Match Against Poverty Zidane XI Vs Ronaldo XI 2am

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Fourth "Match Against Poverty" Set Featuring Ronaldo, Zidane

Marc Pruitt - All Headline News Sports Reporter
West Palm Beach, FL (AHN) - Two international soccer stars will be among the dozens of elite players for the fourth annual "Match Against Poverty" on Mar. 19 at Stade du Velodrome in Marseille, France as part of the United Nations Development Program.

Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane will each be captains for the two teams in an effort to raise public awareness to the fight against poverty. Both soccer stars serve as goodwill ambassadors to the UN Development Program.

Both Ronaldo and Zidane have been involved with the game for each of its first four years and both feel that it's important to use their prominence to draw attention to the worthy cause.

"It has been really encouraging to see the response from the public and the media to previous games," Ronaldo said. "We really want to continue mobilizing the world of football in raising awareness and overcoming poverty."

This will be Zidane's first game in Europe since last summer's World Cup and the infamous head- butting incident. He has since retired from competitive soccer.

"I have retired from professional football, but I am determined to continue playing in my capacity as UNDP Goodwill Ambassador for such a good cause, and to contribute to this gathering with my friend Ronaldo," Zidane said.

Moneys raised from previous matches have all gone to support various worldwide programs that are focused on eliminating poverty.

"Through the Match Against Poverty, millions of fans witness their heroes in soccer become heroes in the fight against extreme poverty," said Ad Melkert, an Associate Administrator of the United Nations Development Program. "This message is so important because only in partnership with governments, the private sector, civil society, and individuals like Ronaldo and Zidane will we be able to truly overcome poverty and achieve the Millenium Development Goals."

Since 2002, two All-Star football teams captained by Ronaldo and his Real Madrid teammate Zinédine Zidane have faced each other three times in a match organised by UNDP to raise money and awareness about poverty. The funds support projects selected by UNDP in programme countries.

As UNDP Goodwill Ambassadors, Ronaldo and Zidane were the ones to propose the Match Against Poverty. The 2007 Match took place on 19 March in Marseille, France and raised an estimated US$450,000 for UNDP anti-poverty work world-wide.

In past years, the Match Against Poverty took place in the following cities:

2005: Dusseldorf, Germany
2004: Madrid
2003: Basel

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Match Highlight - http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZnM7dk9SAlU

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Match Against Poverty 2007

Rivaldo, Robinho and Julio Baptista among 40 international players who will join UNDP Goodwill Ambassadors Ronaldo and Zidane for the Match Against Poverty

UNDP Goodwill Ambassadors Ronaldo and Zidane have announced that around 40 friends and colleagues will be joining them on the pitch for the Match Against Poverty on March 19 at the Stade Vélodrome at 8.30 pm in Marseille, France.

Among those in the 40-player line-up are Robert Pires (Villarreal) De la Peña, Tamudo and Kameni (Espanyol), Sergio and Cristian(Deportivo) Gaby Milito, Diego Milito and Aimar (Zaragoza) Pernía and Luccin (Atlético de Madrid) Abbondanzieri (Getafe) Cufré, Givet and Gerard (Mónaco), De Cock (Anderlecht) Gallas and Julio Baptista (Arsenal), Hakan Sükür (Galatasaray) Roque Junior (Bayer Leverkusen) Marco Caneira and Ronny (Sporting Lisboa), Marquinho, Ricardo Silva, Paulo Sousa, Peter Jehle and Fernando Dinis (Boavista), Correa, Rebrov, Diogo Rincón and Rodrigo (Dinamo Kiev), Sami Al-Jaber (Al-Hilal), Rivaldo (Olympiakos), Robinho (Real Madrid) Ronald Zubar (Olympique Marseille) Laurent Robert (Levante) Manuel Morais (Vasco da Gama), best Brazilian player in 2006 and the ex professional football players Dragan Stojkovic, Sonny Anderson, Chris Waddle, Basile Boli, Fabrizio Ravanelli and Laurent Blanc. More confirmations of top international names are expected shortly.

Other sporting celebrities taking part include 7 times Formula 1 world champion Michael Schumacher, who already participated in the 2004 edition of the Match Against Poverty held in Madrid. The pilot will be listed in Ronaldos team for this event

Ronaldo and Zidane will each captain an international side for this friendly aimed at inviting the public to mobilize against poverty. The Match also seeks to remind that everyone is responsible for ensuring the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (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.

Among the coaches of the Match Against Poverty, Spanish Vicente del Bosque, two times winner of the Champions League with Real Madrid has confirmed his participation.

Italian Pierluigi Collina will be the referee of the game for the 4th consecutive time. More than 20 TV channels around the world are expected to broadcast the match live.

As for the preceding editions, all proceeds from ticket sales will go to projects selected by UNDP in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Proceeds from the first three Matches allowed supplying 3000 children in Haiti with didactic and scholastic material; building a healthcare centre and a school in the Democratic Republic of Congo; employing and training 350 people in construction in Sri Lanka where 75 sanitation facilities and 44 community toilets were installed and water installations established; opening a vocational training center for young blind people; creating small enterprises for women in the Comoros, Guinea Bissau and Burkina Faso; training 1200 employees of 200 small companies in Namibia as well as 93 producers of guava in Colombia; and to build sports centers for low income communities in Morocco. Other anti-poverty actions were funded in Brazil, Bhutan, Cuba and Vietnam.

The man who was death SG

good to see stojkovic again…

Nadare SG

wow cool.. any highlights for this match ?

Freedom Fighter SG

zizou!!

only King Cantona and Roy Keane are in the same league as him

Saltiga SG

IMHO, Cantona maybe but Keano can't really be compared with them, they are far too creative, last night match might have been played on a friendly pace and Zidane hasn't played compatitive for a long period of time but he seems to be still in his old pre-retired self, he is still as composed as ever whereas Ronaldo looks like a bloated David James with his hair style Laughing

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Nearly 30,000 football fans attended Monday's fifth edition of the Match Against Poverty organised here by football legends Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo as part of their work with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Former France captain and Real Madrid star Zidane and Brazil striker Ronaldo, who are both Goodwill Ambassadors for the UNDP, have been the driving forces behind this initiative since 2003.

Spectators paid between 10 and 25 euros for tickets for the game which was played between 'Friends of Zidane' and the 'Friends of Ronaldo' and ended in a 2-2 draw.

"The aim of such a match is to make people aware of the problem of poverty in the world," said AC Milan star Ronaldo, who is making his way back from injury and was substituted in the first half by seven-time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher.

Proceeds will as in previous years benefit anti-poverty projects in Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.

sand king SG

i watched it for M Shumi hahaha!

gigabyte14 SG

ronaldo slimmed up already Shocked

slong SG

Cool Cool Cool Cool

stellazio SG

whats the score and details?

yellow_monkey SG

wtf..u had the wrong ronaldo pics

glacer SG

2-2 draw