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July 7, 2010

DiNAPOLI LAUNCHES “FINANCIAL SOCCER”
INTERACTIVE GAME
Teams with FIFA, Visa to Help Young People
Develop Financial Literacy

New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli
joined in the excitement of the 2010 FIFA World Cup today by launching
Financial
Soccer,an educational video
game developed in partnership with Visa Inc. and the Federation Internationale
de Football Association (FIFA) to help educate young people about personal
finance. The game can be played through DiNapoli’s Your
Money New York Web site.

“Now more than ever, it’s important for
every New Yorker – young and old – to understand how money works,” DiNapoli
said. “Financial Soccer is a great way to get students and soccer
fans interested in personal finances and give them a financial playbook
they can use for the rest of their lives.”

Financial Soccer combines the world's
most popular sport with a high-quality financial literacy curriculum to
create an innovative approach to help children and adults learn about personal
finance. The game contains comprehensive money management resources and
lesson plans tailored for use at home and in the classroom.

DiNapoli said Financial Soccer, which
is available online at www.yourmoneynewyork.com,
challenges players to answer fast-paced, multiple-choice money management
questions correctly to advance down the field for a chance to score a goal.
Financial Soccer offers single player and head-to-head game play
options and is being translated into a dozen different languages. This
free game features three difficulty levels – geared to children, teens
and adults – and has companion lesson modules for classroom use. Players
learn key concepts about saving, responsible spending, budgeting, and the
wise use of credit.
"We share Comptroller DiNapoli’s deep
commitment to promoting financial literacy and we are pleased to be working
with him on the Financial Soccer video game,” said Jason Alderman,
Senior Director of Financial Education, Visa Inc. "It is critical,
especially in today's challenging economic environment, that everyone have
access to the tools and resources they need to make informed financial
decisions."

Financial Soccer is DiNapoli’s second
collaborative effort on an interactive game teaching young New Yorkers
about money management skills.  The first was Financial Football,
an NFL-themed, interactive, money management video game, targeted toward
improving financial literacy among high school students. DiNapoli and Visa
worked together in December 2009 to distribute Financial Football
to all high schools in New York State.

About DiNapoli’s Your Money New York
Web site: The easy-to-use, multilingual site covers credit cards and
consumer debt, home mortgages, savings and investments, insurance and protection
against identity theft and financial scams. It also provides access to
interactive calculators and DiNapoli’s Open Book New York Web site,
which brings detailed information on State and local government finances
to taxpayers through a centralized, user-friendly platform.  Visit
www.yourmoneynewyork.com
to link to Financial Soccer.

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