Reports say the World Cup drew in over 700 million viewers across the globe- 5,000 of those viewers happened to include soccer enthusiasts, young and old, who attended the Chicago World Cup Festival in Soldier Field this past Sunday. The event, put on by Chicago’s South African Consulate, transformed the Chicago Bear’s stadium into a proper World Cup “festival village,” with vendors, performances, and youth and adult soccer tournaments to entertain the growing crowds in the ramp up to a Finals viewing party.

And, United Against Malaria and Malaria No More were there to get on the action. With a brightly branded booth in the middle of the village, we took advantage of the buzz around the upcoming battle between Spain and the Netherlands, and had the opportunity to educate passersby about an even greater struggle taking place on the African stage-the fight against malaria.

Perhaps the great triumph on the day was when United Against Malaria and Malaria No More PSAs were showcased on the stadium Jumbotron, featuring some of the greatest heroes from this years Cup, like Emmanuel Eboué and  Kolo Touré of the Ivory Coast, and their contributions to fighting this preventable disease.

With a presence at the Speed Kick Station at youth tournaments in Salt Lake City, a messaging takeover at Soldier Field in Chicago, and United Against Malaria leadership at Soccer City for the Finals, it was hard to ignore that this weekend truly exemplified the spirit of United Against Malaria- across the globe, footballers and fans simultaneously were coming together to take on malaria. And, it’s a fight we want everyone to win.