Zidane and Ronaldo Play to End Poverty

Two football kings, eight matches, and one goal: ending poverty. Football legend Zidane and Brazilian star Ronaldo, UNDP Goodwill Ambassadors, are joining hands and feet once again to end poverty and raise awareness about the Millennium Development Goals. The upcoming 6th annual “Match Against Poverty” will take place in Fès, Morocco on November 17th. The project originally launched in 2003 seeking to promote each of the goals with a corresponding match. This year’s match will be themed by the first Millennium Development Goal “Eradicating Extreme Poverty and Hunger,” while marking the half way point to the 2015 deadline set by the UN General Assembly.

Proceeds from the previous five Matches have benefited anti-poverty projects ranging from supporting female entrepreneurs to the construction of sports centers for street children and the disadvantaged. Funds have gone to support projects in Brazil, Burkina Faso, Bhutan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Comoros, Cuba, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Uganda, Tanzania, and Viet Nam.