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    Roma to unite with over 75 clubs for International Missing Children’s Day initiative


    AS Roma will join forces with over 75 clubs from five different continents on International Missing Children’s Day in May to support a new initiative that hopes to help find vulnerable young people

    AS Roma will join forces with over 75 clubs from five different continents on International Missing Children’s Day in May, to support a new initiative that hopes to help find vulnerable young people.

    Roma are one of five Italian clubs supporting the initiative – with Juventus, Inter Milan, Lazio and Atalanta also taking part on May 25.

    In total, 77 clubs have already offered to support the project with Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur from England, FC Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Valencia from Spain, Marseille from France and Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen from Germany just some of the many teams representing over 37 different countries and leagues across the world.

    Each club has volunteered to use its social media channels on May 25 to share a video featuring children who are currently missing all over the world.

    The ‘Football Cares’ Initiative is being run by the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (ICMEC) and supported by both the European Club Association (ECA) and FIFA.

    AS Roma, who have a longstanding relationship with ICMEC, are helping to facilitate the project.

    Last summer Roma proved how effective football could be in helping to raise awareness about the plight of missing children, when the club used transfer announcements on social media to highlight individual cases of young people who had disapeared.

    Six children who appeared in the Roma videos were later found safe.

    “Over one million children are reported missing around the world each year and while the majority may return home quickly and safely, many remain missing for longer periods of time,” said Bob Cunningham, Chief Executive Officer at ICMEC.

    “On International Missing Children’s Day 2020, we are honoured to have the support of the global football community. With the huge following and global reach that these clubs boast, we hope that someone, somewhere could recognise one of the missing children in the videos and lead to a child being reunited with their loved ones.”

    For more than 20 years, ICMEC has been leading efforts to make the world safer for children from abduction, sexual abuse and exploitation. Their work reaches across every continent, and ICMEC’s Global Missing Children’s Network brings together 30 countries to help recover missing and abducted children.

    To mark International Missing Children’s Day, on May 25 each year ICMEC coordinates activities and campaigns to build awareness around the issue of missing children, celebrate those who have been recovered and remember those who are still missing.

    “Football is the world’s most popular sport and ICMEC recognises the potential of the clubs to amplify our efforts to publicise the plight of missing children through their incredible social media presence,” said Caroline Humer, Vice President of Programs.

    “We’d like to thank the ECA and FIFA for their fantastic support, every club who has agreed to participate in the ‘Football Cares’ Initiative and also AS Roma, who first approached us about the initiative and are helping ICMEC to put the campaign together.”

    The following clubs have all agreed to support the ‘Football Cares’ Initiative on International Missing Children’s Day – with more clubs to be announced before May 25.

    AEK Athens, Greece
    Al Ahly SC, Egypt
    Alianza FC, El Salvador
    Astana, Kazakhstan
    Asteras Tripolis, Greece
    Atalanta, Italy
    Athletic Bilbao, Spain
    Atletico Madrid, Spain
    Atromitos Athens, Greece
    AZ Alkmaar, Netherlands
    Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Germany
    BAK, Hungary
    Barcelona, Spain
    Benfica, Portugal
    Bofoakwa Tano FC, Ghana
    Borussia Dortmund, Germany
    Bulawayo Chiefs FC, Zimbabwe
    Caps United, Zimbabwe
    Celtic, Scotland
    CFR Cluj, Romania
    Chelsea, England
    Chicken Inn FC, Zimbabwe
    Cork City, Ireland
    EB Streymur, Faroe Islands
    Fehervar, Hungary
    Ferencvaros, Hungary
    FK Jelgava, Lithuania
    FK Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina
    Genk, Belgium
    GFK Osogovo, Macedonia
    Gokulam Kerala FC, India
    Hapoel Be'er Sheva, Israel
    Hittarps IK, Sweden
    1899 Hoffenheim, Germany
    Inter Milan, Italy
    Jamshedpur FC, India
    Juventus, Italy
    KAA Ghent, Belgium
    Kariobangi Sharks FC, Kenya
    La Fiorita, San Marino
    LASK, Austria
    Lazio, Italy
    Lincoln Red Imps, Gibraltar
    Linfield , Northern Ireland
    Liverpool, England
    Lokomotiv Moscow, Russia
    FC Lori, Armenia
    Ludogorets Razgard, Bulgaria
    Malmö FF, Sweden
    Marseille, France
    Olympiakos, Greece
    Omonia, Cyprus
    Panathinaikos, Greece
    PAOK Salonika , Greece
    Rangers, Scotland
    AS Roma, Italy
    Rosenborg, Norway
    Saint Anthony’s FC, Scotland
    Sekondi Hasaacas FC, Ghana
    SJK Seinajoki, Finland
    Slavia Prague, Czech Republic
    Slovan Bratislava, Slovakia
    Sutjeska Niksic , Montenegro
    Tottenham Hotspur, England
    Valencia, Spain
    Viktoria Plzen, Czech Republic
    Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand
    Western Sydney Wanderers FC, Australia
    VfL Wolfsburg, Germany
    WSG Tirol, Austria
    Young Boys, Switzerland
    Zimbru Chisinau, Moldova
    FC Zenit, Russia
    FC Zurich, Switzerland

    Clubs who would also like to support the campaign on May 25 can email footballcares@asroma.it for more details.