As part of the Bundesliga’s globalisation measures, VfB is supporting a number of projects to promote sport and inclusion in various parts of the world, including Kenya, Japan and Brazil. VfB brand ambassador Cacau, who made 346 appearances for VfB and won 23 caps for Germany but grew up in Sao Paulo, has created his own ‘Instituto Sementinha’ foundation to promote and implement social projects.
As part of the ‘Sports for Life’ project, Cacau’s foundation recently held a futsal tournament in conjunction with the municipal department for sport and leisure (SMEL), represented by minister for sport Gustavo Nogueira, and the VfB Foundation in Mogi das Cruzes. A hundred schoolkids from the ‘Sports for Life’ and ‘Ceu das Artes’ social projects took part in the ‘Trofeo Cacau’ tournament. Cacau himself was present on-site at the inaugural edition of the event. Matches were played in festival format, meaning that all of the teams played one another and no-one was eliminated early.
The aim of the event was to promote interaction between the projects and physical activity in general. The schoolkids were also given the opportunity to experience football in a professional environment and to talk with a former top-level sportsman. As such, Cacau made himself available for a question-and-answer session and a television interview during his visit to the tournament, as well as taking part in the matches and then handing out the awards to all the participants along with VfB shirts, and posing for photos and autographs. The event concluded with a meal for all involved at the ‘José Carlos Miller da Silveira-Tuta’ sports centre.