Clarence Seedorf has made a living scoring goals and helping teammates do the same. The AC Milan midfielder will be helping to improve education in Africa when he does that from now on.
Seedorf said Tuesday he would be the first ambassador for an initiative called Goal4Africa, where people around the world can pledge to pay money every time their favorite team or player scores over the next two years _ from the Champions League final down to a Wednesday night game between friends.
"Players, artists, the whole world can contribute," Seedorf said. "There are other projects, but this is the biggest and has enormous potential."
The fundraising project will officially begin July 12 with a charity match at Munich's Allianz Arena between two star-studded teams that will include Seedorf, Milan teammates Kaka and Gennaro Gattuso, Liverpool's Steven Gerrard, Arsenal's Emmanuel Adebayor and many other top players.
http://www.goal4africa.org
"People sometimes say that football is just about money, but I have found incredible availability from players, coaches and clubs," Seedorf said. "Real Madrid, Chelsea and Liverpool have all been very helpful and will endorse this project."
The list of players supporting Goals4Africa includes Frank Lampard, Didier Drogba and Michael Essien from Chelsea, Fabio Cannavaro from Real Madrid and Samuel Eto'o at FC Barcelona.
Juventus and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who is considered to be one of the best in the world in his position, is also on the list _ although performing at his optimum will mean less money raised.
Goals4Africa will continue through to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and its kickoff is timed to celebrate the 90th birthday of Nelson Mandela on July 18.
The first project to be funded by the initiative aims to improve education in Manenberg, one of the poorest areas of Cape Town, South Africa, by building a multipurpose playground and creating programs that link learning with sports.
"We are trying to create a legacy for Africa building on Nelson's Mandela's motto 'education for all, all for education,'" said Chris Vermeeren, who initiated the Goal4Africa project and got Seedorf onboard.
"We haven't set a target about how much money will be raised in the two years, but there are 165 million goals scored around the world every year, so that will be 330 million in two years. There are 1 billion football fans in the world, so the potential is massive."
After scoring goals, players who want to show their support for the project can raise one arm straight up toward the sky and put the other arm behind their head, Seedorf said.
