Youth advocates join global ‘Kick Big Soda Out’ movement during FIFA World Cup

On Saturday, July 11, young people, medical  students, and members of the Barbados Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition, added  their voices to a global activation against Big Soda’s ongoing sponsorship of the world’s  most-watched sporting event. With approximately 42% of Barbadian children overweight  or obese, youth advocates say the stakes of sugary drink marketing are not abstract — they are visible in clinics, classrooms, and communities across the island. 

As part of the activation, youth advocates from the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Barbados’  Childhood Obesity Prevention Programme hosted a symbolic 5-a-side futsal match at The Oasis  Football Turf. The event introduced participants and spectators to the Kick Big Soda Out  campaign while amplifying ongoing advocacy efforts to restrict unhealthy food and beverage  marketing in school environments. As of July 13th 2026, 706 399 individuals have signed on to  support the campaign globally, while 104 organizations are also supporting the campaign. 

The local futsal match featured two teams representing Ross University School of Medicine and  the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Faculty of Medical Sciences. Players wore  jerseys displaying messages such as “Excess Sugar,” “Blood Sugar Spike,” and “Plastic  Pollution,” highlighting some of the health and environmental harms associated with the  excessive consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. 

Throughout the event, youth advocates engaged spectators with campaign placards and  educational messaging, sharing key facts about childhood obesity, sugar consumption, and the  growing burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in Barbados. The event encouraged the  public to consider an important question: Should products that contribute to poor health be  promoted through sport? 

Advocates also spoke with spectators about the importance of protecting children and young  people from unhealthy beverage marketing and invited them to support the Kick Big Soda Out  campaign, which calls for the removal of unhealthy beverage sponsorship and marketing from  major international sporting events. 

“When you think about it, sports has always been infiltrated by soda companies, it’s something  that is a culture and we think it’s a given, but when you think about it, Big Soda literally has no  place in athletics, in sports. It [Big Soda] influences our health, which at the end of the day we are  nothing without our health” said one advocate. 

Team captains also expressed their support for creating sporting environments that prioritize  health and wellbeing. The UWI Team captain said, “Everybody loves football, I don’t think I’ve met  anybody that hates football. And to have a big platform with almost billions of people watching it.

“I think that advocacy starts with the masses, and to bring the masses into this promotion of healthy  habits is the biggest way to combat them [Big Soda].” 

The Kick Big Soda Out campaign continues to urge international sporting organizations, including  FIFA and the International Olympic Committee, to pursue sponsorships that promote health and  wellbeing rather than partnerships with unhealthy food and beverage companies whose products  contribute to the global burden of obesity and non-communicable diseases. Youth-led activation  events are also being held in Brazil, Colombia, South Africa and Trinidad and Tobago.

(PR)