FCBARCELONA.CAT

21.04.2009 17:45

Barça supports fight against malaria

www.fcbarcelona.cat

FC Barcelona is supporting the World Malaria Day which will be held on 25th April. The Club has organised a series of events for Wednesday evening’s league match in the Camp Nou against Sevilla.

The players of FC Barcelona will wear the slogan “More than a Club. Kick it to Malaria” on their shirts. At half time the video scoreboards will show a number of messages reminding us of World Malaria Day and the importance of everyone realising the need to fight against this illness.

Two special guests

In addition, the Club has invited one of the winners of last summer’s tournament in Manhattan (held during USA On Tour 08) that featured first team players against eager fans who donated money to this cause. The other winner is due to come to Barcelona on 24th May to watch the league game against Osasuna.

An alliance to raise funds

These activities spring from the alliance put in motion last summer between the FC Barcelona Foundation, the Malaria No More Association and the AYSO (American Youth Soccer Organization) under the slogan “More than a Club. Kick it to Malaria”. The aim is to raise funds to fight against malaria, which is the main cause of infant deaths in Africa, where one child dies every 30 seconds from the disease – more than a million a year.

The first fruits of the agreement

During these first few months of the agreement, not only has it helped to educate and make people aware of the seriousness of this illness but also to reinforce the role of sport in general and football in particular in the service of worthy causes.

At the same time, money has been raised for the purchase of mosquito screens – the fact is that at present there is no effective vaccination to prevent malaria – approximately one thousand of which have already been distributed by the FC Barcelona Foundation as part of the recent inauguration of the XICS Solidarity Centre in Mali.