The Green Bay Packers and the NFL are collaborating with the U.S. State Department and espnW’s Global Sports Mentorship Program to bring social entrepreneur and mentee Fouzia Madhouni from Morocco to Green Bay this week for several days of engagement and partnership.
Madhouni is the first professional African American football player 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 engaging with men to discuss the role they play in advancing gender equality. She is mentored by NFL and Packers representatives in New York and Green Bay and will work with them to develop an action plan to implement in her home country to empower women and girls through sport. .
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, October 19, she will participate in the Packers Football Awareness Camp at the Titletown Football Field for students from Hemlock Creek Elementary School. The camp will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and Madhouni will be available for media interviews.
The program, which is the Department of State’s first exchange for women in sports, is in its 10th year and is also in partnership with the Center for Sport, Peace and Society at the University of Tennessee. The program aims to empower women through sport and by harnessing the power of mentorship and cultural exchange. It helps cultivate and empower international changemakers who are on a mission to make a positive impact in their home countries.
It is one of many efforts to create new opportunities for collaboration and cooperation through sports diplomacy, a powerful tool used to support American foreign policy at home and abroad. Beginning in 2023, in coordination with NFL and U.S. embassies and consulates around the world, NFL players and coaches will engage with youth overseas through the the Department’s athletic envoy, which sends American athletes, coaches, and administrators abroad to engage youth and underrepresented communities on the field and in society about the importance of key American values, such as democracy , diversity and conflict resolution.
The NFL joins many other professional and amateur sports leagues and organizations in supporting United States sports diplomacy efforts, including Athletes Unlimited, Harlem Globetrotters, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, NASCAR, National Basketball Association, the National Collegiate Athletic Association. (NCAA), National Hockey League, 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, US Fencing American Figure Skating Association, American Football, American Ski and Snowboard Association, United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee, United States Tennis Association (USTA), United States Track and Field, Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) , the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), and the World Surfing League.
For more information, please contact the Office of Educational and Cultural Affairs at ECA-Press@state.gov and follow the Department’s Sports Diplomacy Division on Twitter @SportsDiplomacy.
