BREAKING NEWS, Sports
–
The Union of European Football Associations are devising ways to assist migrants who are fleeing conflicts areas in the Middle East and Africa
| By Adaku Onyenucheya | Sep 28, 2015 @ 01:00 GMT |
WITH the increasing influx of migrants in Europe, the Union of European Football Associations, UEFA, has pledged to support the refugees in alleviating their challenges. Michel Platini, UEFA President, on Monday, September 14, mandated that all the 80 teams competing in this season’s Champions League and Europa League should donate €1 per ticket from their first home games to charity to help refugees across the world.
UEFA made this decision after it received a proposal from Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa, president, FC Porto of Portugal, suggesting that each of the 32 Champions League clubs should give €1 per ticket sold for the first two matches to ameliorate the ongoing crisis in Europe. In the proposal, Nuno said it is impossible for the football family in Europe to close their eyes to the sufferings of the migrants and refugees.
The European Club Associations, ECA, which represents the interests of football clubs in UEFA, has accepted to offer support with all 80 clubs involved in the competition committed to the initiative and the money is estimated to be between two to three million Euros going into a fund created by the ECA. In support of the UEFA proposal, some clubs have started taken concrete actions to alleviate the situation with Bayern Munich leading the way.
The German club has opened its doors to refugees by providing a training camp worth $1.1 million to give German lessons, meals and soccer equipment to the migrants. The German champions pledged to donate €1 million earned from the sales of tickets against Augsburg on September 12, and also walked out onto the field holding hands with a German child on one side and a migrant child on the other.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Bayern Munich chairman, who disclosed the club’s plans said Bayern sees the gesture as its social responsibility to help the refugees, needy children, women, and men in Germany. “Bayern is setting an important sign, and I am pleased with the strong commitment of the association.”
However, other German teams have also been at the forefront in preaching acceptance of the new arrivals. Borussia Dortmund, Hannover, Schalkes and lower-level teams including Foetuna, Duesseldorf and Dynamo Dresden, have also taken part in the initiatives for migrants. Germany which is witnessing an unprecedented surge of asylum seekers this year, a fourfold increase from last year, and has taken in more asylum seekers than any other European Union country to help the migrants.
Apart from Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, French football giants, in a statement on Wednesday, September 9, announced to donate €1 million to two associations through their foundation to help the influx of refugees across Europe. “The foundation will commit to long term assistance alongside French Popular Relief and the UNHCR with the goal of creating solidarity projects in France and internationally. The foundation will transfer one million Euros to these organisations that will be funded by club revenue,” the statement said.
AS Roma Serie A giants, also pledged to donate €575,000 as well as jersey worn by stars Francesco Totti, Edin Dzeko and Miralem Pjanic to the newly-launched “Football Cares” auction site. This new sporting initiative happens to be a new is aimed at raising funds to ease the growing global refuge crisis. The club, in a statement, said that all the money raised would be donated to the United Nations Refugee Agency, UNHCR, the Red Cross and Non-Governmental Organisation’s, NGO’s, such as Save the Children and International Rescue Committee. The club said football has the power to reach millions of people and by rallying behind ‘Football Cares’ it can change things and it doesn’t matter whether donations are small.
Football Cares have Serie A and B teams in their fold namely Inter Milan, Fiorentina, Bologna, Torino, Empoli and Hellas Verona. Real Madrid on Saturday, September 12, announced a donation similar to that of Bayern Munich and shelter excluding other money-making projects to refugees that arrived in Spain. Scottish Champions, Celtic in its own gesture announced that a share from Jock Stein 30th Anniversary events would be donated to the cause. Peter Lawwell, Celtic chief executive, said: “Having seen the effects of this humanitarian crisis unfold in recent days, we felt as a club we should help in any way we can”.
Arsenal FC of England is not left behind, the club is the first English premier league club to offer support to the refugees crisis by donating £1 from each ticket sold during their match against Stoke City on Saturday, September 12. Arsene Wenger, Arsenal boss, in a press statement, stressed the need to help those fleeing the war-torn country for Europe as the club team-up with Save the Children’s Refugee crisis appeal.
He also called on other clubs who are yet to join the team, to contribute in a similar way in order to offer significant help to those in need. “The need is immediate so we decided to be immediately helpful. You know that we are always involved with a helpful attitude, we have our own foundations and charity and this is a special case where people are in the need of special help. It’s an exceptional circumstance and I’m very happy that our club contributes to help refugees to settle in countries where they come without anything. We’ll give £1 for every ticket sold [against Stoke] and if everyone can contribute like we do then I think we can give very, very strong help,” Wenger said.
The influx of migrants into Europe is believed to come from war ravaged countries in Middle East, Africa and Europe. Thousands of migrants troop into Europe through the Mediterranean Sea with hundreds losing their lives in search for refugee and safety.
|
Tags:
