Press releases

Wednesday June 4: Day three of TV, radio and podcast host Sam Thompson’s Match Ball Mission for Soccer Aid for UNICEF challenge saw him continue to battle a painful calf injury as he passed the half-way mark – raising £604,280.82 and counting!

Tuesday 3rd June: TV, radio and podcast host Sam Thompson battled through torrential downpours and a painful calf strain today, completing 72 miles of his Match Ball Mission for Soccer Aid for UNICEF - raising a total of £198,922.66 and counting!

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF condemn an attack on a joint humanitarian convoy near Al Koma, North Darfur, last night. Five members of the convoy were killed, and several more people were injured. Multiple trucks were burned, and critical humanitarian supplies were damaged.

Monday 2nd June: TV, radio and podcast host Sam Thompson has successfully made it over the finish line on day one of his mammoth ‘Match Ball Mission’ for Soccer Aid for UNICEF – raising £100,603.46 so far.

Monday 2nd June, 8:30: TV, radio and podcast host Sam Thompson set off on the toughest challenge of his life this morning: to take the Soccer Aid for UNICEF match ball more than 260 exhausting miles from last year’s stadium, Stamford Bridge in London, to the home of this year’s charity match, Old Trafford in Manchester, all to raise vital funds to support UNICEF’s work for children around the world.

BUNIA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 29 May 2025 – Intensifying conflict, inter-community fighting, and resulting displacement are depriving hundreds of thousands of children in Ituri province, eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), from obtaining an education, UNICEF warned today.

The Government must immediately remove the two-child limit and end the benefit cap to lift thousands of children out of poverty. Our research has shown children and families across the country are really struggling with parents borrowing money, skipping meals, children going without the essentials they need and starting school already behind their peers. Many are growing up in stressed and stretched households. Those most in need of support and protection continue to bear the brunt of difficult economic decisions.

TV, radio and podcast host Sam Thompson has teamed up with Olympic gold medallist and Soccer Aid for UNICEF stalwart Sir Mo Farah ahead of his ‘Match Ball Mission’ for Soccer Aid for UNICEF.

LONDON/FLORENCE, 14 May 2025 – Children in many of the world’s wealthiest countries saw marked declines in their academic performance, mental wellbeing, and physical health in the period since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to analysis published today by UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight.   UK joint second to last for teenage life satisfaction

From Monday 2nd June, TV, radio and podcast host Sam Thompson will embark on the most grueling mission of his life: to transport the Soccer Aid for UNICEF match ball more than 260 miles from last year’s stadium, Stamford Bridge in London, and deliver it to the home of this year’s match, Old Trafford in Manchester, all to raise vital funds to support UNICEF’s work for children around the world.

ROME/NEW YORK, 12 May 2025 – Populations across the Gaza Strip are at risk of famine as fighting has surged again, border crossings are still closed, and food is dangerously scarce. Hunger and malnutrition have intensified sharply since all aid was blocked from entering on 2 March, reversing the clear humanitarian gains seen during the ceasefire earlier this year.

JUBA, 8 May 2025 - More than 60,000 malnourished children in South Sudan’s Upper Nile state are at risk of plunging deeper into malnutrition as treatment supplies run critically low and resupply efforts are hampered, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF warned today. 

06 May 2025 – Today, the leading child rights organisation, UNICEF, was announced as a Team and Charity Partner of the Clipper Race once again. The announcement came ahead of the 2025-26 race season, and marks a decade of commitment from the global yacht race to advancing child rights globally.

NEW YORK, 2 May 2025 - “For two months, children in the Gaza Strip have faced relentless bombardments while being deprived of essential goods, services and lifesaving care. With each passing day of the aid blockade, they face the growing risk of starvation, illness and death – nothing can justify this.

KYIV, 24 April 2025 – “The latest in a series of attacks across Ukraine has reportedly killed three children and injured six more in the capital, Kyiv.PORT SUDAN, 1 MAY 2025- “As fighting intensifies in Darfur, children are bearing the brunt of a deepening humanitarian catastrophe. In the past three weeks, thousands of children and families have been forced to flee their homes - many for the second or third time – in search of an elusive sense of safety.

KYIV, 24 April 2025 – “The latest in a series of attacks across Ukraine has reportedly killed three children and injured six more in the capital, Kyiv.

GENEVA/NEW YORK, 24 April 2025 – Immunization efforts are under growing threat as misinformation, population growth, humanitarian crises, and funding cuts jeopardize progress and leave millions of children, adolescents, and adults at risk, warn WHO, UNICEF, and Gavi during World Immunization Week, 24-30 April.

PORT-AU-PRINCE/ NEW YORK, 17 APRIL 2025 – Over one million children are facing critical levels of food insecurity in Haiti, UNICEF estimates. Persistent armed violence, repeated displacement, and lack of sufficient humanitarian access continue to threaten vulnerable families – while the risk of famine looms.