Stellar cast for tsunami match
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Article summary
More than 50 stars have been invited to play in next month's special FIFA/UEFA benefit match.
Article body
Barcelona venue
FIFA and UEFA announced last week that the match will be staged at FC Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium on Tuesday 15 February, kicking off at 21.00CET. The stars will be lining up in two teams - one led by Ronaldinho, Barcelona's brilliant Brazilian who recently won FIFA's World Player of the Year award, and the other by Andriy Schevchenko, the AC Milan and Ukraine striker and reigning European Footballer of the Year.
Star-studded lineup
The list of players invited to the match contains many of the names that have lit up the world and European game and its competitions in recent years. Italian defender Paolo Maldini, England captain David Beckham, French sharpshooter Thierry Henry, Spanish forward Raúl González, French legend Zinedine Zidane and Czech star Pavel Nedved are among the players invited to feature in the Andriy Schevchenko XI. Brazilian aces Ronaldo, Cafu, Juninho and Kaká, African talents Samuel Eto'o and Obafemi Martins, and a host of names from South America and Asia are in the pipeline for inclusion in the Ronaldinho XI.
Top coaches
Ronaldinho's team will be coached by Brazil's 1994 FIFA World Cup-winning coach Carlos Alberto Parreira and Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard, while Italy coach Marcello Lippi and Arsenal FC's Arsène Wenger will manage the Shevchenko side.
Solidarity fund
The funds raised from the Football for Hope match will be donated in their entirety to the Tsunami Solidarity Fund set up by FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Barcelona are providing their stadium free of charge for the event. FIFA said on Tuesday that tickets for the game would go on sale shortly, and details would be announced as soon as possible.
UEFA support
UEFA announced last Thursday that it was donating €1.5m (US$2m) to the tsunami relief effort - €750,000 (US$1m) to its charity partner, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), to assist and support child victims, and the same amount to the FIFA/AFC Tsunami Solidarity Fund.
* FIFA/AFC Tsunami Solidarity Fund
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