johan Chung, president-Northern California at Sprint. “We have made a commitment to serve the communities where we offer our services and we are committed to giving back wherever we can.”
“We are thankful to Sprint for helping to enrich the lives of courageous kids in the Bay Area,” said Patricia Wilson, CEO, Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area. “This experience will create incredible memories for the kids and their families that will last a lifetime.”
“Sprint has provided an experience to the Salesian Boys & Girls Club that does not come around every day for these kids and we are grateful for the opportunity to share in this experience with them,” said Randal DeMartini, Executive Director of the Salesian Boys & Girls Club.
“Soccer is a universal language, and this tremendous experience presented to us by Sprint will offer youth in our program who have recently immigrated to the Unites States a chance to engage with the broader soccer community and further integrate into their new lives in the United States,” said Ben Gucciardi, Founder and Oakland Director at Soccer Without Borders.
The flag bearers’ responsibilities include leading the referees and players onto the pitch for the start of the match and to position the country flags for the playing of the national anthems of the competing teams.
All of the flag bearers and their chaperones will be provided tickets to watch the matches, meals and refreshments and uniforms.
Experience Sprint at Copa América Centenario
Sprint is creating an immersive and engaging fan experience at all three of its matches at Levi’s Stadium, which may include an interactive digital wall, 360° photo booth where fans will get digital downloads of their photos for social sharing, appearances from soccer legends, and charging stations.
In addition, Sprint will conduct 5G demonstrations on June 3 and June 6 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.
Meet a Soccer Legend at Fan HQ
Sprint is also sponsoring Copa América Centenario Fan HQ, the official fan destination for the tournament, offering free live music, merchandise, food and beverage for all soccer fans in the Bay Area. The event takes place at the San Pedro Square Market in San Jose from 6-10 pm on June 2, 7-11 pm on June 4 and 2-6 pm on June 5. Visit a local Sprint store for more promotions and to enter the Sprint Copa Sweepstakes for a chance to win a VIP trip for 2 to 2016 Copa América Centenario Final.
Sprint will give the community and soccer fans a chance to meet some of the sport’s favorite athletes on June 2 at Fan HQ including:
Landon Donovan, the all-time leader in scoring and assists for the United States men’s national soccer team, will make an appearance on June 2 from 6:30-7:30 pm.
Kasey Keller, a former goalkeeper for the United States men’s national soccer team and current Seattle Sounders’ color commentator, will make an appearance on June 2 from 6:30-8:30 pm.
Juan Pablo Angel, a former member of the Colombian national team, will make an appearance on June 2 from 8:00-9:00 pm
Additionally, the public can meet current professional soccer player Marc Pelosi on June 11 from 4:00–6:00 pm at Mi Pueblo Supermarket, 320 N. Capitol Ave., San Jose, CA 95133.
Discounted Rides to Copa
To help make the commute even easier for Bay Area soccer fans, Sprint is giving fans going to and from 2016 Copa América Centenario games 50% off their Uber ride (up to $25) when they use the code SPRINT50SF.
For Fans Unable to Attend Live, There’s fuboTV
fuboTV, a streaming service that bundles live sports and entertainment channels, will stream the Spanish-language broadcasts via Univision for all of the Copa América Centenario matches. For a limited time Sprint, Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile USA customers will have exclusive free access to a fuboTV subscription on their smartphones to watch Copa América Centenario this June.
For Sprint customers, after the free 60-day trial they will pay $9.99 per month for the fuboTV service. For more information, visit www.sprint.com/copa.
About Sprint
Sprint (NYSE: S) is a communications services company that creates more and better ways to connect its customers to the things they care about most. Sprint served more than 58.8 million connections as of March 31, 2016 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; leading no-contract brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. Sprint has been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) North America for the past five years. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.
About Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area
Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. In 2016 Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area celebrates 32 years fulfilling magical wishes. During its first year of operation, in 1984, the chapter granted 27 wishes. Now one of the largest chapters nationwide, the Greater Bay Area grants over 370 wishes per year and has granted over 7,200 wishes to date. The chapter covers 17 Northern California counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Del Norte, Humboldt, Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Marin, Monterey, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, Siskiyou, Solano and Sonoma. The goal of Make-A-Wish is to grant a wish to every eligible child. Anyone can suggest a child for a wish. For more information or to refer a child for a wish, please call 415/982-9474 or visit www.SF.Wish.org.
About the Salesian Boys & Girls Club
The Salesian Boys Club has been in existence in San Francisco for over 95 years in the North Beach district. The club was founded to help under privileged boys during the early 1900’s. In the year 1994, the club merged into the Salesian Boys’ & Girls’ Club and continues to help all children from all walks of life, ages 8-18 years old. Our goal is to groom the youth and help develop them into fine young adults keeping them off the streets of San Francisco. Today, we cater to over 200 kids daily and have a membership of over 1000 children. Although we participant in many city wide athletic leagues, soccer has become one of our popular sports and it continues to grow each year. Our motto is simply: “A structured foundation for today’s youth promises to bring a brighter future to tomorrow’s world.” http://www.salesianclub.org/
About Soccer Without Borders Oakland
Soccer Without Borders Oakland creates positive team communities for recently arrived refugee and immigrant youth. Harnessing the power of soccer as a universal language, SWB Oakland engages newcomer, English Language Learning youth from more than 25 countries. As youth adjust to their new and often difficult circumstances, their SWB team provides an avenue for positive engagement. In a safe and supportive environment, youth build meaningful friendships, community connections and powerful mentor/mentee relationships, which play an important role in their successful integration into their new lives in the US. For a more information, please visit http://www.soccerwithoutborders.org/#!oakland/c1t6r.
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