In Togo with Félix Auger-Aliassime, a tennis champion committed to youth alongside BNP Paribas%

Since 2020, Félix Auger-Aliassime, the world’s number 6 tennis player, and BNP Paribas have been supporting a solidarity programme for the promotion of education and youth protection in Togo. In December 2022, the player visited the young beneficiaries of this project.

It was in Togo, in the Kara region, that Felix Auger-Aliassime chose to spend part of his winter break, to visit young people supported by the #FAAPointsForChange solidarity programme, launched at the start of the 2020 season, in partnership with BNP Paribas and the NGO Care (the Canadian player was then ranked 22nd in the world).

Accompanied by his family, including his father who was born in Togo, some members of the NGO Care and Vincent-Baptiste Closon, Global Head of Partnerships, Events and Sponsoring at BNP Paribas, the young Canadian visited several villages where the #FAAPointsForChange programme is in place. Felix was able to meet some of the 2,500 children who benefit from the programme, thanks to his performances on the courts.

The programme included visits to the schools and learning centres supported by the programme, meetings with students and apprentices, and discussions with local community leaders. In between these meetings and encounters, Felix took part in fun events such as welcome dances and football matches. He also took the opportunity to look ahead to future actions to be carried out on site.

“For the past three years, I received photos and reports, but it’s not the same as experiencing the programme and talking to the young people who benefit from it. It’s amazing to see that we can bring change to their lives. During this visit, I saw what could be improved and fine-tuned. This is just the beginning; I hope to build something solid here.” -Félix Auger-Aliassime, world No. 6 tennis player

600 school kits handed out

300 children registered in after-school clubs

5,000 community leaders reached

2,500 young people in Togo benefit daily from the NGO Care’s programme, funded by the #FAAPointsForChange scheme. The principle is simple: every point scored by Felix Auger-Aliassime on the ATP circuit is converted into a donation: $5 by the tennis player, an amount tripled by BNP Paribas - an additional $15.

Since the launch of the programme, 16,486 points have been scored by Felix, including 6,613 in 2022 from his time on the ATP circuit. 

In Togo, Care’s teams are helping to improve the living conditions of young people in three ways: 

• Protection of children’s rights
• Access to education
• Access to sport

“At BNP Paribas, we’ve been loyal to tennis for almost 50 years. And we like this sport all the more when it enables us to mobilise actors of change and have a concrete impact locally. This is what we’re doing with Felix to help children in Togo with their education and the defence of their rights. We saw the concrete progress of the programme this week but also what still needs to be done.” -Vincent-Baptiste Closon, Global Head of Partnerships, Events and Sponsoring

“At BNP Paribas, we’ve been loyal to tennis for almost 50 years. And we like this sport all the more when it enables us to mobilise actors of change and have a concrete impact locally.“