Zlatan Ibrahimovic has set up an online fundraiser to help fight the coronavirus pandemic – and pledged €100,000 (£91,000) to the cause himself.
The Milan striker has set a target of €1million to support hospitals and medical staff in Italy, which is the centre of the pandemic in Europe, and is imploring fellow footballers and sport stars to “together kick the coronavirus away”. The 38-year-old former Sweden striker rejoined Milan in January from the Los Angeles Galaxy, and has also played for Internazionale and Juventus in his adopted homeland.
“Italy has always given me so much and, in this dramatic moment, I want to give back even more to this country that I love,” he said in a video message to launch the fundraiser. “I count on the generosity of my colleagues, of all professional athletes and of those who want to make a small or large donation according to their possibilities, to kick this virus away. Together we can really help hospitals and doctors and nurses who selflessly work every day to save our lives. Because today we are the ones cheering for them!”
Fifa has agreed to delay the first edition of its revamped Club World Cup, due to be held in 2021, to make way for the Euro 2020 and Copa América tournaments which have been postponed for a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Fifa said in a statement on Wednesday that it would "decide at a later stage when to schedule the new Club World Cup which was due to take place in June/July 2021."
The new-look 24-team tournament, the brainchild of Fifa president Gianni Infantino, would be the biggest so far, taking place across eight Chinese cities, and including eight teams from Europe with six from South America. Until now, the competition has featured seven teams in total.
Fifa has also set up a working group to consider possible changes to transfer regulations amid fears that players whose contracts end during the stoppage could lose their jobs. Fifa said it wanted to "protect contracts for both players and clubs and adjusting player registration periods."
The group would also consider creating a fund to compensate those in football who suffer financial hardship as a result of the pandemic. Reuters
The site states that all the money raised will be directly donated to Humanitas to help strengthen the intensive care and emergency units of Milan, Bergamo, Castellanza and Torino’s hospitals. Italy has been the world’s second hardest hit country with more than 31,500 cases of the virus and 2,503 deaths.
Ibrahimovic, known for his brash personality and outspoken comments, ended his message in typical style: “If the virus don’t go to Zlatan, Zlatan goes to the virus.”
The German national team have launched their own fundraising initiative to tackle coronavirus by donating €2.5million to social causes. The Germany captain, Manuel Neuer, said: “We have to look at each other in such times.”
