Ismachiah Oduwole’s Climate Ball

In North America, we typically use the word ‘soccer’ to refer to the game of football (probably because we have our own complicated version of football but that’s beside the point). For most other countries, they simply say football when referring to what we would call soccer. As the most popular sport worldwide, it isn’t surprising the FIFA World Cup is the highest-viewed sporting event in the world, surpassing the international Olympic Games. Even a change in terminology can’t stop the sport’s massive popularity.
Imagine, if you will, a football being sent all around the world to be signed by major international leaders, businessmen, and athletes- accompanied by thirteen-year-old Ismachiah Oduwole and his dream to save the world.
It all started in November of 2022, when Ismachiah’s parents surprised him with tickets to see the FIFA World Cup finals in Qatar. As an avid lover of all things football, Ismachiah was already playing with two leagues in his hometown, the Santa Clarita Valley, and dreamed of seeing the FIFA World Cup live someday. His family had been saving up for ten months in order give him a special experience he would never forget. However, what his parents didn’t realize was that Ismachiah had an idea of his own. While he was packing up for the big trip, he thought about how amazing it would be if he brought his own football, to have fans sign it and pledge to help reduce the costs of climate change. It was an incredibly lofty goal, but with the support from his family and community he was able to start collecting signatures almost immediately upon landing down in Qatar.
Once at the FIFA World Cup finals, Ismachiah launched into a frenzy finding players, sporting officials, and tons of fans to sign what he was now calling the “climate ball”. Eventually, people were lining up around the stadium to sign the ball, from all across the world, excited to participate. Ismachiah remembers being awe-struck and saying, “I don’t have a big stage to speak, but I can get everyone onto my small stage, to think about our planet, especially climate.”
After making headlines back home in California, Ismachiah set his sights on the corporate world. He began research by finding which companies already had climate initiatives and were working to set a good example for the next generation. Then he would ask the CEO’s to explain what they were doing to reduce the effects of climate change, and ask for a pledge before having them sign the climate ball.
The first company to sign the climate ball was Marriot Hotels, with their CEO Anthony Capuano pledging how his company would continue to fight against climate change with their global initiatives. The second signature came from Peter Ingram of Hawaiian Airlines who signed the ball in Honolulu in their corporate headquarters. The largest hotel resort in the United Arab Emirates, JA Resorts, was also honored to sign the climate ball in Dubai. After JA Resorts, the FedEx CEO, Raj Subramaniam, signed with a specific pledge, led by their sustainability project called “Priority Earth”.
Upon returning from the FIFA World Cup finals in December of 2022, Ismachiah has achieved his goal of raising awareness and making a difference in the name of climate change, but has continued on still. While so many adults prefer to look the other way and ignore the pressing problems of our changing environment, sometimes all it takes is a child’s perspective to make a difference. With all the wonder and simplicity of an eighth-grader, Ismachiah Oduwole and his climate ball have traveled the globe with the intention of preventing future catastrophe, and finding individuals and companies willing to pledge to do more to protect our future. 

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