The Green Bay Packers and the NFL are collaborating with the U.S. Department of State and espnW's Global Sports Mentoring Program to bring social entrepreneur and mentee Fouzia Madhouni of Morocco to Green Bay this week for several days of engagement and partnership.
Madhouni is the first professional African player of American football and Founder of 'We Can Morocco,' an organization that empowers girls and women to realize their potential through leadership courses and American football sessions while also engaging with men to discuss the role they play in advancing gender equality. She is being mentored by NFL and Packers representatives in New York and Green Bay and will work with them to craft an action plan to implement in her home country to empower women and girls through sports.
Madhouni attended Sunday's game at Lambeau Field, and she will spend this week connecting with various Packers departments and networking with members of the organization. On Wednesday, Oct. 19, she will assist with the Packers Football Outreach Camp at the football field at Titletown for Hemlock Creek Elementary School students. The camp will take place from 9:30-11 a.m., and Madhouni will be available for media interviews.
The program, which is the Department of State's premier exchange for women in sport, is in its 10th year and is also partnered with the Center for Sport, Peace and Society at the University of Tennessee. The program aims to empower women through sports and by leveraging the power of mentoring and cultural exchange. It helps to cultivate and empower international change makers who are on a mission to make a positive impact in their home country.
It is one of a number of efforts to create new opportunities for collaboration and cooperation through sports diplomacy, a powerful tool used to support U.S. foreign policy at home and abroad. Beginning in 2023, in coordination with the NFL and U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide, NFL players and coaches will engage with youth overseas through the Department's Sports Envoy Program, which sends U.S. athletes, coaches, and administrators abroad to engage youth and underrepresented communities on the field and in society on the importance of key American values, such as democracy, diversity, and conflict resolution.
The NFL joins numerous other professional and amateur sports leagues and organizations in supporting the United States' sports diplomacy efforts, including Athletes Unlimited, the Harlem Globetrotters, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, NASCAR, the National Basketball Association, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Hockey League, the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), Special Olympics, USA Boxing, USA Cycling, USA Hockey, USA Rugby, USA Skateboarding, USA Softball, USA Swimming, USA Volleyball, USA Wrestling, U.S. Fencing Association, U.S. Figure Skating, U.S. Soccer, U.S. Ski and Snowboard, U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, U.S. Tennis Association (USTA), U.S. Track and Field, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), the Women's Tennis Association (WTA), and the World Surf League.
For more information, please contact the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at ECA-Press@state.gov and follow the Department's Sports Diplomacy division on Twitter @SportsDiplomacy.
