Former All Black Captain Richie McCaw has joined international sports stars Lydia Ko, Dan Carter and former Prime Minister Sir John Key, in a drive to create hope and inspire people through sport.
As ambassador for the International Sports Promotion Society (ISPS Handa) McCaw will highlight the positive impact that sport has to bring people together and unite communities around the world, particularly in communities that have experienced hardship in natural disasters just like his home town of Christchurch, New Zealand.
“As we near the anniversary of the Christchurch earthquake this month it’s important we take the time to reflect but also celebrate how far Canterbury has come in the rebuild efforts and the exciting future ahead. I’m excited to work with ISPS Handa to highlight the hardships that people face in natural disasters but also celebrate the power that sport has to bring people together” McCaw said.
ISPS Handa is a global organisation, founded by Dr Haruhisa Handa, and committed to developing sporting, cultural and humanitarian programmes around the world. ISPS Executive Director of International Affairs Midori Miyazaki was delighted to welcome the former All Black Captain and most capped test rugby player of all time.
“Dr Handa is thrilled to have Richie McCaw join his stable of world class ambassadors representing ISPS Handa. “Recently Richie McCaw flew our patron Sir John Key via helicopter over Christchurch where Richie and John were able to talk about their experiences first hand of the Christchurch earthquake. Richie guided the helicopter to show John all the incredible rebuild efforts and discussed how they can continue to work together with the support of ISPS Handa to unite the community” Miyazaki said.
Sir John Key has been a patron and global ambassador for ISPS Handa since 2016 and was instrumental in forging the relationship between Carter and ISPS Handa in 2018 and now McCaw. Sir John’s role for the organisation is to break down educational and cultural barriers through sport, and he identified McCaw as the perfect partner to complement this work.
Canterbury and its people are famous for how they get behind sport whether it be down at the local school or sports club on the weekends or getting behind one of the many incredible athletes or teams representing the region and New Zealand. To have Richie alongside us now with ISPS Handa is tremendous – I’ve personally seen the impact he’s had on Canterbury, the nation and around the world and we want to continue to build on that” Key said.
ISPS Handa is a significant contributor in the development of sport in New Zealand and invests in various sporting bodies in New Zealand, including the recently announced NZOC, NZ Football and the Halberg Foundation.
Globally, the organisation supports the Invictus Games, Sentebale Royal Salute Polo Cup, World Sports Values Summit for Peace and Development and various international golfing tournaments, with an emphasis on blind and disabled golf.
