Roberto Baggio – FAO Goodwill Ambassador
"I feel a moral obligation to stand here today on behalf of the people stricken with poverty to lend every support to FAO in its global campaign against hunger".
Footballer Roberto Baggio, among the world’s most accomplished soccer players in history, was named FAO Goodwill Ambassador in October 2002.
A teenager from a small village in North of Italy, Caldogno, Baggio has made the Italian football style legendary. In 1993 Roberto was named Europe’s best soccer player by journalists. He was awarded the Golden Ball trophy as Europe’s best player, and the sports writers subsequently voted Roberto the Best Player in the World. All over the 90s, Roberto Baggio was nearly unanimously regarded as the world’s best soccer player in the position of forward.
In addition to his impressive sports talents, Mr. Baggio’s commitment to social causes has won him the respect of his public. He dedicates generous amounts of time and energy to humanitarian issues and has become an advocate of human dignity, tolerance, democracy and human rights.
In 2004, Roberto sold by international auction the shoes worn during his last match, and donated the entire amount of the sale to FAO.
In September 2005, he attended a press conference organized by Nippon Broadcasting System (NBS) in Tokyo, to promote the sale of commemorative stamps issued by the Japanese postal service to honour his brilliant career. The sale took place in September and October 2005 at the Japanese Lawson chain of convenience stores. Part of the proceeds went to the TeleFood Special Fund to finance projects to help the neediest communities.
In April 2006, Baggio lent his support to FAO by writing personally to the President of the Italian Football Federation to launch a partnership between the Federation and FAO, with an aim to achieve a public and media impact, with an awareness-raising component. The collaborative event was scheduled for January 2008.
On 3-5 September 2007, Roberto carried out an official mission to Laos (Lao PDR) to visit FAO field projects in the country. The visit gave high visibility to FAO’s activities in the Asian region and worldwide. The wide media coverage of the visit also provided good visibility to World Food Day in the region.
On 15 October 2008, Roberto Baggio participated in the launching event of the "Professional Football against Hunger" solidary campaign at FAO Headquarters in Rome, during which he delivered a most appreciated statement and gave interviews to international media.
