Today is the day many soccer or (for most of the world) football fans have been waiting for: the first day of the FIFA World Cup.
For the next month, soccer-mania will take hold of the world. What most people don’t know is that the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is also a big fan of the sport ... when it comes to helping people in a time of crisis. Recovery from disaster is about more than just rebuilding homes. It is about supporting communities in getting their lives back, and for many, their lives include sports such as soccer.
Last month in Haiti, as warm up to the World Cup, a “Camp Cup” was held. Three quake camps in Petit-Goâve, where a Canadian Red Cross/Norwegian Red Cross field hospital is based, took part in the tournament. Some of the young soccer players lost parents in the quake and the tournament was arranged as part of a psychosocial support program.
As part of tsunami recovery efforts in Indonesia, the Canadian Red Cross provided soccer teams in Aceh with sports equipment, such as uniforms, shoes and balls.
Meanwhile, soccer has also been used by the South African Red Cross to assist refugees living in camps and by the ICRC in Afghanistan to help landmine victims.
And did you know there is a Liberian National Amputee Soccer Team?
Take a look at some cool pics of Red Cross and soccer in action care of the IFRC:
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