UNICEF has invited footballer Lionel Messi and tennis player Serena Williams to be the ambassadors for their new campaign geared towards using education and sports to help children around the world.

The "1 in 11" campaign is named for the supposed number of children around the world who were unable to attend school, as UNICEF plans to raise funds to put up educational programs with the goal of helping these children reach their potential. The organization hopes to try and help these children in collaboration with Williams, Messi, the Reach Out to Asia foundation and the FC Barcelona Foundation.

 "I'm supporting the '1 in 11' campaign because I believe every child has the right to fulfill their potential and realize their dreams," Messi stated, "I believe that through sport we can teach values of respect, teamwork and effort, and ultimately inspire children to attend and stay on in school so they will receive quality education."

"In many countries, we take it for granted that every child has the right to receive a quality education, but '1 in 11' children around the world do not enjoy that right," Williams said, "We need to kick start global progress and get that number down to zero."

Both athletes also filmed their own versions of the "11 keep-up" campaign videos for UNICEF, with Messi doing 11 keep-ups with a soccer ball and Williams with a tennis ball and racket.

Not only that, but another campaign video will be screened at the upcoming halftime game between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona. Also, all Barcelona players continued to donate 0.5 percent of their salaries yearly to the FC Barcelona foundation.

There is also an art auction planned for February in support of the campaign. It will be held at Sotheby's and will auction off works by the likes of Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami, and Damien Hirst. The auction is expected to garner around $12 to $15 million.

Essa Al Mannai, director of Reach Out to Asia, also shared that the campaign is expected to help children (many of whom are disabled) in Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia and more.