Figo does it for charity

A-list players
The match, which has been organised by the Portuguese sports marketing and management company Starzone on behalf of the Luis Figo Foundation and children's charity UNICEF, will mark the end of a three-day football conference in the northern Portuguese city. With all profits going to the two charities, spectators at the Bessa stadium can look forward to seeing an A-list of talent.

Madrid contingent
The Luis Figo Foundation will be led by the Portugal captain's coaches at club and international levels - Real Madrid CF's Carlos Queiroz and Luiz Felipe Scolari of the 'selecção' - and will feature a large contingent from the Santiago Bernabéu in Ronaldo, Raúl González, Roberto Carlos and Fernando Hierro.

Portuguese connection
On the UNICEF side, Sir Alex Ferguson and Vicente del Bosque will manage a team including Figo's national-team colleagues João Pinto and Sergio Conceição, Andriy Shevchenko of AC Milan and Ferguson's Manchester United FC striker Ruud van Nistelrooij. Also taking part will be Rui Costa, Zinedine Zidane, Robert Pires and Ryan Giggs, with all the players foregoing an appearance fee.

Charity fundraiser
To lend further prestige to the event, the game will be attended by important UNICEF ambassadors. UNICEF will share any funds raised with Figo's charity, the Luis Figo Foundation, a non-profit organisation aimed at helping deprived youngsters and providing opportunities for children, which is in its first year of operations.

Sports & Entertainment
While Boavista FC's Bessa stadium, a newly refurbished 30,000-seat arena that will host EURO 2004™, will stage the charity match, the off-the-field activity will take place at Porto's Alfândega Congress and Exhibition Centre where the first Sports & Entertainment International Congress will take place on Monday and Tuesday.

Valdano lecture
The conference, which Starzone is running in collaboration with the Portuguese Marketing Association and the Luis Figo Foundation, will hear from a wide range of speakers from the sports and entertainment industries, including Real Madrid sporting director Jorge Valdano, as well as marketing and communications specialists. Represented among them will be two of the congress's main sponsors, Nike and Coca-Cola Portugal, and various partners.

Stadium issues
With the hosting and management of international sports events high on the agenda, the conference will look at ways of managing Portugal's ten EURO 2004™ venues and keeping them profitable once the finals are over next summer. A speech from tournament director António Laranjo will merit special attention along with an address from Fabio Verga, the commercial director of the San Siro stadium, Milan. Other topics of discussion will be the importance of brands and the management and development of sporting personalities.

Showpiece occasion
However, the main attraction will be Wednesday's match, which will provide a worthy climax to the first assignment of the Luis Figo Foundation as well as a gathering of some of the biggest names in football.