United Nations Development Programme Goodwill
Ambassadors Ronaldo and Zinédine Zidane joined 47 fellow football superstars tonight at the Stade du Vélodrome for the fourth
annual Match Against Poverty. Zidane and Friends won the spirited friendly, 6-2, in a contest whose meaning in the world campaign
against poverty went far beyond the boundaries of the pitch.
A crowd of 26,000 packed the Stade, while millions
more watched on live television as Zidane’s side pulled away in the second half in a match that raised an estimated $450,000
for UNDP anti-poverty work world-wide. In the first half, Ronaldo and Friends looked the better of the two sides but couldn’t
capitalize, as Brazil’s Rivaldo hit the bar twice in the opening 25 minutes. But a late barrage of goals by Zidane’s side
sealed the win in the Match, which was supported by FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association, with Nike and
Adidas contributing equipment for the teams. Pierluigi Collina refereed for the fourth time.
"Everyone can
do something to make the world a better place," Zidane told a news conference before the game. Ronaldo thanked the players,
coaches, technical staff, the City of Marseille and the Olympique de Marseille for their cooperation and participation. Both
players thanked the fans of Marseille for coming to the Match and contributing to the drive toward the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs).
UNDP Associate Administrator Ad Melkert represented the UN organization at the Match, and spoke to
the crowd. “Countries of the world set for themselves the Millennium Development Goals to halve poverty by 2015. The Match
this year marks the second half of the course towards the MDGs…We can’t afford to let it come down to penalties and extra
time,” said Melkert. “We have no time to lose in winning that trophy.”
Zidane and Friends opened the scoring in
the 38th minute with a goal by Sporting defender Ronny. Anthony Sichi, who plays for Ligue 2 side Istres, doubled the tally
after collecting a pass from French comic and actor Djamel Debbouze shortly before the hour mark. Debbouze, a special guest
of the Match, made it three at 70 minutes from a Zidane pass. Spanish midfielder Gerard narrowed the gap four minutes later
but Javier Portillo, with a double, and Sami Al Jaber from Saudi Arabia tallied another for Zidane’s side. Sonny Anderson,
who has played for Monaco, Marseille and Lyon, scored his team's second.
As with previous Matches, all proceeds
will go to projects selected by UNDP in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Proceeds from the first three Matches have benefited
anti-poverty projects ranging from support to female entrepreneurs to the construction of sports centres for street children
and the disadvantaged in Brazil, Burkina Faso, Bhutan, Comoros, Cuba, Colombia, Ethiopia, Guinea Bissau, Haiti, Morocco, Namibia,
Sri Lanka, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Vietnam.
