By: Maydaa Abou Nadaar and Ibrahim El-Shawarby
CAIRO, March.22 (SEE)- Under the auspices of the Ministry of Sports, LaLiga today, signed a collaboration agreement with IOM, the official UN Migration Agency as a UN Goodwill Ambassador on Migration.
Present at the ceremony were the following senior officials; Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, Dr. Amr Al Haddad; Deputy Head of Mission of Spain to Egypt, Pablo Barbara, Head of the UN Migration in Egypt, Laurent de Boeck, and Juan Fuentes, LaLiga’s delegate in Egypt.
The signing ceremony was also attended by several ambassadors of the countries that have a player of their nationality currently representing a LaLiga club, as well as United Nations officials and several figures from the world of sport such as Eng. Khaled Mortagy and Mohamed Serag, board members of Al Ahly SC.
Coinciding with the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, LaLiga and the UN agency showed their commitment to eradicating racist behaviour, both in the wider world and in sport.
Through this agreement, LaLiga will contribute to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 agenda, which includes such aims as fighting against inequality.
Thanks to this agreement, it is expected that initiatives will be established across the world, as LaLiga delegates will be in contact with the IOM Chiefs of mission in different countries.
IOM, the International Organization for Migration, works to integrate migrants within their destination countries.
LaLiga is a truly global competition with 50 different nationalities represented among its players, nine offices and 45 delegates around the world.
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De Boeck giving his speech[/caption]
"There’s no doubt that football is a tool that can help us to achieve our goals, given that it is a leading sport to which everyone pays attention," said Laurent de Boeck, IOM's Chief of Mission in Egypt.
De Boeck also stated in a featured interview for SEE " We chose La Liga because it is the most known football league in the world, thus makes it easier to spread our message as people of all ages, and from all social classes tend to be attracted to Spanish football". He also thanked Egypt's efficiency in combating child abuse, as there are several platforms in which Egyptians can report child abuse.
On his approach, De Boeck stated that by using La Liga to spread his cause, he is encouraging his colleagues worldwide to follow the same route as there are several branches of the institution around the world. He also revealed that they are planning to follow the same path, with the help of football league federations in England and Italy to help promote their cause in these states.
He also stated that the organization's methods aren't only limited to Football, as the organization is also planning to use different sports that are popular in several nations like Basketball in Cuba and the United States.
In his final statement, De Boeck said that he is planning to cooperate with several known Egyptian athletes like Squash and Weightlifting world champions to help spread the idea of combating racism.
Among other initiatives, LaLiga organization has launched training projects such as lectures and activities in schools, workshops on integrity and the prevention of violent and racist behavior in the dressing rooms of LaLiga clubs, and has compiled a variety of informative literature for fans.
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