Magic Bus, India, Vettel, the heroes at Laureus Awards Gala at KL

 

LAUREUS SPORT FOR GOOD AWARD PROVES
JUST THE TICKET FOR SPACIE’S MAGIC BUS

• Sports-based project is transforming the lives of young children in India
• Magic Bus a strategic partner of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation
• ‘This is a magical moment for the Magic Bus’ – says Matthew Spacie
• Global TV audience watches Laureus Awards Ceremony in Kuala Lumpur

KUALA LUMPUR, March 26, 2014 – The great success achieved by Magic Bus, an innovative project that is transforming the lives of hundreds of thousands of underprivileged children in India, has been recognised at the Laureus World Sports Awards with the presentation of the Laureus Sport for Good Award.

Magic Bus, founded by Englishman Matthew Spacie and based in Mumbai, aims to take children out of poverty through a programme of mentoring and coaching. Since 2001, the Magic Bus programme has grown to embrace over 300,000 children in 12 states each week and Spacie’s ambition now is to reach out to one million children by 2016.

Magic Bus, which has received funding from Laureus since its inauguration and which has been a strategic partner of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation for five years, is the product of Spacie’s fascination for India which began when, as a 17-year-old taking a break from academic studies, he worked in the Howrah leprosy centre near Kolkata.

Later, while playing rugby for Bombay Gymkhana Club, Spacie sought to use the offer of involvement in the game to improve the prospects of young boys living on the streets and in slums

Magic Bus, which now looks after both boys and girls, was born out of that initiative and Spacie has plans to extend the idea, centred around sports-based activities and a solid contingent of volunteers, to other countries.

After receiving his Award from Edwin Moses, Chairman of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Spacie said: “Fifteen years ago the Magic Bus was started because outside my office there were 15 street boys who one day decided that they wanted to change their journey in life.

“It is now an organisation which has 300,000 children every single week attending our programme on this amazing journey from childhood all the way to livelihood and out of poverty.

“It is a great tribute to the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation that they see the longevity of partnerships like Magic Bus which shape the destiny of so many young people. This Award is really for the tens of thousands of young people in our programme who graduate every year and who have decided to shape their own future.

“Thank you very much to the Academy. This is a magical moment for the Magic Bus.

The Laureus World Sports Awards are the premier honours on the international sporting calendar.   The winners are chosen by the Laureus World Sports Academy, the ultimate sports jury, made up of 46 of the greatest living sportsmen and sportswomen. Proceeds from the Laureus World Sports Awards directly benefit and underpin the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. Since its inception, Laureus has raised €60 million for projects which have improved the lives of millions of young people.

The Awards Ceremony was held at the Istana Budaya, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and was hosted by British actor Benedict Cumberbatch. Oscar and Grammy winner Jamie Foxx performed to the star-studded audience. German actor Daniel Brühl, who played Niki Lauda in the film Rush, was present along with Chinese supermodel and actress Du Juan.

The members of the Laureus World Sports Academy present were: Giacomo Agostini, Bobby Charlton, Sebastian Coe, Nadia Comaneci, Deng Yaping, Kapil Dev, Mick Doohan, Sean Fitzpatrick, Dawn Fraser, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Tony Hawk, Michael Johnson, Franz Klammer, Edwin Moses (Chairman), Ilie Nastase, Alexey Nemov, Morné du Plessis, Hugo Porta, Mark Spitz, Daley Thompson and Steve Waugh.

Other sports guests included:
Vitor Baia, Robert Baker, Kenny Belaey, Jamie Bestwick, Marie Bochet, Ronald de Boer, Annabelle Bond, Daniel Brühl, Bob Burnquist, Eric Cantona, Fabio Capello, Dan Carter, Lee Chong Wei, David Coulthard, Johan Cruyff, Nicol David, Deng Yaping, Du Juan, Paulo Ferreira, Nacho Figueras, Emerson Fittipaldi, Missy Franklin, Maya Gabeira, Stephanie Gilmore, Ruud Gullit, Lewis Hamilton, Raphael Holzdeppe, Nico Hülkenberg , Philip Köster, Michael Laudrup, Tegla Loroupe, Steve McManaman, Marc Márquez, Felipe Massa, Gaizka Mendieta, Luis Milla, Hidetoshi Nakata, Antonis Nikopolidis, Sophie Pascoe, Nico Rosberg, Sarah Louise Rung, Axel Schulz, Jimmy Spithill, Angelika Timanina, Sebastian Vettel.

Among other guests present were Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Prime Minister of Malaysia; YB Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar, Malaysia Minister for Youth and Sports; YB Dato’ Seri Mohamed Nazri, Malaysia Minister of Tourism and Culture.

The Awards were announced in seven categories. The winners are:
Laureus World Sportsman of the Year: Sebastian Vettel
Laureus World Sportswoman of the Year: Missy Franklin
Laureus World Team of the Year: Bayern Munich
Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year: Marc Márquez
Laureus World Comeback of the Year: Rafael Nadal
Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability: Marie Bochet
Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year: Jamie Bestwick

There were two additional Awards: the Laureus Spirit of Sport Award was presented to the Afghanistan Cricket Team and the Laureus Sport for Good Award was presented to Magic Bus, the sports-based community project in India.

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