This morning, I joined a 12-year-old Ugandan soccer star, a giant mosquito and the commissioner of Major League Soccer, among many others, for breakfast at the ESPN Zone in Times Square for the U.S. launch of the United Against Malaria campaign.

As covered before on the ONE Blog, United Against Malaria is an effort that aims to kick the world into high gear to beat malaria by leveraging soccer and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Like any good squad, United Against Malaria is fielding a versatile group of players, including soccer stars, government officials, celebrities, corporations and NGOs, including ONE.

Many people representing this diverse partnership were at today’s launch, but perhaps the biggest star was the smallest person in the room. Charles Ssali, a 12-year-old soccer player from Uganda, is the “global emissary” for United Against Malaria. Charles wears number five for his local youth team in Uganda and has played in tournaments as far away as Sweden and Denmark. Charles is also a malaria survivor and has seen the disease impact his community and friends firsthand. Ever since recovering from malaria at age four, Charles has slept under a bed net and told his friends to do the same. Now he’s taking the message that he tells his friends on the soccer fields of his native Uganda—that you can stop malaria with simple, effective solutions—all over the world with the United Against Malaria team.

In addition to today’s launch in New York City, Charles will be launching the effort in Brussels, Addis Ababa and Cape Town. When I talked to him after the event and told him that’s a lot of travel for a little guy, he flashed his big smile at me and said he’s really enjoying his first trip to New York City, he’s excited to travel to Brussels next, but he is most looking forward to Johannesburg, where he’ll see the World Cup.

Beyond Charles, other big names from the soccer world spoke this morning, including Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber and Fox Soccer Channel’s lead announcer Max Bretos. Both discussed how the sport, probably the most popular in the world, and its biggest moment, the World Cup, have the potential to tap into a huge audience. It’s an audience—sports fans, youth soccer players, soccer moms and dads—who may not yet fully know the malaria story, but who have the potential to be passionate, engaged advocates once they see malaria can be beat.

From the NGO world, ONE’s own U.S. Executive Director Sheila Nix and Malaria No More’s Chairman Peter Chernin discussed how United Against Malaria can mobilize this new audience into effective political advocacy. The ultimate aim is to catalyze the world to reach the international target of reducing malaria deaths to near zero by 2015. It’s a goal that is within reach. Sheila and Peter pointed out the tremendous gains that have been achieved in just the last few years thanks to African leadership supported by effective U.S. and international efforts like the President’s Malaria Initiative and the Global Fund. Malaria rates have been slashed in countries like Rwanda and Ethiopia. But if we want to finish the deal and finally end deaths from malaria, these programs will need continued support. Sheila and Peter said United Against Malaria can play a pivotal role by making the connection clear for the public about how contacting your member of Congress to support effective programs will result in lives saved.

Finally, two more critical leaders, Ray Chambers, the United Nations’ Special Envoy for Malaria, and Bishop Thomas Bickerton of the United Methodist Church talked about how all this progress is being forged on the ground level in Africa with proven tools like bed nets, malaria treatment and better public awareness. Both spoke eloquently on the power of individuals such as Charles to make a difference in this fight, including both advocates like ONE members in the United States and community leaders in Africa raising awareness of effective prevention measures.

And now with United Against Malaria officially kicked off in the United States, there is only one thing missing from the team: you. The good news is that there are no tryouts (especially for me and my rusty soccer skills). All you need is a belief that in the next five years, deaths from malaria must end, and a voice to recruit your friends and press your elected officials. Be sure to follow the rest of Charles’s journey and join the United Against Malaria team at www.unitedagainstmalaria.com.