Int’l booters to raise funds

MANILA, Philippines - World-renowned football players will play in the annual United Nations all-star charity game to raise funds for the recovery of areas hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda, the UN announced yesterday.

The UN said the game to be participated in by legends Ronaldo and Zinédine Zidane will be held in Switzerland on March 4.

Ronaldo and Zidane, goodwill ambassadors for the UN Development Program (UNDP), will mobilize their team for a friendly game against the Bern professional football club, the BSC Young Boys and Friends, for the 11th Match Against Poverty.

Football stars Didier Drogba, Iker Casillas and Marta Vieira de Silva are the other UNDP goodwill ambassadors.

The UNDP said two-thirds of the match proceeds will be used to assist Yolanda victims.

The UNDP has begun a cash-for-work project clearing debris in Tacloban City, and will continue to help those who have lost homes, businesses and jobs due to Yolanda.

“Our goal is to dedicate the proceeds of this 11th Match Against Poverty to help survivors rebuild their lives and help the Philippines on a path to recovery,” said UNDP Administrator Helen Clark.

“As the Philippines works to recover from this terrible tragedy, UNDP is there in support and to help strengthen the nation’s resilience to future shocks,” Clark added.

Zidane and Ronaldo have been the driving force behind charity games since its inception in 2003. Proceeds from previous matches have benefited projects in dozens of developing countries, including recovery efforts for earthquake victims in Haiti and response to the food crisis in the Horn of Africa.

“Last year we celebrated the 10th anniversary of the match in Brazil and I am still very proud of its success. I am honored that clubs such as BSC Young Boys have offered to host the event,” said Ronaldo, who is now a key member of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup 2014 Organizing Committee.

“This year we are concerned about the situation in the Philippines and we would like to help through the match to the global fundraising efforts for the country,” he said.

BSC Young Boys will donate the remaining third of the profits to the club’s partner charity, the Laureus Foundation Switzerland. The foundation provides financial and practical support to sports-related projects at the national level, and is part of the global Laureus Sport For Good Foundation, which supports over 140 projects in 34 countries around the world.

Previous editions of the Match Against Poverty – which will be televised globally and is supported by both football’s governing body, the FIFA and the Union of European Football Associations – were previously held in Madrid, Dusseldorf, Marseille, Malaga, Fes, Lisbon, Athens, Hamburg, and Porto Alegre.