Before holding mighty Spain to a 0-0 draw in a friendly on Sunday, the Romanian soccer team made a creative effort to help the country’s schoolchildren learn math. Instead of wearing team numbers on their training gear, the players donned jackets with math problems on the back.
#Romania are using calculations instead of numbers on their jerseys against Spain tonight.
— In2Sports (@In2SportsInc) March 27, 2016
Promoting math for kids! pic.twitter.com/0pykQEkHQh
Romania has one of the highest dropout rates in Europe, and these new uniforms are part of a greater effort to integrate sports and education. “Football and mathematics are not mutually exclusive,” said Romanian Football Federation president Razvan Burleanu. “Through this project, children will learn the basics of football and have an opportunity for the first time in our country—to discover mathematics through an attractive approach.”
So before Romania kick off Euro 2016 on June 10 against hosts France, brush off on your division skills and review those order of operations. Something about excusing my dear aunt Sally?