Maccabi Tel Aviv join major European Clubs in a co-operation with UNICEF
National Champions Maccabi Tel Aviv join the ranks of European giants such as Barcelona and Manchester United in a co-operation with UNICEF.
Together with UNICEF ISRAEL all activities and fundraising of the partnership will be to the benefit of children in Israel and will allow the club to be part of one of the world’s leading charitable organizations joining some of Europe’s elite sporting icons and institutions.
The deal will see Maccabi players playing with the logo on their shirt between now and the end of the season to mark the start of an initiative to promote the rights of children and will involve Maccabi players visiting schools throughout the country as role models representing the aims of the partnership.
“We are very excited to be able to welcome to our team a football club as respected as Maccabi Tel Aviv”, commented Jonny Cline, Executive Director of UNICEF Israel, “we are pleased that Maccabi also recognizes that every child has the right to equal opportunities, and that every child has the right to a childhood free of discrimination, racism or violence.”
Martin Bain, Chief Executive of Maccabi Tel Aviv said, “Everyone connected with Maccabi works extremely hard to use our privileged position for the betterment of others and to help make a difference where we can. Our vision is to be a national model of accomplishment in all our endeavours whether it is sports, social or cultural and to join UNICEF and its elite chosen few is a great honour and representative of our ambition.”
Club Captain Sheran Yeini said,” The whole squad are excited by the UNICEF partnership and to know the club are joining some of the world’s elite clubs and sports personalities in doing good for others is really special. To have the opportunity to participate with them in various charitable campaigns that will benefit the children of Israel can only be exciting for our squad and beneficial for everyone involved.”
UNICEF is active all around the world for the security, welfare, education and all rights of all children. The fund operates development and aid programs including nutrition programs, psychosocial care, immunization operations and much more, in some of the most harsh and dangerous regions of the world. UNICEF has been actively present in Israel since the State was declared in 1948 when the fledgling state received aid from UNICEF in areas such as nutrition and pediatric health.
The fund collaborates with a number of leading sports clubs around the world. In addition to Barcelona and Man Utd, teams such as the Greek Olympiakos, both teams from the City of Milan, Argentinian Boca Juniors currently and in the past.
MTAFC CEO Martin Bain himself led a collaboration with UNICEF during his term as CEO of Glasgow Rangers in Scotland as did his national counterpart Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. World number one tennis player Novak Djockovitch is a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, as is racing driver Lewis Hamilton, and ex-football players David Beckham and Ryan Giggs. New Zealand’s national rugby team, the All Blacks, also sponsors the Fund.
The relationship with each sports club has a character and scale of its own. Barcelona, for example, raises an annual donation of 1.5m Euro for UNICEF, and until recently played with the UNICEF logo on the front of their shirts. Last January the club collaborated with UNICEF on a massive campaign to provide education for kids in central Asia. The campaign, entitled “1 in 11”, starred Leo Messi alongside tennis player Serena Williams and other famous artists.
In contrast, Manchester United play without the UNICEF logo, although the club is involved in many UNICEF projects. The Red Devils raise funds for UNICEF, and participate in many activities worldwide. Past stars of the English team – Beckham, Giggs, and even Sir Alex Ferguson – are outstanding UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors.
