Official Match Day Partnership to inspire packed Accor stadium to 'Use Your Muscles for Those Who Can't'
The FSHD Global Research Foundation will kick off its re-imagined Squat Challenge this September in spectacular fashion as the Official Match Day Partner for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs' home clash against the Brisbane Broncos at Accor Stadium on Thursday, 3 September.
In a powerful display of community support, 100 participants wearing orange FSHD Global Research Foundation shirts will take to the field during halftime to lead a mass squat challenge, joined by Bulldogs mascots, cheerleaders and special guests. A packed Accor Stadium will be encouraged to stand up and squat in solidarity with the 3,000 Australians living with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD).
Celebrity ambassadors including club legend Josh Reynolds will lead the activation alongside Terry Lamb, encouraging fans to use their muscles for those who can’t.
FSHD is one of the most common forms of muscular dystrophy, progressively weakening muscles throughout the body. For many people living with FSHD, everyday movements such as smiling, blinking, raising their arms, walking and even performing a simple squat become impossible.
The September Squat Challenge asks Australians to complete squats throughout September while raising funds to accelerate research into treatments and, ultimately, a cure for FSHD.
Research supported by FSHD Global Research Foundation is also advancing the broader field of muscle regeneration, with the potential to benefit people recovering from sports injuries, illness and age-related muscle loss.
Emma Weatherley, CEO of FSHD Global Research Foundation, said the Bulldogs partnership provides an incredible platform to raise awareness of a disease that remains largely unknown, despite affecting thousands of Australians.
"Every person in the stadium can do something incredibly simple that many Australians living with FSHD cannot—a squat."
"By taking part, fans will be helping to fund world-leading research that is bringing us closer than ever to treatments for FSHD while also advancing muscle regeneration research that has the potential to benefit everyone."
The Squat Challenge first launched in 2020 and has become the Foundation's flagship community fundraising campaign. This year's re-imagined campaign aims to inspire Australians to complete 3,000 squats during September—representing the more than 3,000 Australians currently living with FSHD. Whether participants choose 100 squats each day or simply challenge themselves to move more throughout the month, every squat helps support vital research.
Bulldogs CEO, Aaron Warburton, said the Club was proud to partner with the Foundation.
We're proud to partner with FSHD Global for this Match Day. Our game is built on what the body can do. Our squad gets through thousands of squats every season without a second thought, and this Foundation is fighting for people who've had that ability taken from them. That's why we're asking everyone at Accor to do the one thing so many Australians living with FSHD can't.
Australians across the country are invited to join the challenge online throughout September.
Registrations for the September Squat Challenge are now open at GivingLifetoMuscles.org
For more information about FSHD Global Research Foundation, visit fshdglobal.org.
