In a unique style of sponsorship the UEFA Europa League teamed-up with Western Union to give football fans an opportunity to turn their passion for football into a force for good. The Show Your PASSion campaign turns fan tweets into funds for better education across the world.

Western Union, the global payment service and partner of the UEFA League, will convert every relevant tweet into support for UNICEF education programs for disadvantaged children around the world and will raise awareness for global education issues. The campaign expertly creates public involvement with both the partnership and the wider issues.

The campaign builds on Western Union’s existing Pass initiative, which turns every pass on the pitch during the UEFA Europa League into better education. The initiative aims to deliver one million passes for better education by the end of this year’s UEFA League final on 27 May.

World Cup winner, Patrick Vieira, is ambassador for the campaign, he says, “When it comes to the knock-out stage of any competition, the fans make a huge difference at home and away. Not every fan can be at the ground, but Show Your PASSion means every fan can make a difference through making their voice heard on Twitter. I’ve seen first-hand the difference the Pass campaign and UNICEF are making in the lives of the world’s youth and I encourage fans to Show Your PASSion and support the campaign.”

Each club in the tournament was allocated a supporter hashtag relevant to its fan base, each time that hashtag is used on Twitter, for as long as the club remains in the league, the Pass campaign will convert that tweet into support for UNICEF education programs. The Pass initiative is a key part of Western Union’s broader Education for Better program, launched at the UN General Assembly in September 2012.

Marc Audrit, head of brand at Western Union, says, “Throughout the three seasons of our sponsorship, the players’ passes on the pitch have helped Western Union’s Pass initiative fund more than 500,000 passes for better education, delivered through our partnership with UNICEF. To reach our final goal of one million passes, just like the teams that make it through the knock-out stages, the support of the fans will be get us over the line.”