A campaign launched by Paddy Power which sees the sportsbook operator donating £10,000 to LGBT+ charitable causes has made £80,000 for those charities already.Paddy Power had stated that, due to the expected poor quality of the Russian side, they would donate a minimum of £50,000, but after Russia scored five in their first game alone, and have added another three since, the total is now up at £80,000 with the possibility to rise further!
Challenging prejudices
The campaign, which is being run alongside Attitude Magazine’s Foundation, looks to challenge LGBT+ prejudices within football.PR and UK Mischief Maker at Paddy Power, Amy Jones, said of the campaign:“Following the host’s first game against Saudi Arabia – where they netted five – it was announced that £10,000 of the money will fund 20 members of the LGBT+ community to become fully qualified referees.”So, thank you to Denis Cheryshev (who has topped up the fund by £30,000 himself so far), Artem Dzyuba and Ahmed Fathi’s own goal last night for their contributions to the campaign…Just keep on scoring lads!”
Popular campaign
The campaign from Paddy Power proved instantly popular, especially after amusing quotes from a Paddy Power Spokesman, who said:“Given they invented Russian Dolls, you’d be forgiven for thinking Russia wouldn’t have an issue with women being into other women.“Likewise, their appreciation for bears is one shared around the world by the LGBT+ population, so it really is astonishing that they have not used their stewardship of this tournament to champion LGBT+ inclusivity.“As a result, we’ve stepped in to help. When Russia Put-in a goal, we’ll Put-in £10,000 to Attitude magazine’s Foundation, who will use the funds to make football more LGBT+ inclusive. I cannot wait to see the LGBT+ community get behind the Russians – or the Russians’ baffled reaction.”