European Union

The ‘Professional Football Against Hunger’ campaign is coming this weekend to hundreds of football stadiums all over Europe, bringing the message that urgent action is needed now to avert a disaster in the Sahel. Fernando M. Valenzuela, Head of the EU Delegation to Russia, and Roberto Carlos, international football star, will officially kick off the campaign in Russia on 29 March 2012 at 14:30 at a press conference at RIA Novosti. They will be joined by Sergey Cheban, Executive Director of the Russian Football Premier League.

The European Union has joined forces with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the European Professional Football League (EFPL) to raise awareness of the actions needed to help hunger’s most vulnerable victims. The 2012 edition of the ‘Professional Football Against Hunger’ campaign focuses of the looming food crisis in the Sahel region of Africa where five countries have declared an emergency and called for international assistance. 

The high point of the campaign is the Match Day against Hunger. From 30 March to 2 April, 300 professional football clubs in 20 leagues throughout 16 European countries will spread the call for urgent action. The 3rd and biggest ever Match Day against Hunger kicks off on 30 March in eastern Russia, where Spartak Nalchik plays Tom Tomsk. By the time the last match is played on 2 April in the Bulgarian capital Sofia, the campaign’s message and activities will have swept through the European continent from Glasgow to Vienna and from Lisbon to Novosibirsk, reaching millions of football fans.

Media accreditation to the press conference:
by telephone: +7 (495) 637-50-19 or at http://www.ria.ru/pressclub/20120329/607247737.html
 

Background:

Match Day against Hunger is the flagship event of the ‘Professional Football Against Hunger’ campaign, launched in 2008 by EPFL, representing the 30 largest professional football leagues and almost 950 clubs across Europe, and FAO, the UN’s agency leading international efforts to defeat hunger.

Last year, the EU, the world’s biggest humanitarian donor, through the European Commission’s Directorate General for Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (ECHO) joined in and the campaign’s focus turned to the work of ECHO and FAO in restoring the self reliance of people struck by disaster.

For further information:

Website of the campaign: www.endinghunger.org 
The European Union’s assistance in the Sahel: http://ec.europa.eu/echo/aid/sub_saharian/sahel_en.htm