United Nations Soccer League and Tide Detergent Kick-off Major Tournament With One `Goal' in Mind -- Good, Clean Fun!

Business/Sports Editors & Retail/Soccer Writers

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 27, 2002

Tide(R) Donates $40,000 to Expand Program's Efforts

for an Estimated 20,000 Kids

The United Nations Soccer League, with the help of a $40,000 donation from Tide, joined Senator Richard Alarcon and local city officials including Mayor of San Fernando Cindy Montanez and Councilmembers Eric Garcetti and Wendy Gruel to kick-off the second annual "Mundialito Tide 2002" children's soccer championship in North Hollywood.

"20,000 kids aged 6-19 will benefit thanks to Tide, a leading detergent among Hispanics," said Jose Roy Garcia, the founder of the United Nations Soccer League. The children and their parents from California, Nevada and even as far as Tijuana and Armenia have Garcia to thank for this valuable experience. The League is credited with steering children away from gangs and into clean, wholesome activities like soccer by ridding local parks of loiterers and drug dealers, and empowering low-income Latinos to reclaim parks for their community.

Tide is the League's largest corporate donor. "This year's tournament would not have been possible without Tide," said Garcia. "Their contribution helps foster community pride, and Tide, known for its stain removal power on clothes, is similarly helping us remove negative influences in our neighborhoods and instead promote positive activities that bring our families together."

Last year, the brand presented Garcia with a $10,000 donation at the Mary Immaculate Catholic Church festival in Pacoima. Since then, Tide's monetary contributions have quadrupled, enabling the "Mundialito Tide 2002" to expand from one championship tournament to four, with the top 11 teams from each tournament advancing to the finals.

"We are honored to join Mr. Garcia and the United Nations Soccer League in these efforts to benefit the community," said Anastasia Kitsul, Tide External Relations Manager. "Mr. Garcia has given thousands of Hispanic children an opportunity to experience the passion for soccer. At Tide, we are proud to support his cause and, of course, help moms keep the soccer uniforms clean!"

2002 Tournament Schedule

The first round of tournament games take place April 27 and 28 at Valley Plaza Recreation Center in North Hollywood, with a kick-off parade at 10 a.m. on the 27th. Round two will be held May 25-26 in Bell Gardens; round three June 1-2 in Pasadena; and round four June 29-30 in Lancaster-Palmdale. Each round will take place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on both days. The final Tide "Mundialito Tide 2002" championship game will also be held in Lancaster-Palmdale on July 4. Boys and girls amateur soccer teams from Los Angeles County, San Diego County, San Francisco and Las Vegas are participating in the tournament, and international teams from Tijuana and the Republic of Armenia will join the national teams in the finals.

United Nations Youth Organization

Garcia's dream began in 1994 when he took his two-year-old son to a North Hollywood park and witnessed children standing around while their parents drank and gambled. Since the kids had nothing to do, he went to a nearby store and purchased a soccer ball, whistle and goal posts and upon returning to the park, a dozen of the youngsters joined him to play. Garcia set a date to meet them at the park the following week and fifty youngsters were waiting for him; the following week there were 100, and another 100 the week after that. The United Nations Soccer League was born. Garcia also reached out to parents, involving them as coaches and forming teams. The League teams are now comprised of 6,000 youngsters ages six to 19, 1,500 adult men and 950 women. In addition to the United States, he now sponsors teams in El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico.

Today, the United Nations Youth Organization has close to 700 volunteers and is headquartered in North Hollywood with a paid operating staff of only three. The United Nations Soccer League is just one of the many programs that Garcia has created to unite Hispanic communities across the nation and around the world. Players and volunteers are very involved in community activities including neighborhood councils, voter registration efforts, Census 2000 and hurricane relief in El Salvador. For the future, Garcia is working on developing an indoor soccer venue, and expanding soccer activities at Hansen Dam. "This is not only about sports, it's about uniting a community," Garcia stated. Garcia arrived in the U.S. from his native El Salvador in 1981.

Tide

Tide, known for its stain removal power and support of soccer, has been involved in community sport events since 1999. "The work of Garcia and the United Nations Soccer League are an excellent fit for Tide laundry detergent's community outreach efforts," says Kitsul. With this $40,000 donation to the League, Tide has now contributed over $50,000 to the support of youth soccer activities in the Hispanic community in Los Angeles. In past years, Tide has also introduced a national campaign to restore soccer fields, provide soccer equipment and sponsor soccer safety clinics through programs such as the "Tide Renueva tus Canchas" (Tide Renews your Fields).

Tide, America's leading laundry detergent, provides outstanding cleaning performance on important laundry problems in order to keep clothes looking their absolute best. Tide WearCare serves as a compliment to the existing line of Tide power and liquid laundry products, which include Tide Mountain Spring(R), Tide with Bleach(R) and others. In addition to Tide, Procter & Gamble markets more than 250 brands to nearly five billion consumers in over 140 countries. Based in Cincinnati, Ohio, Procter & Gamble has developed some of the best-known laundry and cleaning products including Ariel(R) laundry detergent, Downy(R) fabric conditioner and Dawn(R) dishwashing detergent.

Procter & Gamble markets more than 250 brands including Pampers(R), Tide(R), Ariel(R), Always(R), Whisper(R), Pantene(R), Bounty(R), Pringles(R), Folgers(R), Charmin(R), Downy(R), Lenor(R), Iams(R), Olay(R), Crest(R), Vicks(R) and Actonel(R). P&G employs nearly 106,000 people in more than 80 countries worldwide. For more information about P&G, please visit our Web site at www.pg.com.