Joining forces for children

Madrid course
Anders Frisk, Markus Merk and Lubos Michel will add their weight to the initiative backed by UEFA and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The announcement was made during the 12th UEFA Advanced Course for Elite and Premier Referees being held at Las Rozas on the outskirts of Madrid.

First to agree
Italian official Collina had already given his commitment to the cause when agreeing to become an ambassador last November. He said: "The Children in War campaign aims to protect children in times of war, offer them material aid, reunite them with their families and prevent them from being used as armed soldiers. So I am honoured to be associated with the campaign."

Plenty of experience
Swedish referee Frisk, who handled the UEFA EURO 2000™ final, Markus Merk of Germany, referee of last season's UEFA Champions League final, and Slovakia's Lubos Michel, who took charge of the UEFA Cup final, had no hesitation in joining Collina.

'Really proud'
Frisk said: "I am honoured to be part of this campaign. At first, I asked myself what I could do, but then I realised the meaning of the appointment, discovered the aims of the campaign and now I feel really, really proud. This is a challenge which I will meet with a very open heart and a good feeling."

Football helps
Michel was also proud to be involved. "As parents, we all think of children as innocent human beings and any kind of violence involving children is very sad," he said. "When we travel around Europe as referees, we see how much football can do to create friendly and peaceful atmospheres."

Help needed
Of the three Merk is perhaps the most used to supporting the less fortunate, having spent the last decade involved with charity work in India. He said: "It's a big pleasure to be on board for this campaign because it is all about children. We are duty-bound to do everything we can for children because they really need our help."