Christina Smedley, Vice President, Global Brand and Communications, PayPal

What a soccer tournament it has been. The greatest ever? It’s definitely up there. One hundred and sixty-seven goals, four penalty shoot-outs and probably one of the most memorable semi-finals in history.  Although Brazilian hearts were broken on Tuesday night it has been a tournament that promises to leave a lasting legacy in the samba nation.

Before the tournament Brazilian superstar Neymar Jr., whose goals on the opening night against Croatia set the tone for the tournament, joined forces with PayPal and Waves for Water to bring clean water to communities in need across Brazil.

We invited people to ‘compete’ on behalf of their countries to contribute the most to this important cause, powered by PayPal. Since the launch we’ve seen an incredible response from fans across the world. To date over $250,000 has been raised and more than 420,000 people in need will now get access to clean water.

Luckily the tournament isn’t over yet. There is still time for you to donate and help give access to clean water to those who need it most. You can do this by donating at: http://www.competitionforgood.com/.

As well as the positive legacy this tournament will leave on Brazil, there is a great opportunity for you to have your own legacy from the tournament. For a limited time you can get an illustration of you wearing your favorite soccer jersey by internationally-renowned artist Chuck Gonzalez for just $5 and the funds raised will all go directly to the Waves for Water campaign: http://bit.ly/PP-W4W-Fiverr

At PayPal we’ve also seen the impact of the tournament. The three months before kick-off fans in the U.S. have purchased nearly 40,000 items of memorabilia related to the tournament. We’ve also seen more than 13,000 national flags and 4,000 shirts of the world’s top 20 players purchased via eBay.

We are really excited about Sunday’s final! Will Leo Messi and his Argentina side steal the show, or will it be the Germans who come out on top? Don’t worry though, you don’t need to panic that all the excitement is over when you wake up on Monday. Later next week we’ll be announcing the results of this exciting initiative and telling you about the impact fans across the world have achieved.