Scoring Goals against Social Exclusion with the Barça Foundation and the SNF

Photo of a wall on which the word WELCOME is painted in different languages and some funny rhymes

Source: SNF

French soccer player Lilian Thuram, who will go down in history for the two goals he scored in France’s 1998 semifinal match against Croatia as well as for his overall hard work and defensive abilities, will be in Athens on June 5 and 6 to create positive memories for more than 300 children living in refugee centers in Skaramangas and Eleonas.

Thuram’s visit is part of a program which utilizes the FutbolNet methodology implemented by the Barça Foundation, in collaboration with the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF). Thuram will participate in sports activities with boys and girls from the two centers in Athens, while promoting the values of team spirit, mutual respect, and friendly coexistence.

With the support of the SNF, the Barça Foundation extended the FutbolNet program to include more than 3,000 children living in refugee centers in Lebanon, Italy, and Greece. Furthermore, the SNF has supported the procurement of sports equipment for FC Barcelona’s Innovation Hub for refugee centers.

The unifying and uplifting power of football is a common denominator in a series of activities supported by the SNF, which extend well beyond the limits of the football field. Specifically, the SNF supports the Edmílson Foundation, created by the champion José Edmílson Gomes de Moraes, which provides safe and dignified playing environments for underserved girls and boys, ages 6-18, in many local communities in Brazil. At the same time, the SNF is collaborating with the Barça Foundation and the Leo Messi Foundation for the creation of the new SJD Pediatric Cancer Center in Barcelona.