UEFA backs Match Against Poverty

UEFA is lending its support to the Match Against Poverty in Lisbon on 25 January.

Annual match
European football's governing body joins the world football body FIFA in backing the annual United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) match, which is staged to raise awareness of development goals and raise funds to assist initiatives against poverty. The game, launched on the initiative of French and Brazilian football legends Zinédine Zidane and Ronaldo, will take place at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, where a team picked by the duo will play an SL Benfica All-Star side. Kick-off is at 19.45 local time.

Solidarity in action
UEFA President Michel Platini has emphasised UEFA's support for the match. "One of UEFA's key aims is to channel the immense popularity of the game into positive social forces," he said. "This match is a concrete example of solidarity in action.

Fighting social ills
"I am proud to lend my full support and UEFA's name to the seventh edition of the Match Against Poverty," he added. "This event demonstrates how football can be used in the fight against social ills such as poverty, exclusion and illiteracy."

Ideal platform
The UNDP is the United Nations' global network to help people meet their development needs and build a better life, and the Match Against Poverty provides an ideal platform to highlight the challenge of addressing global poverty. "I am sure all those attending the Lisbon match will have a most enjoyable and rewarding evening," said Michel Platini, "knowing their presence will contribute to solutions that can make a real difference in peoples' lives."

Tickets for the Match Against Poverty are available through the SL Benfica website. Click here to visit slbenfica.pt.

Click here for further information on the UNDP.