FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter has been appointed the co-chair of 1GOAL, a campaign that is championing global education.

The honour was bestowed upon the FIFA President after a meeting with Her Majesty Queen Rania Al Abdullah of Jordan, the co-founder and global co-chair of the campaign, who invited Blatter to join her in spearheading its efforts. Later, at a press conference in which his new role was confirmed, the FIFA President pledged to continue leading the quest to make education for all a key aspect of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™’s legacy.

1GOAL, which was launched by Queen Rania last August, is a FIFA-backed campaign that aims to recruit tens of millions of supporters through a mass sign-up campaign in the build-up to South Africa 2010. It encourages players and fans across the world to sign a virtual petition at the 1GOAL website on behalf of all those children who are unable to write their own names. At the heart of the campaign is the aim of securing school places for the 72 million children still denied access to basic education.