Match Against Poverty
RONALDO & FRIENDS VS ZIDANE & FRIENDS
The Match Against Poverty has been held each year since 2003, at the initiative of star footballers and UNDP Goodwill Ambassadors Zinédine Zidane and Ronaldo, to raise awareness of and to advocate for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and to raise funds that support specific development projects selected by UNDP.
Ronaldo and Zidane each captain an international side for this friendly match, which seeks to remind everyone that they are responsible for ensuring the achievement of the MDGs, which were adopted in 2000 and re–affirmed by the leaders of 191 countries at the UN Summit in 2005. The Goals seek to halve world poverty by 2015 by setting targets for rolling back hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women.
The Match has taken place in Basel, Düsseldorf, Madrid, Marseille and Malaga. On 17 November 2008, the match will take place outside of Europe for the first time, in Fez, Morocco. The Match is seen on television in many countries around the world conveying one strong message: “let us all team up to end poverty”.
Net proceedings from tickets sales are used to fund UNDP development projects selected by a Geneva-based Project Appraisal Committee (PAC), which appraises and approves project proposals submitted by country offices. The first Match in Basle, for example raised US$800,000, which UNDP allocated to projects ranging from the creation of small businesses for women to the construction of sports centres for street children and the disadvantaged in Brazil, the Comoros, Guinea Bissau, Morocco, Namibia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. The Düsseldorf match raised US$465,000 for projects in Ethiopia, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo and Cuba. The Match in Marseille raised US$452,000 that was used in Madagascar, Bolivia, Eritrea, Tanzania and Uganda
Between 2008 and 2015, the target date for accomplishing the MDGs, there will be eight years, eight games and eight goals. Each game will highlight one specific goal, and the proceeds from that game will go to one project which addresses it. For example, in Fez, the theme will be centered around the third Millennium Development Goal, to promote gender equality and to empower women.
Projects Funded with proceeds from the Match Against Poverty
Following are a few examples of projects supported through funds raised through the Match Against Poverty.
In the Comoros, microfinance initiatives supported with project funds have allowed women to set up small businesses and improve their living conditions. The project also trained 200 women in business administration.
In Guinea Bissau, a project provided training to three separate women’s associations to recycle plastic waste into artisanal and art objects which are then sold for profit. A similar project was executed in Benin with so much success that it won the IDEP (International Day for the Eradication of Poverty) award for 2002.
In Brazil, the “people theatre” in the Rio de Janeiro slum Cidade de Deus (City of God) was rebuilt through the NGO Crianza Esperanza to enable poor children and their families to have access to culture. Inaugurated by Ronaldo in January 2005, this is the only open cultural space available in one of the biggest slums of Rio de Janeiro.
In Namibia, 1,200 employees of 200 small enterprises, mostly women, were trained to better manage their business, get better access to financial services and improve their position on the market.
In Vietnam, an innovative TV series on the MDGs mixing entertainment and education raised awareness among youth and engaged them in economic and social development activities. The TV series builds on the concept of a UN booklet “Thang's Journey” describing a young boy learning about the MDG’s.
In Morocco, sports centres were built in lower-income communities, providing a range of physical activities for youth as well as training sessions for youth and adults on HIV/AIDS prevention, basic health, sanitation and preservation of the local environment.
In Haiti, 3,000 children of Cité Soleil, a shantytown in Port-au-Prince, received educational material. Sanitation and health facilities were installed in the slums and jobs created for cleaning the environment and preventing infectious diseases.
In Sri Lanka, thousands of people benefited from deep wells, rainwater harvesters and irrigation systems. In addition, 44 community toilets and 75 sanitation facilities were installed. A home for the blind damaged by the tsunami was rehabilitated.
In Burkina Faso, handicapped women don’t need to beg anymore. Project funds established the Association for the Handicapped Women’s Promotion, to provide a support network and to promote their rights. In addition, a microfinance fund was established for the women.
In Colombia, 93 producers of guava - of whom 55% are women – were trained in new agricultural techniques to expand harvests. These farmers have since increased their productivity and competitiveness on the national market.
In Ethiopia, a music center for young blind people was built to offer a range of opportunities through musical education. These young men and women can now take part in education programmes and increase their capacity to find employment.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a medical clinic was established to provide 40,000 people with access to healthcare, and a a primary school was built with a capacity for 1,000 children.
In Bhutan, project funds were used to train poor households in remote communities with enhanced vocational, arts and crafts skills. As a result, these communities are growing improved agricultural products which are improving nutrition. Excess capacity is being sold in local markets, adding to household income.
Contact
| Aziyadé Poltier-Mutal |
Communications Partnerships Manager
aziyade.poltier@undp.org |
