Visa Canada has launched Financial Soccer, a FIFA World Cup-inspired educational online video game that helps youth and adults learn about financial management skills.
The Canadian edition launched Monday and can be played for free at FinancialSoccer.ca. Players can pick which team they want to represent and play in either single or head-to-head mode.
Questions cover a range of topics like mortgages, debt, life insurance, taxes and credit cards.
Toronto FC midfielder Julian de Guzman and Yasir Naqvi, parliamentary assistant to the Ontario minister of revenue, visited St. Mary’s Catholic Secondary School yesterday to give students a preview of the game and teach them the fundamentals of money management.
“My biggest piece of advice for young adults is to learn the basics–create a budget and stick to it,” said de Guzman, in a release. “Visa is helping teens to make smart, informed money decisions as they plan their future.”
Visa has been promoting financial literacy in Canada since 1996 through projects such as PracticalMoneySkills.ca, which provides free educational resources including cost calculators, budget templates and quizzes.
“We have made a global commitment to reach 20 million people by 2013 with our financial literacy programs, and the launch of Financial Soccer in Canada is just another resource that will help us achieve that goal,” said Tim Wilson, head of Visa Canada, in a release.
The Canadian launch marks the one-month countdown to the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, of which Visa is a partner.
Visa is promoting the game with media outreach programs managed by Fleishman-Hillard.
The game has already been played over one million times globally.
