FC Barcelona to extend alliance with Unicef until 2016

Barcelona (FCB).- The FC Barcelona Board decided this week to extend its links with Unicef until 2016, when their term comes to an end, as explained at a press conference this Tuesday by the Spokesman and Secretary, Toni Freixa. FC Barcelona has agreed, as it has done in recent years, to donate €1.5 million euros a year to joint projects with Unicef, which involve the promotion of education and sport among vulnerable children. Barça and the United Nations first joined forces in September 2006. The current deal was due to end in 2014. “We are very satisfied with this alliance”, said Freixa, who also confirmed that the Unicef name will remain on the back of the Barça shirt.

Barça and Unicef improve life for 200,000 children

In the 2012/13 season, Barça-sponsored Unicef work was done in China, Brazil, South Africa and Ghana, focusing on promoting sport as a catalyst for the development and protection of young people. This year more than 8,500 educators have been trained in the use of sport as a motor for social integration; leisure and education facilities have been built where children can learn safely and a variety of materials have been provided for doing sport. The work done by the FC Barcelona Foundation in unison with Unicef has helped improve the lives of more than 200,000 children.

Sport in education

Within this alliance, the Catalan Public Television Broadcaster (TV3) and the audiovisual production company Minoria Absoluta produced a documentary film that explained what sport is doing to improve the lives of children in Ghana. It was called ‘L’equip ideal’ (The ideal team) and it shown in March on TV3.

Furthermore, in Catalonia, a guide was published on ‘Children’s rights in sport’ that offered advice on leisure and sporting activities for children including accounts by FC Barcelona players and other important people in Catalan society. 1,500 copies of this guide have been published and distributed to Catalan leisure and education centres (libraries, schools, leisure centres, etc).

As part of an institutional trip to New York, FC Barcelona’s President Sandro Rosell and Board Member Ramon Pont had a meeting with Anthony Lake, the Executive Director of Unicef, to discuss the work that the two entities have been doing over the last few years.