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Brazilian legend helps Shell open new player powered football pitch

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The unquestioned king of Brazilian football has partnered with the global energy behemoth Shell in order to help open the world's first completely player-powered community football pitch in the centre of Rio Di Janeiro's impoverished favela in an effort to discover and nurture the country's future footballing superstars. The field utilises 200 kinetic energy-absorbing tiles placed beneath the surface of the pitch to draw energy from player movement, which helps to keep the pitch lit at night, keeping young players safe.

An introduction to the player powered pitch

The pitch is part of Shells 'Make the Future' programme, which the company created to inspire young people to use the power of science and engineering to develop the energy solutions of the future. Pele himself attended the opening of the pitch and said that the pitch underlined how football, which is the country's biggest passion, “Has gone through so much technological innovation” since the last time he put on a green and yellow kit. He added that the community “Will now be able to use this sports facility as a safe gathering place - all thanks to the floodlights powered by the community's football players."

Pele himself attended the opening of the pitch and said that the pitch underlined how football, which is the country's biggest passion, “Has gone through so much technological innovation” since the last time he put on a green and yellow kit.

Andre Araujo, country chair of Shell Brazil, believes that “By 2050, the world will be using 75 per cent more energy than it does now,” and understands that “Meeting that extra demand will require a set of energy sources, and a new generation of scientists and engineers with the passion, ideas and innovation to develop it.” He feels that “The pitch proves the potential and power when scientists and entrepreneurs focus their efforts to develop creative and innovative energy solutions,” and says that Shell hope to capture the attention of young people around the world by utilising the global passion and enthusiasm for the sport.

LEGO: Everything is NOT Awesome

It would appear that the Make the Future programme is part of a notable effort on Shell's part to distance itself from its own corporate image, which was tarnished somewhat earlier this summer when Greenpeace gathered outside of the company's London headquarters to protest the oil-giants partnership with Lego. The petition requesting Lego to end its partnership with Shell gathered nearly 700,000 signatures after Greenpeace released its controversial “Everything is NOT Awesome” short.

Official Shell Website

Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and musician from Kidderminster in the UK. After watching that Lego short the Lego movie has now officially been ruined for him.

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