Over 30 international players (1) from the best football teams in the world gathered yesterday for the "Match Against Poverty", hosted by the Football Club Olympiacos Piraeus, Greece. The friendly match has generated a revenue of 540.000 dollars. 70% of total proceeds will be allocated to Haiti and Pakistan.

Hundreds of youths who survived last year's massive earthquake in Haiti and more than 1,000 women displaced by floods in Pakistan will benefit from funds raised in a United Nations-organized football (UNPD) match in aid of post-disaster reconstruction work in the two countries.

Some $170,000 in proceeds from the Match against Poverty will support the reconstruction of sports centres for 400 youngsters in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince and the city of Léogâne.

The Haiti-based project involves community members in cash-for-work to rehabilitate sports facilities. Through its different components, the project targets groups that were affected by the quake and who still live in precarious conditions.

The project will be integrated into an ongoing programme that uses sports activities to promote conflict resolution.

The UN Volunteers (UNV) programme is supporting the initiative by promoting the values of volunteering and civic engagement in the community. "The match funds will be used to complement our ongoing efforts to include youth in our activities in affected and damaged neighbourhoods where we are already working to facilitate return of people displaced by the earthquake," said Jessica Faieta, UNDP's Haiti senior country director.

(1) Have took part in this match, among other : Zinédine Zidane (France), Ronaldo (Brazil), Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast), Pedro Pauleta, Fernando Couto, Sá Pinto, Luís Boa Morte et Nuno Gomes (Portugal), Pavel Nedved (Czech Republic), Pierre Van Hooijdonk, Ronald de Boer and Gio Van Bronckhorst (Netherlands), Gheorghe Popescu (Romania), Luciano da Silva, William and Sonny Anderson (Brazil), Raúl Albiol (Spain), Mahmadou Diarra (Mali) and Sabri Lamouchi (France) who will play for the team of the Friends of Ronaldo and Zidane. The current and former players of the Olympiacos will constitute the formation All-Star of the Olympiacos. S.A.

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-2280-haiti-football-the-match-against-poverty-raised-more-than-$540000.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-1918-haiti-football-match-against-poverty-2-2.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-1904-haiti-humanitarian-ronaldo-zinedine-zidane-will-play-the-match-against-poverty.html

BF/ HaitiLibre