The FAO and EPFL signed on 14 April 2008 in Lisbon (Portugal) a Cooperation Agreement to promote a series of initiatives aimed at sensitizing the public on issues related to food security and the fight against hunger

The FAO/EPFL partnership and its solidarity campaign “Professional Football against Hunger” was launched on 15 October 2008 on the occasion of the celebration of the World Food Day. Ministers for Sports of European countries, Presidents of the European Professional Football Leagues, FAO Goodwill Ambassadors such as Roberto Baggio and Raúl González and other football stars attended the ceremony and supported this initiative.

An high-level delegation of European professional football leagues managers and former famous football players from Italy, Germany, Spain and Portugal visited some models of FAO’s TeleFood projects in Cairo, Egypt, on 13 and 14 January 2009 as part of the preparations of the FAO-EPFL global “Professional Football Against Hunger” solidarity campaign.

The group included the EPFL Chief Executive Officer and delegation leader Emanuel Macedo de Medeiros, the President of the Spanish League and EPFL Board member, José Luís Astiazarán, and Tom Bender, Chief Marketing Officer of the German Football League and President of the Bundesliga Foundation, who where joined by the 1982 World Champion Paolo Rossi (Italy – Ambassador of the Lega Calcio), the former German football star Hansi Müller (Germany – Ambassador of the Bundesliga), and the coach of the Al-Ahly Football Club, Manuel José (Portugal – Ambassador of the Portuguese League), four times champion of the African Champions League.

After the field visits the EPFL delegation and FAO senior representatives were welcomed by the First Lady of Egypt, Suzanne Mubarak, in a meeting held at the Presidential Palace, in Cairo. Mrs. Mubarak was nominated in October 2008 as Raeia of FAO’s activities and TeleFood Programmes.

This intense journey was concluded with a meeting with the Egyptian Sport Minister, Mr. Hassan Sakr, followed by a joint press conference at the National Sports Council, in the Egyptian capital.

The core event of this campaign is the observance of a European Match Day against Hunger. During the 20-22 March 2009 football weekend, hundreds of professional football matches across Europe have been dedicated to raise awareness about this growing problem. Among the several initiatives implemented, “Professional Football Against Hunger” advertising banners, t-shirts worn by the players entering the field, and screenings of videos of TeleFood projects, saw the stadiums of the European Professional Football Leagues at the centre of this awareness Campaign.

The initiative had an outstanding impact in raising awareness to sensitize football fans and the whole public opinion about the devastating problem of hunger. Hundreds of Media all across Europe covered the Campaign with great interest and sense of responsibility.