UP Warriorz Dedicate WPL Match to Champion Girls' Education & Second Chances

Saturday's match against the Mumbai Indians is rooted in the belief that every girl deserves her moment, both on the field and in life.

This initiative is centred on the Warriorz' continuous collaboration with Educate Girls, a grassroots organisation dedicated to enhancing educational access for girls in underserved communities. The partnership emphasises open schooling as a vital route for girls who have left formal education because of social, economic, or personal reasons.

Open schooling allows learners to complete their 10th and 12th grades without attending traditional daily school, providing flexibility, credibility, and affordable access. For many adolescent girls, young women, including athletes, caregivers, and first-generation learners, this model offers a second opportunity to pursue education in a way that aligns with their lives.

Educate Girls operates in 12 states to enhance the open schooling system and aims to achieve its ambitious 10x10 goal of reaching 10 million learners within 10 years, emphasising education as a lifelong opportunity instead of a one-time pathway.

By utilising the reach and scale of the WPL, the UP Warriorz use broadcast channels, in-stadium experiences, and fan engagement now to elevate this vital conversation into the mainstream, advancing from merely raising awareness to promoting advocacy.

Before the match, the team steps onto the field wearing a limited-edition jersey made exclusively for this event. Created in partnership with well-known artist Harun Robert, also called Rob, the jersey displays sections of handwritten letters from girls linked to Educate Girls. These letters, addressed to their future selves, are filled with dreams, hopes, and ambitions. The jersey acts as a symbol of aspiration, bringing the voices of girls to the centre of cricket's grand stage.

Speaking about the association, Safeena Husain, Founder and Board Member of Educate Girls, said, "When girls see their dreams reflected on a platform as powerful as the WPL, it sends a powerful message that their voices and their aspirations matter. This partnership with UP Warriorz helps reframe education as a lifelong promise, not a one-time event, and shows that with flexible, accessible, second-chance programs, learning can begin, pause, and restart at any stage of a girl's life."

Through this special match on Saturday, the UP Warriorz reaffirm their commitment to leveraging sport as a means for meaningful change, ensuring that as women's cricket expands, its influence extends beyond the boundary.

- IANS