Mislabeled Super Bowl Championship Gear to Go to Impoverished
Sunday's Steelers vs. Packers game is expected to break the record of the most viewers in U.S. television history.
But as millions of Americans anticipate watching the Super Bowl game, taking place tonight in North Texas, people in Africa and Latin America are anticipating the game's end.
That's because the losing team's pre-printed championship clothing will be donated to Zambia, Armenia, Nicaragua and Romania.
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The National Football League is continuing its more than 15-year partnership with World Vision to put the multimillion dollar merchandise, that would otherwise be thrown out, to good use.
And for a lot of the recipients, this would be their first time having brand new clothing, according to David Krichavsky, NFL Director of Community Affairs.
Jeff Fields, World Vision's senior director for corporate relations, said in a statement, "This is a great opportunity to show people that they are cared for and that their wellbeing is a priority.
"Having personally distributed the Super Bowl gear overseas in years past, I have seen how much joy the children and families get out of receiving new clothes."
Some of the countries that have received mislabeled championship clothing from the Super Bowl include El Salvador, Indonesia and Haiti.
"World Vision is incredibly thankful the NFL is working with us to help others around the world," Fields commented. "We work in the most impoverished areas of nearly 100 countries, so we already have all the systems in place to identify families and distribute these brand new clothes to them."
The NFL isn't the only philanthropic organization. Reebok, Sports Authority, Dick's and Modell's are also among companies that donate the losing team's apparel, which are typically stocked in anticipation of either team winning the big game.
The items will be shipped from the host city to World Vision's international distribution center in Pittsburgh and then sent overseas.
World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization, has also partnered with the AFC and NFC in similar ways.
The Pittsburgh Steelers face off against the Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XLV at 6:30 p.m. ET on FOX.
