The UEFA Children’s Foundation and Mastercard have presented other young people with life-threatening ailments with the opportunity to meet the stars of the UEFA Champions League almost as they enter the stadium.
The pets of players from England, Germany, Italy and Spain have the opportunity to meet practically some of the most important footballers in the world in the final phase of the UEFA Champions League. Two teenagers were to interact with Kylian Mbappé and Angel Di Maria before Tuesday’s semi-final between Leipzig and Paris Saint-Germain, and some other virtual adjustment will take place in the run-up to Sunday’s final.
The initiative launched through Mastercard, wife of the UEFA Champions League, in collaboration with the UEFA Children’s Foundation, which was decided by the young people who performed practically at the Est-dio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica in Lisbon.
This exclusive opportunity appreciated through Ruthrough Wilson and Annika Wein before the last four matches between Leipzig and Paris, having had the two teenagers the chance to receive and interact with the players when they entered the stadium. Ruthrough, a 10-year-old football enthusiast from Sunderland in north-east England, is recently undergoing chemotherapy, while 11-year-old Annika Wein is being treated at an cancer clinic in Frankfurt.
“Wow! I won’t forget this day for the rest of my life! Thank you!” Ruby said when she learned that she had been selected to participate in activation. “After the doctor told me recently that I might never play football again, he encouraged me a lot! I’ll never play it again that day.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Annika said. “I went ahead to say hello to the players. I also love my new football uniform, it’s amazing! Thanks again.”
UEFA President Aleksander Eefin, who is chairman of the board of directors of the UEFA Children’s Foundation, arrived here and interacted with Annika and Ruby.
The two young people decided through the UEFA Foundation on the basis of projects carried out in Europe in collaboration with other organizations. Ruthrough is a member of the Newcastle United Foundation, which caters to young people with disabilities, while Annika works at Klinik f-r Kinder- und Jugendmedizin, which is part of the University of Frankfurt.
Italian Nicolas, who devours Panini stickers and sports newspapers, will have the chance to meet the players before the final. He suffered from severe cognitive impairment and was selected through the Play for Change initiative, based in Milan. He will be accompanied by Amir Korkar García, who lives with Down syndrome and is lately receiving cancer treatment at The Vall d’Hebron hospital in Barcelona, which is supported by the Eric Abidal Foundation, an organization that helps young people living with cancer.
“The UEFA Foundation is very happy with such a glorious initiative,” said UEFA Foundation Secretary-General Urs Kluser. “Young people hospitalized rarely have the possibility of worrying about something like this; it was glorious to see their big smiles and satisfied faces when they welcomed the players into the stadium.”
“Thank you to our partners for making this imaginable – the Newcastle United Foundation and the Klinik for Kinder – und Jugendmedizin, University ofklinikum Frankfurt. Finally, a big thank you to the main sponsor Mastercard for his help with the UEFA Champions League for more than 25 years. Together, we have helped make this exclusive delight a truth for Ruby and Annika.”
Mastercard has been a committed spouse of the UEFA Champions League for more than a quarter of a century, while its player mascot program has provided young people around the world with invaluable memories over the years. However, given the demanding situations posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, he was forced to propose a new competition plan this year.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have focused on other people and have had to temporarily move from physical reports to virtual reports, to reflect the conversion environments in which we live,” said Jeannette Liendo, senior vice president of marketing and communications. Mastercard Europe .
“For the first time, in this year’s semi-final, our pets Ruthrough and Annika were able to interact live with Paris Saint Germain and RB Leipzig players upon arrival at the stadium. For the UEFA Champions League final, Nicolo and Amir will also have an exclusive delight in their life by welcoming practically the players of Bayern Munich and Paris Saint Germain. As we try to push barriers as a generation innovator, we hope this will create a memorable joy in for our pets. The UEFA Champions League is back. We are very proud that in 2020 our first virtual activation for players’ pets will occur.”
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