Chelsea Football Club has teamed up with their official international charity partner, Right To Play to support the United Against Malaria initiative.

United Against Malaria is a partnership of influential leaders, politicians, organisations, and sporting stars that have joined forces ahead of the World Cup in South Africa with the objective of tackling a disease that kills an African child every thirty seconds.

The campaign aims to change people's behaviour by encouraging families to sleep under nets and take other steps to beat the disease by the next World Cup in 2014.

Vestergaard Frandsen, have donated 3,000 PermaNets - long-lasting insecticide treated mosquito nets - which will be distributed by Right To Play as they deliver sport themed educational programmes in some of the 23 countries they work across, including Ghana, Mozambique and Uganda. Additional nets have been donated to Michael Essien and Didier Drogba Foundations to help children in Ghana and the Ivory Coast.

Striker Didier Drogba welcomed the initiative: “It is an important message we have to send. A net can seem like nothing but at the same time it can save a lot of lives just by protecting people when they sleep. It is very important in countries where malaria happens more. My foundation is involved because the objective of the foundation is health. We buy a lot of nets to give to people every year to help prevent malaria.”

Chelsea's Right To Play ambassador Michael Essien has also lent his support to the campaign: "We are very excited to be able to play a role in this campaign. It’s fantastic that Right To Play have been given these nets to distribute- it will help save so many lives. On a personal note it’s great that my foundation will have the nets to give to give out across the projects we are running. We recognise that if we are to reach our goal to virtually end malaria deaths it requires a huge effort from every individual. It is exciting to see how through sport and in particular football, we can help bring awareness to this campaign.”

As series of information cards have also been produced to be given out alongside the nets featuring African sport stars including Drogba, Essien and Haile Gebrselassie Right To Play have designed specific play and education programmes based on simple children's games of tag to promote better understanding of the disease amongst children.

The games are designed to provide children with a better understanding of the way malaria is transmitted in an informal but meaningful manner where they try to avoid being caught by a 'mosquito'. Once tagged, the children must join the 'mosquito' and link arms to continue tagging the other children. This simple game helps children deal with complex questions and provides them with opportunities to talk and ask questions about the disease.

As part of the worldwide launch, the United Against Malaria Team was be led by 12-year-old Charles Ssali, a malaria survivor and top footballer in his age group in his native Uganda, one of the top five malaria endemic countries in the world. Charles visited a Right To Play program site in Ethiopia and participated in a malaria prevention game with nearly 3000 children. From Ethiopia he travelled to New York & Brussels before arriving in South Africa for the World Cup draw.

"I love football, but I hate malaria", said Charles. "I love playing football with my friends, but sometimes my friends are too sick from malaria to play."

It is hoped that through Right To Play and Chelsea Football Club combined support for United Against Malaria thousands of lives may be saved.