24,400 fill arena for Match Against Poverty

24,400 fill arena for Match Against Poverty
Match Against Poverty – Hamburg – Germany 13/12/2011

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Match Against Poverty – Hamburg – Germany 13/12/2011

With a final score of 5-4, UNDP won the 2011 Match Against Poverty against HSV in Hamburg, Germany, on 13 December, 2011 before more than 24,000 spectators.  The match was broadcast live in more than 25 countries.

UNDP Goodwill Ambassadors Ronaldo, Didier Drogba and Zinédine Zidane mobilized superstars past and present to take on the Hamburger Sport-Verein at the Imtech Arena. Proceeds from the match will go to the crisis in the Horn of Africa, where  more than 13 million people have been left in need by famine, drought, conflict and high food prices.

“It is amazing and encouraging to see so much solidarity and support for Africa from sports fans around the world,” said Ronaldo, who scored a goal in the second period. The UNDP team also included stars Christian Karembeu, Fabio Cannavaro, Rabah Madjer and Dida.

“The Match Against Poverty is much more than a game: it is part of the global fight against poverty,” said Zidane, current Director of Sport of the Real Madrid football club.

 All of the match proceeds will be used to bolster humanitarian and recovery activities in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. The UN is working in these countries to provide emergency food aid, water, shelter and health services, while working on longer term development plans.

Wilfried Lemke, speaking on behalf of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon as his Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace, said the proceeds of today’s game will go to the nearly 13 millions of people in need of assistance across the Horn of Africa. “And I am delighted to see that the athletes, the UN family and the world of sport can work together to build a better world,” he said. “The Match Against Poverty has become a leading event in the global fight against poverty.

Sigrid Kaag, United Nations Assistant Secretary General and Director of UNDP’s Bureau for External Relations and Advocacy said the Match Against Poverty represents the best of sport and the best of humanity. “The players and the audience have shown they are One Team for the Horn of Africa,” she said.

HSV President Carl Jarchow said he and his team would donate all funds to the Horn of Africa crisis.  “We are proud to be able to work with UNDP to organize this Match for such an important cause,” he said. “Hamburg, through its port, has always been connected to the rest of the world. The Match Against Poverty is perfectly in line with our values as a team, and as a community.”

Proceeds from the previous eight Matches Against Poverty have benefited projects in more than 27 developing countries, including recent recovery efforts in the wake of the 2010 Haiti earthquake and Pakistan floods.

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As in previous years, UNDP Goodwill Ambassadors Ronaldo and Zinédine Zidane are mobilizing their friends to take on the Hamburger Sport-Verein at the Imtech Arena in Hamburg, Germany on 13 December, 2011. Most of the proceeds of this year’s friendly match will go towards addressing the ongoing food crisis in the Horn of Africa, where more than 13 million people have been left in need by famine, drought, conflict and high food prices.

“Through the 2011 edition in Hamburg we hope we will be able to raise both awareness and funds for the people in need in the Horn of Africa,” said Zinédine Zidane, current General Manager of Real Madrid football club. “And, while I obviously hope to win, the Match Against Poverty is much more than a game: it is part of the global fight against poverty.”
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Other soccer-related campaigns 

Comic book “Score the Goals”

The 32-page educational comic book features 10 football Goodwill Ambassadors, namely Emmanuel Adebayor, Roberto Baggio, Michael Ballack, Iker Casillas, Didier Drogba, Luis Figo, Raúl, Ronaldo, Patrick Vieira, and Zinédine Zidane, who become shipwrecked on an island on their way to playing an ‘all-star’ charity football game in support of the United Nations. Whilst on the island, the team has to tackle the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) along their journey towards being rescued.

Kick Out Poverty

A multi-lingual public service announcement featuring Didier Drogba and Zinédine Zidane, calling on citizens of the world to join the team that will beat poverty. The TV spot was broadcast during the 2010 FIFA World Cup™.

Teams to end Poverty

Teams to end Poverty is a global communication and partnerships initiative that is designed to involve the general public in anti-poverty actions. It has enlisted the support of Ronaldo and Zidane and many celebrities ((including Carla Bruni, Gerard Depardieu, Jamel Debbouze, Patrick Demarchelier, Sergio Garcia, LeBron James, Jeanne Moreau, Rafael Nadal, Michael Schumacher, Jacques Villeneuve and Wim Wenders), each of whom has contributed significant time, energy and/or resources to causes supported by UNDP.

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About  United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Since 1966, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been partnering with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of live for everyone. UNDP works in four main areas: poverty reduction and achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); democratic governance; crisis prevention and recovery; environment and sustainable development.

UNDP is the United Nations’ global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 177 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges. As they develop local capacity, they draw on the people of UNDP and our wide range of partners.

World leaders have pledged to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, including the overarching goal of cutting poverty in half by 2015. UNDP’s network links and coordinates global and national efforts to reach these Goals.

Our focus is helping countries build and share solutions to the challenges of:

• Fighting poverty
• Building democratic societies
• Preventing crisis, enabling recovery
• Protecting the environment
• Halting & reversing HIV/AIDS
• Empowering women
• Growing national capacity

UNDP helps developing countries attract and use aid effectively. In all our activities, we encourage the protection of human rights, capacity development and the empowerment of women.

More at: www.undp.org

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> United Nations (UN).

The United Nations was established on 24 October 1945 by 51 countries committed to preserving peace through international cooperation and collective security. Today, nearly every nation in the world belongs to the UN: membership totals 192 countries.

When States become Members of the United Nations, they agree to accept the obligations of the UN Charter, an international treaty that sets out basic principles of international relations. According to the Charter, the UN has four purposes:

• to maintain international peace and security;
• to develop friendly relations among nations;
• to cooperate in solving international problems and in promoting respect for human rights;
• and to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations.

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* The above story is adapted from materials provided by United Nations (UN)
** More information at United Nations (UN)