World AIDS

About The Event

Celebrating 20 Years of Impact: Grassroot Soccer’s Eighth Annual World AIDS Day Gala is back in New York City in 2022!

This year’s event is officially sold out!!

Hosted by Seth Meyers, Award-Winning Writer and Host of “Late Night with Seth Meyers”!

The 2022 Gala will celebrate the impact of GRS programs over the past two decades while raising critical funds to ensure that every young person in Africa has the opportunity to take control of their health — and their futures. Join us for an unforgettable night of philanthropy and community and play it forward for adolescent health!

This highly anticipated annual event brings together a diverse group of high-profile individuals from the worlds of sport, entertainment, and global health, raising over $1 million each year to directly support Grassroot Soccer’s life-saving work with young people across the globe.

This year we are honoring Angel City FC Co-Founders Natalie Portman, Julie Uhrman, and Kara Nortman for their trailblazing leadership in the sports industry and tireless commitment to gender equity on and off the pitch.

Attire for the Evening: Cocktail

The health and safety of all guests and staff is our top priority. Grassroot Soccer’s World AIDS Day Gala is subject to the COVID-19 health and safety guidelines of New York City and the Ziegfeld Ballroom. 

About Grassroot Soccer

Grassroot Soccer (GRS) is an adolescent health organization that leverages the power of soccer to equip young people with the life-saving information, services, and mentorship they need to live healthier lives.

GRS was founded in 2002 by Dr. Tommy Clark and teammates Kirk Friedrich, Ethan Zohn, and Methembe Ndlovu, who witnessed the devastating effects of HIV while playing professional soccer together in Zimbabwe. After watching friends die of AIDS, Tommy and his teammates recognized that soccer — a positive force in the community — could be used to engage adolescents to stop the spread of HIV. In its 20-year evolution, GRS has established itself as a game-changer in adolescent health by empowering young people to make educated choices about their most pressing and interconnected health challenges, including HIV/AIDS, mental health, sexual and reproductive health and rights, COVID-19, gender-based violence, and malaria.

GRS’s evidence-based SKILLZ programs, led by trained local Coaches, incorporate soccer and fun into interactive and dynamic activities about health and wellness that engage young people and break down stigma and cultural barriers.

GRS works with affiliate sites in South Africa and Zambia and has also partnered with organizations in more than 60 countries. With proven results and a consistent focus on research and innovation, GRS programs have reached more than 18 million young people, building their assets (health knowledge and the confidence to use it), improving their access to high-quality health services, and increasing their adherence to crucial treatments and healthy behaviors.