The FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™ will take place in nine cities throughout France from 7 June through 7 July, including Paris, Lyon and Nice. As the official automotive partner of FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™, Hyundai Motor will partner with the FIFA World Football Museum to present a special exhibition on the history of women’s football in Paris, ‘The Women’s Game’. The special exhibition will take place at Nelson Mandela Park in Les Halles, Paris, where Hyundai Motor have installed a pavilion with automotive airbags materials. The material used on the facade of the building will be upcycled as eco-friendly products for distribution to the local community once the exhibition has concluded. Upcycling, collecting the waste materials after the exhibition and transforming them into new lifestyle products, is well-designed to fit trends pursued by the younger generation.
‘We will hold a “True Passion” campaign during the World Cup to support the female footballers' competitiveness and their passion for sports’, stated Hyundai Motors. ‘As part of the “True Passion” campaign, the special exhibition will support female footballers and showcase their strengths, as athletes who have broken through barriers and challenged dominant stereotypes that forces women to stay beautiful, accepting their greatness just as they are’.
A key programme of the exhibition will be the archive section in which to watch women’s footballing history. The archival exhibition will be divided into three different chapters: the history before the first official tournament in 1991; the history of the FIFA Women’s World Cup from 1991 to 2015; the current tournament in France 2019. Each section will reveal unique and original objects as well as documentation of female footballers, all of whom have struggled against social prejudice.
In addition to the archive programme, the three most important trophies in the history of women’s football and the shirts of the 24 participating teams at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019 will be displayed. In the trophy zone, visitors will be able to see the current FIFA Women’s World Cup Trophy and the ‘Golden Angel’ Trophy, which was the prize at the first unofficial Women's World Championship in 1970, and the first FIFA Women’s World Cup Trophy made in 1991. The trophy and memorabilia exhibited in the museum were brought from the original FIFA World Football Museum located in Zurich, Switzerland, which provided a special opportunity for visitors to see the historical artifacts as part of the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™.
As a special feature, a portrait by the UK artist Rachel Gadsden of the legendary women’s footballer, Mia Hamm, will be on display at the exhibition. Mia Hamm, the former striker of the U.S. national team, is considered the best female footballer in history. Born with a clubfoot, Mia became a legend of U.S. women’s football, winning two FIFA Women’s World CupTM trophies, and two Olympic gold medals.
Coincidentally, Rachel Gadsden, born with a lung condition and slowing losing her sight, has also overcome obstacles to communicate with those who are behind the light, confronting their own challenges. Rachel Gadsden and Mia Hamm represent the women who pursue ‘True Passion’ in the face of adversity.
‘Throughout the FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019™, Hyundai Motor has made its long-held support for women’s dignity and equal rights part of its mission through the True Passion campaign’, said Wonhong Cho, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Hyundai Motors. ‘We will put more effort into growing as a company, dedicated to strengthening women’s capabilities all around the world’.
This is not the first time that Hyundai Motor is running a campaign in support of women’s dignity and equal rights. Last year, when Saudi women were granted the right to drive, Hyundai Motors launched a #WhatsNext campaign to encourage and support Saudi women to further accomplish their goals. <by editorial team>
Exterior of FIFA World Football Museum, ⓒKisu Park
Interior of FIFA World Football Museum, ⓒKisu Park